To the citizens of Columbiana County:

In compliance with Ohio law, we have submitted and received approval of our Triennial Update by the Ohio Department of Taxation. As you may recall, in an effort to keep your taxes as low as possible our office sent three different proposals prior to this and all were rejected.

Although the resulting increases approved by the state are more than I personally agree with, we are bound by Ohio Revised Code to process them.

The increases will be reflected in the property taxes in the first half of 2026.

However, if Governor DeWine signs the four house bills awaiting his signature (HB186, HB335, HB129, HB309) property taxes will be reduced on second-half property bills with property owners receiving a credit.

While these changes will help ease the burden on taxpayers, it is important to remember that money collected from property taxes play an important role in keeping our communities safe and strong by helping fund our schools, police, fire protectoin, maintaining our roads and supporting community services.

There is more work to be done, and it is my sincere hope the new legislation will be a step in the right direction.

Nancy Milliken is the Coluumbiana County Auditor.