Union Twp. Trustees Cut 2026 Property Tax Rates

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(Union Township, Ross County) – At their regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday night, Union Township Trustees Bryan Smith, Wes Bowles and Bob Whitten voted unanimously to cut the Township’s inside mill property tax rates by 30% to offset impacts of Ross County’s state-mandated revaluation for 2026 on local taxpayers. 

This action followed months’ worth of engagement and coordination with Ross County Auditor Jeff Lehner to avoid Union Township residents experiencing an unvoted property tax hike next year on the portion of Ross County tax bills the Trustees are able to influence.

“We’ve been closely monitoring this issue since May,” Trustees Smith, Bowles and Whitten said in a joint statement. “We felt a responsibility to act promptly on behalf of our residents, and as taxpayers ourselves we understand the strain that rising property tax bills are causing.  We do not support unnecessary, unvoted tax measures, so tonight we decided to roll back our portion of next year’s tax bills to offset impacts of the state’s mandates.”

Lehner added: “I’m thankful for the Union Township Trustees’ engagement and leadership on this issue as an early adopter of lower tax rates for next year.  Dialogue with other Ross County jurisdictions’ governing bodies is ongoing and I’m optimistic we’ll see many more of these announcements over the next few months.”