Limits increases on Summit County's Portion of Property Taxes

The proposed charter amendment would protect you, the taxpayer, from sudden increases in your property tax bills by limiting the county's unvoted millage growth to a maximum of 3% annually, if home values increase.

Protects Public Safety Services

The proposed charter amendment allows Summit County to preserve your critical public safety service—including 9-1-1 dispatching, courts, the County Jail, and veterans' service—by maintaining funding with NO new increases in taxes.

• Issue 2 Charter Amendment Full Text (PDF, 93.6k)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a mill?

1 mill = $1 of tax for every $1,000 of property value.

Summit County government currently collects 2.2 mills which provides approximately $40 million for critical public safety services. For most property owners, this accounts for 3% of your total property tax bills.

The Summit County Fiscal Officer collects all property taxes and then distributes the funds to each taxing authority with a levy.

How is the value of my property determined?

Ultimately it is the State of Ohio Department of Taxation who makes the final determination on property values. The Summit County Fiscal Officer’s Auditor Division works on a six-year cycle to determine a property’s fair market value and keep it up to date with revaluations occurring once every three years.

Fair market value is the amount a buyer and seller would be willing to agree to in an arm's length transaction on the open market. The Auditor Division uses fair market value to determine a property's assessed value, which in Ohio amounts to 35% of the fair market value.

The assessed value of your property is influenced by several factors, including market trends, home improvements, condition of the property and neighborhood factors.

Following both the six-year and three-year valuations, the Fiscal Officer must submit all valuations in the county to the Ohio Department of Taxation for approval. If the state disagrees with the Fiscal Officer’s valuations, it may order the Fiscal Officer to increase valuations. This happened during the last three-year update in 2023.    

What is inside millage?

The Ohio Constitution guarantees up to 10 mills of property tax that local governments can collect without a vote. This section of the Constitution was originally approved by voters in 1929 and established a 15 mill cap.  In 1933 voters approved an amendment reducing the cap to its current 10 mills.

This is split among schools, cities, villages, townships and counties. The exact split differs by community, but the total cannot be more than 10 mills.

Reduction factors do not apply to inside millage, meaning it rises proportionally with any increase or decrease to a property’s valuation.

Summit County government collects 2.2 mills of inside millage to fund primarily public safety services, including sheriff deputies, operation of the jail, prosecutors and the criminal justice system.

What is outside millage?

 Outside millage is voted tax millage that is over and above the constitutional 10-mill unvoted limit.

These voted levies often make up the bulk of what you see on your property tax bill—schools, libraries, police and fire, and levy agencies like Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board, Developmental Disabilities Board and Children Services Board.

Outside millage is subject to reduction factors, meaning it does not increase proportionally with a property’s value. Most outside millage levies are fixed-rate, meaning the millage is set by the voted in levy and generates monies based on the values of that said year. These levies only get new monies when there is new construction. Any change in values from reappraisal or updates do not get collected and creates the reduction factor

Some outside millage levies are fixed sum or “Bond” levies, meaning they are set to generate a specific amount of money. The County Budget Commission reviews and sets the tax rate for these levies so they comply with the amount of money required by that levy. If the values increase, the tax rate would need to decrease so no new taxes are created. If the values decrease, the tax rate would increase to collect the money needed by that levy.

What is charter millage?

Charter millage acts just like inside millage. The ability to enact charter millage is also established under the Ohio Constitution but charter millage is permanently embedded in the charter of a charter county or municipality if approved by voters.

What do my property taxes pay for?

The details of your property tax bill depend on where you live. To find you bill, visit https://propertyaccess.summitoh.net/search/commonsearch.aspx?mode=realprop and search your address.

Under “Record Navigator” on the right-hand side, change “Asmt Year” to 2024.

Under “Actions” on the right-hand side, click “Printable Summary”.

If a Print box opens, simply close this window.

Scroll down to the section titled “Tax Distribution by Authority/Levy Name” to see the millage rate and dollar amount you pay for each levy.

Is the charter amendment a new tax?

No, the charter amendment is not a new tax. The county’s current inside millage rate is 2.2 mills and the charter millage will be set in the charter at 2.2 mills. The County will be required to forgo collecting inside millage if it enacts charter millage.

What does the 3% growth cap mean?

The charter millage growth will be capped at 3% in aggregate annually to limit future growth. Currently, there is no cap on growth, and inside millage increases proportionally to a property’s valuation.

For example, if a home valuation increases by 20% in the next appraisal cycle, the county is currently entitled to a 20% increase in inside millage.

In 2024, Summit County government collected $40,720,259 from its 2.2 mills. A 20% valuation increase would increase this collection by over $8 million to $48,864,310. If the 3% growth cap is in effect, Summit County government would instead collect $41,941,866.

If a property’s valuations grow less than 3%, the County’s charter millage growth will be less than 3% as well.

The growth cap allows us to collect enough to cover operating expenses, which increase with inflation, while protecting property owners from sudden, larger increases.  

How will this impact my property tax bill?

The charter amendment will only ever apply to the Summit County government’s 2.2 mills; it does not affect a city’s, village’s, township’s or a school district’s inside millage or any outside millage levy. The County does not have any authority to cap growth on the tax levies of other taxing authorities.  The County’s 2.2 mills is a small percentage of most residents’ property tax bill. On average, it is about 3% of your overall bill. The County will still be required to follow future changes to tax laws enacted by the Ohio General Assembly and voters.

How do I lower my property tax bill?

The Summit County Fiscal Office offers several programs to help older adults, veterans and others reduce their tax bill. Please call 330-643-2632 or visit https://fiscaloffice.summitoh.net/ to learn more.

Property owners who pay their property taxes and insurance through a mortgage payment may also consider assessing their annual insurance policy for price increases.  You may be able to negotiate your rate with the insurance provider or secure lower pricing with another provider.

What is the Board of Revision?

Property owners may challenge their property valuation by filing a complaint with the Board of Revision. The filing of a complaint is an initiation of a legal proceeding. When a complaint is filed, it is the Board of Revision’s responsibility to schedule a hearing, review the complaint and any evidence submitted, then issue a decision on whether a correction should be made to the valuation. It is the complainant's responsibility to prove their claim, by submitting supporting documentation to the Board for review. The Board does not hear complaints regarding property taxes.

Learn more at https://fiscaloffice.summitoh.net/index.php/board-of-revision-complaint or call 330-643-2710.

November 4 General Election Info

Early Voting has moved to the Summit County Board of Elections' new address: 1050 E. Tallmadge Ave, Akron, OH 44310.

Click here for Early Voting Hours beginning October 7, 2025 — November 2, 2025.

Election Day voting takes places at your local polling location from 6:30am - 7:30pm on Tuesday, November 4. 

Find your polling location here. 

For more voting information, please visit the Summit County Board of Elections' website here.