Amid the flurry of property tax reform proposals and Ohio's newly adopted flat income tax, LWVGC thinks it is time to take a step back and look at how we finance public goods and services in Ohio.  There is an urgent need to modernize Ohio’s tax code to be more equitable while ensuring that local communities have the resources they need to provide services for their residents including public education, public safety, health and human services, libraries; all of the things we expect of our local governments. 

Attendees will:

• Understand how we fund public goods and services in Ohio
• Be more effective advocates for adequate funding
• Understand whether a tax is equitable, appropriate and sufficient
• Understand what’s wrong with a flat tax
• Become more familiar with key concepts like tax base, tax rate, progressive, regressive

Agenda:

Moderator:  

Anna Staver, Statehouse Reporter, The Plain Dealer/cleveland.com

Presenters:

Ohio Senator Louis (Bill) Blessing (R-Cincinnati area)

Zach Schiller, Research Director, Policy Matters Ohio 

Co-sponsors:  LWV Ohio, LWV Cincinnati, LWV Hudson, and LWVGC chapters Lakewood, Bay Village, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Hts.-University Hts. 

The program will be recorded and the recording, along with any slides that are used, will be made available on the LWVGC YouTube channel as an educational resource for Leagues and the general public statewide.You can find our YouTube channel on our website, https://lwvgreatercleveland.org/. 

For more information on this topic, please see related League programs including: 

Hudson League: “Federal and State Budget: How it Impacts You”.  link

LWVGC Lakewood League: Schools and Library Funding October 7, 2025. link