T-L Photo/JENNIFER COMPSTON-STROUGH Ohio Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, addresses Martins Ferry City Council on Wednesday, telling members that he supports efforts to eliminate property taxes in the Buckeye State.

MARTINS FERRY — City Council on Wednesday heard from Ohio Rep. Ron Ferguson, who supports efforts to eliminate property taxes in the state and says Ohio would be able to continue funding schools and vital services without that money.

Ferguson, R-Wintersville, represents the Belmont County townships along the Ohio River and along the northern border of Monroe County, as well as all of Jefferson and Monroe counties. He said one key to eliminating the tax without eliminating or reducing services would be for state legislators to do away with “cushy deals,” such as providing money to help professional sports teams to build new stadiums.

Among expenditures he considers “state budget waste,” Ferguson told council, are: $600 million to the Cleveland Browns for stadium construction and $2.5 billion to the All Ohio Future Fund for “shovel-ready jobs.” He cited other expenditures that he termed “corporate welfare,” including: $2.4 million to the wine industry; $36 million for research and development; $15 million for tourism; $2.1 million for sports events grants; and $14.1 million for the motion picture industry.

In addition, he said the state spent $3.1 million providing tax deductions for those making campaign contributions of at least $50.

He listed “other” appropriations he considers to be waste, such as $500,000 for the New African Immigrants Commission, $7.9 million for public radio and 53.5 million for the Ohio Arts Council.

Some members of council and Fire Chief II Justin Smith expressed concern that entities supported by property taxes — including the fire department — would suffer funding losses if property taxes are eliminated. But Ferguson pointed to a variety of revenue sources that he said could cover those costs.

Among those other tax collections are: state income taxes that generated $9.5 billion in FY 2024 and $10.8 billion in FY 2023; $60.5 million in severance taxes in FY 2024; $180.8 million in taxes on sports gaming in FY 2024; more than $24 million in taxes on marijuana in FY 2024, though he said that amount may change since it was the first year of collections; and $3.9 billion in sales taxes, not including local sales taxes.

Ferguson also acknowledged there have been conversations among legislators about eliminating the state income tax.

“I have already seen those numbers, and we have the ability to get rid of the state income tax in Ohio,” he said. “But, if the voters act and decide that we’re getting rid of property taxes, well, we’re not going to turn around and get rid of income tax because that would be way too much at one time.”

According to Ferguson, if voters choose to eliminate property taxes, legislators from rural areas will need to band together to protect local governments and vital services. He said if the proposed measure passes in May, the Ohio General Assembly would have about 18 months to ensure that local governments are held harmless.

He said polling seems to show that Ohioans are leaning in favor of eliminating property taxes. He noted that people speaking out can lead to action at the state level, citing the Ohio Department of Transportation’s decision to move up the timeline for repairing and restoring the Blaine Hill Bridge. He said the same thing is happening now in regards to property tax reform.

“Finally, people all across Ohio said, ‘This is too much, and we’re going to take this money away from you because the only way you are going to cut your waste at the state level is if you don’t have the money to just throw around.’ … If it does pass, it’s going to be a fight between local governments, first responders and everybody — schools — that are kind of in this bucket and all of those other people that get all those cushy deals.”

He added that he believes the state should stop providing tax incentives to large businesses, such as Intel, to entice them to locate in Ohio.