A Tempest in a Sterling Silver Teapot
Fortunately, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recognizes injustice at least in instances when it results from political fights among those who can manipulate power and money on a grand scale. We can be thankful that he vetoed one amendment slipped into the state budget right at the last minute without any debate.
The amendment was added by Ohio Senator Matt Dolan, a Republican whose family owns the Cleveland Indians, and who represents some of the wealthiest communities in the state of Ohio. Dolan chairs the Ohio Senate Finance Committee, and he was an influential member of the House-Senate conference committee which finalized the new budget.
The amendment involved local property tax assessments in the Orange City School District, which includes several of Ohio’s most affluent communities: Pepper Pike, Orange, Moreland Hills, and Hunting Valley. Hunting Valley has been lobbying for a change in its school funding. Its residents say they shouldn’t have to pay so much property tax to the Orange City Schools—the school district in which Hunting Valley is situated. They point out that a lot of older residents in Hunting Valley do not have children in school, and many families with young children use exclusive private schools. Hunting Valley had sought the state budget amendment to stipulate that Hunting Valley’s residents would pay their school property taxes as a sort of per-pupil tuition in instances when a Hunting Valley student enrolls in the Orange Schools. Sen. Matt Dolan’s district includes Hunting Valley.
The Plain Dealer‘s Andrew Tobias summarizes the provision that Governor DeWine ultimately vetoed: “The measure, backed by Senate leadership including Chagrin Falls Republican Sen. Matt Dolan, a key figure in budget negotiations on tax issues, would have capped the amount CONTINUE READING: