Wednesday, April 12, 2000
Townships want new defenses
They seek powers to fight annexation
BY Spencer Hunt
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS — Township governments could soon get greater powers to accept or thwart city land-grabs, under a new bill in the Ohio General Assembly.
The proposal, introduced in the Senate Tuesday, seeks to settle a decades-old dispute over annexation rights that pops up again and again in county commission hearing rooms. In this fight, township officials say state law gives growth-hungry cities unfettered rights to gobble up and tax unincorporated land.
Instead of a rubberstamp, the bill would let county commissioners consider an annexation's effect on a township before they vote. When an annexation does occur, the bill would let townships collect property taxes on the land for up to 15 years.
A raft of similar bills have failed in the General Assembly over the years, because city and township leaders refuse to compromise. Though key lawmakers say they are optimistic about this bill's chances, they also admit cities haven't signed off yet.
If the bill fails again, some township officials promise to retaliate by reviving a drive to abolish city income taxes on non-residents. The effort threatens millions in tax dollars cities collect from com muters living in rural communities.
“They can either steal our land or they can steal our money,” said Bill Seitz, a Republican Green Township trustee running for a seat in the Ohio House. “They can't have both.”
Mr. Seitz and other township officials say the bill is needed to help preserve townships, some of which have shrunk to a fraction of their original sizes.
City governments in Butler County, for example, have annexed over 20 square miles of unincorporated land from 1987 to 1998. That's land townships used to tax, said Bill Morand, a Deerfield Township trustee.
“There were 157 annexations in Butler County, and only 10 were denied,” Mr. Morand said. “That just shows how unfair the system is.”
Among other things, the bill would let county commissioners examine the effect an annexation would have on unincorporated lands within a half-mile radius. Right now commissioners can only consider the effect on the property to be annexed.
The bill also would ease a township's financial losses by allowing it to continue to collect property taxes after an annexation occurs. The amount collected would slowly drop to zero over 15 years.
While lawmakers and township officials support these ideas, the Ohio Municipal League, which represents cities, is still making up its mind. Municipal League lobbyist Ed Albright said the group's board of directors will decide to support or oppose the bill later this week.
“These are major issues for cities,” Mr. Albright said. “You've got to remember we like things the way they are.”
The league's silence led Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale, to cast some doubts on whether the bill will pass.
“I have said repeatedly I would like to see an annexation bill pass the legislature this year,” Mr. Finan said. “You have to recognize that some of the municipalities and the townships are not going to be happy with this.”
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Bob Cupp, R-Lima, is more optimistic.
“I think this does set forth some middle ground,” Mr. Cupp said.
If the bill fails, Mr. Seitz said he will help revive a township effort to limit cities' income tax powers. The Southwestern Ohio Township Association began collecting petition signatures in November for a constitutional amendment that would free commuters from paying income taxes to the cities where they work.
Mr. Seitz said he lost interest in the petition drive after it appeared lawmakers were serious about passing an annexation reform bill.
“If we see that the bill that's been introduced today isn't going anywhere, that petition drive may get a lot of new allies,” he said.
To put an anti-tax initiative on the November ballot, petitioners must collect 335,421 signatures, including 5 percent of the voters in half of Ohio's 88 counties, by Aug. 9. Mr. Morand said he had no good estimate for how many signatures have been collected so far.
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