CLEVELAND — Some Cuyahoga County residents are not happy with their new, higher property tax bills recently revealed on-line and sent by mail.
Carol Prusak said the property taxes for her West 12th Street Cleveland home have jumped from $512 a year, to more than $2,700 annually.
Prusak said she's going to have to move out of her family home, because her fixed income won't be able to cover the $2,200 increase.
Prusak believes Cuyahoga County made a mistake when it re-assessed the value of home in the early part of 2018.
"Oh my God, how am I going to live here," Prusak said. "I don't understand this. Mine went up 203% and the most anybody else went up was 79%."
"What happened, why? Nothing has changed, I have a couple more leaves on the ground. We're paying for all the tax abated properties," Prusak said.
Melody Perry believes the entire Cuyahoga County re-assessment process needs at overhaul.
Cleveland residents said they'll now urge the city to institute the Long Time Owner Occupants Program or "LOOP," a program currently in place in Philadelphia.
The program puts a hold on property values for homeowners who have been in their homes for ten years or more, and meet certain income level requirements.
The program was launched as form of gentrification protection, especially in cases where home values have jumped up 300% or more, and long time homeowners are on a fixed income.
"This has got to be looked into," Perry said. "There needs to be somebody looking into the system, it's broke, it needs to be fixed. I don't know how they can explain all the numbers."
Prusak urged residents facing huge property tax hikes to fight back, and file a formal appeal with the county board of revision, starting on Jan. 1.
Prusak said she was disappointed to learn only 7% of county property owners filed informal appeals earlier in the fall.
"I'm not only fighting for me, but the people on my street who are afraid to fight," Prusak said. "They are afraid to fight city hall, and they shouldn't be afraid."
