CreativeOhio has joined a statewide coalition working to educate Ohioans about the potential impact of eliminating property taxes, including what it could mean for public services, libraries, museums, and Ohio’s arts and culture sector.
CreativeOhio has joined Ohioans to Protect Public Services, a growing coalition of organizations, advocates, and community leaders working to educate Ohioans about the serious consequences of efforts to abolish property taxes in the state.
While much of the public conversation around property taxes has focused on homeowners, the reality is that property taxes help fund many of the public services and community institutions Ohioans rely on every day—including schools, libraries, parks, emergency services, local infrastructure, museums, and cultural organizations.
The coalition was formed in response to a proposed constitutional amendment campaign seeking to eliminate property taxes in Ohio. Petition organizers face a July 1 deadline to gather enough signatures to place the issue before voters, and recent reporting indicates the campaign currently does not have enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
What This Could Mean for Arts, Culture, and Community Life in Ohio
CreativeOhio’s concern is not limited to the few arts organizations that directly receive property tax support through local levies or public funding structures. The broader concern is the destabilizing effect this proposal could have across Ohio communities.
While property tax reform is an important conversation for Ohio and its elected officials to have, the abolition of all property tax is not a workable solution for the state. Eliminating property taxes would create an estimated $24 billion gap in public funding statewide. Without a viable replacement plan, Ohio would likely face significant increases in sales and income taxes, major cuts to public services, or both. Local governments and state leaders would be forced to reprioritize already-limited public resources.
That impact would ripple across the entire arts and culture ecosystem.
Some cultural organizations — including libraries, museums, and community institutions — rely directly on local property tax levies for operations and programming. For example, institutions like the Massillon Museum receive local levy support tied to property tax funding structures. Public libraries across Ohio also depend heavily on local tax support.
But even organizations that do not directly receive property tax revenue would still feel the effects through reductions in community investment, strained municipal budgets, declining public services, and increased competition for limited funding. Resulting sharp increases in sales and income taxes would make for a far less competitive landscape for cultural tourism and new and small businesses.
As CreativeOhio previously noted in our coverage of the issue, the conversation surrounding property taxes is about the long-term sustainability of the public systems that support Ohio communities.
Shareable Resources Available
The growing coalition—including members like the Ohio Travel Association, Ohio Municipal League, Ohio Library Council, and many more— has created a public toolbox of educational and advocacy materials designed to help organizations and individuals share accurate information about the issue. Resources include:
- Social media graphics
- Printable flyers
- Video assets
- Educational materials about what property taxes fund in Ohio
CreativeOhio encourages arts and culture organizations, libraries, museums, community leaders, and concerned Ohioans to review and share these materials to help inform public understanding about the potential impacts of eliminating property taxes in Ohio.
