That his city of residence has one of the highest rates in Ohio doesn’t sit well with Shaker Heights resident and Congressional hopeful Mark Zetzer. He heads a group called Grow Shaker, dedicated to scaling back his city’s tax rates.
Zetzer blames the tax rate for a declining population and says there are ways to “right size” the city government.
“It’s about accountability and of who serves who," says Zetzer. "Do we serve the public servants or do they serve us? So I don’t think it’s unreasonable to cut costs... so that these tax levies can stop because they’re too high.”
Shaker Heights Mayor Earl Leiken counters that the city gets only a scant percentage (7.4 percent) of the total property tax receipt, and they’ve worked to keep compensation packages down.
As to the lowest property tax rates in Cuyahoga County, Cuyahoga Heights and Brooklyn Heights share the distinction. The rates for both are roughly $1,900 per $100,000 of home value.
(NOTE: An earlier version of this story listed Cleveland Heights as sharing one of the lowest property tax rates in Cuyahoga County, along with Brooklyn Heights. Actually it's Cuyahoga Heights. Apologies.)