SYLVANIA, OH (WTOL) - Homeowners in Sylvania are not happy over notices they got in the mail saying their property taxes were going to go up, so they decided to do something about it.
Josh Adamski bought his home in Sylvania about a year ago. A few months ago, to his surprise, he received a letter that said he would have to pay $2,000 more in property taxes.
"I think it's bull crap. I was planning on having surgery next year because I have bad disks in my back, but now I'm not doing that," Adamski said.
Adamski is not alone in his frustrations, which is why Sylvania homeowners have formed a committee to fight what they say are unfair taxes.
High demand for homes in Sylvania are driving up sale prices, which means homes are sold well above the value appraised by the Auditor's office.
School districts, which benefit from property taxes, are legally allowed to issue challenges so that homeowners have to pay based on the sale price of the home, not what the Auditor's office has recorded on their books.
Adamski understands this law, but says it's not right.
"They just passed a $7, 8 billion levy last year that I voted for, was happy to vote for," he said.
Sylvania's School Board president Stephen Rothschild said the district has to work for all the taxpayers in the district, and it wouldn't be right not to go after the money it's entitled to.
"We, in fact, have a duty to those thousands of taxpayers to collect those dollars so we can stay off the ballot as long as possible. That's always our goal for the taxpayers, it to be judicious with their funds and stay off the ballot for as long as we can," said Rothschild.
He said also said it's important to remember that challenges work both ways, and during a down housing market a few years ago it was the homeowners challenging to pay lower taxes.
Adamski said the challenges are a cash grab, and those who formed the committee planned a meeting Monday evening to share their grievances but it was cancelled
The committee had to reschedule because the initial meeting fell on the same night that Sylvania elementary schools had parent meetings.
Sylvania Schools spokesperson Bethany Cooper says the next meeting is August 28 at Southview High School's library.
She says anyone who wants to attend the 7pm meeting is welcome.
Rothschild said the district has negotiated and worked out compromises with some of the taxpayers and suggests that others should contact the district's attorney to do the same.
