Potential tiny home village in Newark could provide affordable housing for low-income families

Originally published for The Reporting Project on Jan. 19, 2024

A proposal for a new tiny home community in Newark could help the city combat the rising cost of living while providing housing for low-income families. 

Newark’s Look Up Center has proposed a tiny home community they are calling Grace Landing to try and provide housing for people facing barriers to renting or owning a home in Licking County. 

Obstacles like steep move-in deposits, previous evictions and the nationwide rising cost of living have kept low-income residents from purchasing homes, according to the 2022 Annual Report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. 

“Fewer than four affordable and available homes existed for every 10 extremely low-income renter households nationwide,” according to the report. 

That lack of affordable housing has translated to the local level, where the median home in Licking County sold for $305,000 in December 2023 — a 5.2% increase from 2022, according to the Redfin Corporation. 

“[This proposal] is a positive because it could be a future home of one of these people that are working poor,” said Patricia Perry, co-founder of Newark Homeless Outreach.

The project fulfills the Look Up Center’s mission of serving the community through “Christ-centered love, education and encouragement,” Executive Director Lori Hubble said. 

“It’s about breaking generational poverty,” Hubble explained, comparing the six-unit tiny home village to Bailey Park, the housing initiative in the Christmas classic film It’s a Wonderful Life. 

“There are a lot of people whose families for generations never owned a home, and all they know is that they can rent,” Hubble said. “We have this space next door that we’re not utilizing, and we have a housing issue.”

Plans for the village include a parking lot, a playground and bike racks for the residents. 

Hubble faced pushback about the proposal, with some Newark residents concerned about how a tiny home village might impact their property values. 

Hubble said she understands their concerns, as well as the commitment required to see this project through. 

But the project, Hubble said, has the potential to make dreams come true, and she doesn’t take that lightly. 

“There’s only one other tiny home community in the state of Ohio and one that’s being built in Columbus now, for the same reason: there is not enough housing,” Hubble said. “[Grace Landing] would be a major investment.” 

Perry agrees.

“If we don’t go do something, people are not going to have any houses,” Perry said.

Tiny home villages like the potential Grace Landing have popped up across the United States, providing housing for low-income individuals and families. Places like the Bluff Street Village in Toledo, Ohio, Emerald Village in Eugene, Oregon and the Other Side Village in Salt Lake City, Utah, have created “sanctuaries” for people who couldn’t otherwise afford homes. 

Grace Landing is still in the early phases of development, but already, the Look Up Center has renderings for construction and plans to employ locals who trained at the center’s Skilled Trade Employment Program (STEP). 

The Look Up Center launched STEP about five years ago to train locals in construction and electrical trades and is ready to bring those residents back to work on the six tiny homes.  

Former mentees of the STEP program can advise and craft the electrical elements of each tiny home, Hubble explained, giving back to the community that built them up. David Stinehelfer, a journeyman electrician and recent STEP graduate, will lead that effort. 

The organization plans to host another neighborhood meeting to discuss the tiny home village and provide answers to concerned residents. 

Grace Landing is just the latest service the Look Up Center hopes to offer residents after 20 years of serving Licking County. Since it launched in 2004, the small nonprofit has provided community members with daycare, low-cost household goods, dental services and rideshare programs. 

Services like these go a  long way, fulfilling needs during difficult times.

“Some of my family have used the dentist when they were unemployed,” said Perry. 

This Saturday, Jan. 20, the nonprofit will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with a pancake breakfast fundraiser.

Ohio quilters support community, each other through handmade projects

Originally published for The Reporting Project on Dec. 5, 2023

Ornate, handmade quilts were on display across the room during November’s Heart of Ohio Quilters Guild meeting, while the women who painstakingly crafted them over days, weeks and months presented their work to other local quilters. 

One by one, members came forward while wearing their hand-quilted name tags to present their works of art to the guild. They displayed quilts that were gifts for family members, commemorations of loss and donations for local charities. 

“I made quilts after my daughter’s death,” explained guild member Renee Lawrence, from Hanover. “I was sitting next to a lady at a grief meeting and she said she was a quilter, and I said, ‘Oh, I like quilting.’ One thing led to another, and now I’m here.” 

Many of the quilters at the guild use their craft to help those in need, guild member Gail Irwin said.

Her quilts, Irwin explained, were not just personal projects. Many of her quilts are for Hugs From the Heart, a quilt philanthropy program started by Heart of Ohio quilters about 30 years ago. 

“We give [quilts] to people that are having a hard time as comfort,” Irwin said during the Nov. 14 meeting. “We don’t always know who is receiving it, but we do get thank-you notes.” 

In 2017, Irwin said the group donated seven quilts to victims of the Kirkersville shooting in Licking County, where the chief of the Kirkersville Police Department and two nursing home employees were killed by a gunman. The group gave several blankets to the late chief’s wife, who was pregnant with their seventh child, and another to the son of one of the victims. Each quilt was adorned in hearts “to remind recipients they are cared about and loved,” Heart of Ohio Quilters said. 

The organization launched in 1990 and officially became a guild in 1991, according to guild president Karen Bergeron. Currently, the group boasts about 100 members, and hosts workshops, classes and shows in addition to their various charity projects like the Hugs from the Heart program. 

Each year, the guild hosts a charity quilt show at Granville’s Bryn Du Mansion, where guild members donate three quilts apiece and can sell items as a fundraiser. 

“It gets a little hectic in the space” during the fundraiser, quilter Marty Warthman said. “We raised about $4,000 this year.” 

Bergeron said she “got the bug” for quilting about 32 years ago after a lifetime of sewing. 

“Between actual quilts and quilting projects, [I’ve completed] probably close to 200,” she said. 

Bergeron helps organize the guild meetings and brings in professional speakers like Tami Pfeil, who spoke at the November meeting. 

At the next meeting on Dec. 19, quilters will be able to present their “challenge” projects and participate in a gift exchange just in time for the holidays. 

Advocates, unhoused community battle dual housing and addiction crises in Licking County

Originally published for The Reporting Project on Nov. 25, 2023

At 28, Matthew Shoemaker spent a week in rehab and then checked himself out, walking from Lancaster to the St. Vincent de Paul homeless shelter in Newark, desperate for refuge. 

After an 8-year prison stint that started when he was just 17 years old, he struggled to reenter society, secure housing and work a stable job. 

“I almost killed myself working two jobs,” he said. “That’s when I came into contact with methamphetamine for the first time.” 

His Adidas-clad feet were planted far apart on the cold concrete, and the bright orange Lorax hat did little to hide Shoemaker’s weariness while standing under the Newark Homeless Outreach Pavilion earlier this year.  

As the dual housing and overdose crises grow in Ohio, some groups are implementing harm reduction strategies and systems — prioritizing safety for all — to help reentering and unhoused citizens like Shoemaker, but advocates say it’s not enough to meet the growing need in Licking County. 

Just last year, 58 people died of overdoses in the county, up from the 47 individuals who died due to overdoses the year before, according to data from the county coroner’s office. 

Housing first

Shoemaker had to spend four nights outside the shelter before he was allowed into St. Vincent de Paul shelter. His criminal record and urinalysis kept him out, so he waited until they would let him in, and then stayed for four months before he relapsed. 

This experience is common–and potentially dangerous. People who use drugs or who are in recovery and who are unhoused are at risk of overdose. According to a study published in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, people returning from incarceration “experience rates of fatal and nonfatal opioid overdose many times higher than the general population.”

Stable housing can be a  step towards recovery for those living on the street. 

“If we can get them a house first, then we can tackle everything else,” said Laura Kennedy, the returning home Ohio and community transition program case manager for Licking County Coalition for Housing. 

But that can be a challenge. Licking County Coalition for Housing had 146 households on their waitlist for housing as of Friday, October 20th. 

On top of the housing delay, Shoemaker faced many systemic difficulties. It took him months to find a job, and the only one he was able to hold was at a Speedway, where he said he was not allowed to take any time off.

“It’s barrier after barrier and if you were out on the street and you kept hitting this roadblock and you didn’t have people like some of our volunteers help you, what do you think you would do? You would stay on the street,” said Nancy Welu, a volunteer at Newark Homeless Outreach. “Maybe you’d turn to drugs and alcohol to help you cope.”  

Many people who’ve needed assistance with housing have also turned to Southeastern Ohio Legal Services (SEOLS), an organization working to provide civil legal aid to people facing housing discrimination and security, as well as domestic issues, retaining Social Security benefits and getting their driver’s license back. 

Both lawyers Ann Roche and Bill Canterberry echo the common belief: Licking County lacks affordable housing. 

“Supplies [are] so limited and it’s crumbling and we don’t remodel when we need to,” Roche explained. “The housing stock is small and it’s just old in Ohio.” 

SEOLS said some of the challenges with the aging affordable housing stock make it even harder to secure housing for those who need it: lead pipes and paint in homes, as well as inaccessible units for those with disabilities and the elderly, coupled with discrimination from landlords create major barriers across the board. 

Some landlords in Licking County have refused to take vouchers from the Licking Metropolitan Housing Authority for subsidized housing, a practice that remains legal in the county, SEOLS said. 

Other parts of Ohio, though, including Cuyahoga County and the City of Columbus have passed ordinances deeming it unlawful to discriminate against someone based on how they pay their rent. 

“It is discrimination on the basis of poverty, which on its face is legal,” Roche explained. “There are ways you can show its disproportionate impact on women, and racial minorities. On its face you’re allowed to discriminate against poor people.”  

Lower barriers

Licking County faces a severe lack of low-barrier shelters, where individuals are allowed to stay regardless of their sobriety status or criminal history. The challenge of housing unhoused people in the county is typically remedied through the use of shelters like St. Vincent’s Haven or the Salvation Army, both of which have barriers or mandate people be sober before they can stay at the shelter.  

St. Vincent’s requires conferences with case workers twice a week, background checks, and mandatory drug tests, and residents must be out of the shelter from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

For people who use drugs and need housing, these are hurdles. 

“Low barrier means that individuals can access immediate emergency shelter regardless of their status,” said Deb Dingus, the executive director of United Way of Licking County. “Perhaps with a charge that’s outstanding, or despite their drug use, and testing, all those sorts of things that may preclude them from other places of emergency shelter.”   

Dingus is also the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Newark. She’s worked with several volunteers to create a drop-in shelter at the church on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This drop-in time allows unhoused people to come inside, get a sack lunch, use the bathroom, charge their phones, and rest. It’s helped fill a hole left by Vertical 196, a day shelter in Newark, which recently closed. Dingus also helps to run a weekly dinner on Wednesday night which anyone is welcome to attend. Volunteers bring food and everyone sits together, shares their faith, and enjoys a home-cooked meal.

“We’re just a church extending God’s love, feeding the hungry, trying to shelter unsheltered people, providing services where we can,” said Dingus.  

Mallory Meeker, a formerly unhoused person who now works for Whole Living Recovery, a sober rehabilitation house, explained that living on the street can be mentally and physically dangerous. 

Drugs like heroin and fentanyl are appealing to numb pain and methamphetamine is appealing to stave off fatigue and stay sharp, Meeker said. The issue of substance use and the housing crisis go hand-in-hand and the many regulations of shelters in the area and lack of broader resources hold people back from getting proper housing and proper care, she said. 

“We owe that to this community, the nonprofits, this organization, Newark, and our county,” Meeker said. “There’s so many people that have donated their time, money, food, clothing to help save our lives.”

Shoemaker understands what it’s like to live with substance use disorder, and understands that housing is harm reduction. 

“A week after I relapsed I started shooting again, and I shot all the way up to almost 6o days ago,” Shoemaker said.

Now Shoemaker volunteers at Newark Homeless Outreach, providing resources for unhoused people.

Despite all of this help, the problem is growing, and these organizations still need more support if they’re expected to expand their solutions.

House Bill 50 could increase access to homes for some unhoused people in Ohio

Originally published for The Reporting Project on Nov. 16, 2023

As temperatures around central Ohio drop, unhoused residents in Licking County worry about surviving the winter without a roof over their heads. 

“We’re talking about a large number of people that are suffering, and are going to suffer even more,” said Eric Lee, 67, of the Newark Think Tank on Poverty. 

Lee has experienced homelessness himself and faced major obstacles in finding housing due to his criminal record. He now has decades of work addressing these issues under his belt. 

A new bill working its way through the Ohio Legislature targeting housing accessibility for people like Lee with prior criminal convictions might help them get back on their feet. 

House Bill 50, introduced by Reps. Latyna Humphrey (D-Columbus) and Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati), would help individuals re-entering society by creating a program to issue certificates of qualification for housing. 

“It is a certificate you will get from your sentencing court after you’ve gone through programming to show you’re working,” Humphrey said. “The judge can make the decision if he or she will provide the certificate.” 

Humphrey says she understands the struggles of reentry better than most lawmakers. 

“I’m a daughter of a re-entering citizen,” she explained. “I’ve seen how much [my mom] struggled growing up with trying to find housing despite having an education. Once you get an F on your back, it becomes hard.” 

These certificates, Humphrey said, create a pathway for people to access housing, rather than leaving them on the street where they may be arrested again. 

The criminalization of homelessness is an ongoing problem, advocates say. Bans on sleeping in public places and cars are becoming more common across the country, including close to home in Wheeling and Parkersburg, West Virginia, according to the National Homelessness Law Center. 

And first-time offenders or people who have been to prison once experience homelessness at a rate seven times higher than the general population. For those who have multiple prison stays, that rate is 13 times higher than the general population, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

According to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2022, there were 10,615 unhoused people on a given night in Ohio. 

These certificates, Humphrey said, are essentially “a legal object of good faith,” though there’s no guarantee it will immediately provide them with housing. Because the certificates are not binding, no mandate exists for landlords to accept them. 

“I don’t know if a lot of landlords would necessarily honor [them], but I think it would be helpful,” said Laura Kennedy, a case manager for the Licking County Coalition for Housing. “A lot of clients have previous evictions or arson and a lot of barriers that would prevent them from housing.”

Humphrey said House Bill 50 “is not enough,” but is a good step in the right direction. 

The bill has already passed the state House of Representatives and is currently making its way through committee hearings in the Senate. 

Passage can’t come soon enough, advocates say, as community resources in Licking County have been crippled in recent months, and outside change does not seem to be happening at the necessary rate. 

Lee is concerned that effective change may not happen until it is too late for some. “I hope this never happens, but it seems like it’s always the case when it comes to change: Something tragic has to happen,” Lee said. “I don’t want anyone to have to die because of this.”

Earlier this year, the Licking County Jail Ministries-operated shelter, Vertical 196, closed its doors after five years of operations. The organization offered laundry and shower facilities, clean clothes, haircuts, access to the internet and rides to rehabilitation centers for those who need them. Without an outlet like this, a 24-hour day becomes less and less manageable for people on the streets. 

“You almost lose your soul, and you do sorta give up hope,” Lee said. “Hope is something, you know. When you don’t have hopes for anything being better the next day, you gotta live through a day that’s just like hell, and you know you got the same life tomorrow. All these charities like Coalition for Care, they do what they can but it’s just not enough.”

While Lee is housed now, he said something like the proposed certificate for housing could have gone a long way to help him find housing in his earlier years. 

Each year, around 700 unhoused people across the country die of hypothermia, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. With temperatures in Ohio already in the 30-degree range, finding shelter each night will be crucial for the survival of the growing population of unhoused residents in Licking County. 

Licking County harm reduction summit brings specialists to Granville for discussions on drug decriminalization, future

Originally published for The Reporting Project on Nov. 8, 2023

On Friday, Nov. 3, the Granville Inn was home to the 2023 Ohio Harm Reduction Summit, featuring three distinct panels and a speech from keynote speaker Dr. Carl Hart. 

About 100 harm reduction specialists from across the region gathered in Granville to discuss the decriminalization of drugs for mothers and those who give birth, the growing psychedelic movement to improve mental health, and the future of harm reduction in Ohio. 

As a practice, harm reduction calls for advocates to prioritize safety for individuals who use drugs. Rather than preventing drug use, it encourages people to seek and provide the safest possible conditions for individuals who use illicit drugs.

In central Ohio, organizations like Harm Reduction Ohio — the organization responsible for Friday’s conference — use harm reduction strategies to provide resources like naloxone and fentanyl test strips. 

Those resources are vital in Licking County, where more than 100 individuals died due to drug overdoses between 2021 and 2022 according to data from the county coroner’s office. Complete data for 2023 was not available at time of publication. 

Fentanyl —sometimes mixed with other drugs unbeknownst to the user — was involved in a vast majority of overdose deaths in 2021 and 2022. Having a fentanyl-free drug supply could help save lives, advocates said during the conference. 

“Right now, [harm reduction] is policy and advocacy work: specifically safer supply and drug checking,” said Rick Barclay, the community relations manager for harm reduction at Equitas Health. “We hope to reduce harm tangibly. Having a consistent supply that is predictable is one of the safest things we can do for people.”

At the initial Harm Reduction Summit five years ago, organizer Dennis Cauchon said just 21 people attended — and those 21 were the only harm reduction specialists in Ohio at the time. 

This year, Cauchon said the conference had to be “capped” at 100 attendees from various harm reduction organizations across Ohio. 

“Harm reduction is so important in our work because people’s substance use or misuse does not stop them from engaging in our program,” explained Chelsea Dodson, a patient advocate at the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program in Athens. “We want to meet people where they’re at, and sometimes that includes people who are actively using substances.”

At the summit, panels of individuals who have experienced drug addiction during childbirth, as well as those who use drugs to treat mental health issues, discussed the future of harm reduction strategies in Ohio. 

Barclay, who previously used drugs and was incarcerated, says his experience with recovery gives him a unique understanding of harm reduction policies and how they impact others. He got involved in harm reduction around 2016, when there were few programs offering treatment like that in Ohio. 

“There weren’t many programs operating in the state at the time,” he said. “Failure was not an option. We did what we had to do the way we had to do it.”

Jamie Decker, Ohio Health Department’s harm reduction coordinator and peer support specialist understands this as well.

“We have a safe work syringe service,” Decker said. “It’s not an exchange. We provide syringes, condoms, and lube.We have people available to test for Hep C, HIV, Syphilis, then those folks can get them connected to some kind of treatment.”

Obtaining resources like clean syringes and naloxone can be a challenge for individuals who use drugs, but access to them is vital to prevent dangerous infections like HIV and AIDS. Testing for Hepatitis C and syphilis, too, mitigates significant danger. 

“Right now I’m doing the mail order shipping, for individuals who put in Naloxone orders online,” said HRO’s Kelsey Caitlin. “When it’s warm in Ohio we’ll hit fairs, we’ll table and talk about naloxone. I like to call myself the legs, I do a lot of the groundwork.”

Though Harm Reduction Ohio is based in Licking County, it supports networks and weekly syringe programs in several counties across the state.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film brings concert to Licking County

Originally published for The Reporting Project on Oct. 20, 2023

The Taylor Swift Eras Tour has kicked off its latest leg, this time on the silver screen in thousands of theaters around the world, bringing the multimillion-dollar concert closer to home at the Indian Mound Mall in Heath. 

In a deal with AMC Theatres, Swift released a film version of The Eras Tour, featuring a truncated version of the concert. For Swift fans, this film is a Love Story made in heaven, of which their idol is the Mastermind. Opening night showings at the Heath theater were sold out as hundreds of Swifties flocked to see the film Friday, Oct. 13.

The concert, which features 146 dates in locations across Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America, began in early 2023 and is slated to come to a close in late 2024. 

While that is a wide range of locations, these concerts are, of course, taking place in major cities. For people in small towns, and people without access to increasingly expensive transportation or increasingly expensive concert tickets, attending this tour meant getting over obstacles Bigger Than The Whole Sky. 

In November of 2022, there was a snafu with Ticketmaster, which caused many people to either not get tickets, or spend more than they had anticipated. Swift responded to the debacle, mentioning her disdain for the hardship some fans had to go through. 

“It pisses me off that a lot of them [fans] feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them [tickets],” Swift said. 

Though face-value tickets to the tour ranged from $49 to $499 (with resale values averaging $3,801, according to Business Insider), tickets to the film cost a self-referential $19.89, an allusion to Swift’s birth year and the title of her fifth album. That price is a 71% increase from the $11.62 average price for AMC tickets. In its opening weekend, the film brought in an estimated $95- $97 million at the domestic box office, according to the Associated Press. 

However, Swift provided an opportunity for fans who wish they could go Back to December to try and get tickets. 

Donning sparkling dresses and the friendship bracelets traditionally seen at Swift’s concerts, fans of all ages packed into the completely sold-out theater. 

“My favorite is ‘1989’, but there are too many songs to pick a favorite,” said Misty Knight, 40, of Newark. “I love ‘Style.’ I love ‘Champagne Problems.’ I love ‘Tolerate it.’ She’s here for ‘Vigilante Shit,’” Knight said, poking her fiancee Tiffany.  

“I was not able to go on the Eras tour,” said Amber Young. “I watched her Netflix episode of her previous one and it’s so well done, so I was like, ‘I have to come to this, I missed the tour.’” 

This thrill was not a rare sentiment, as the theater’s air was electric with Swifty excitement.

“No, we weren’t able to see the Eras tour,” said Tiffany Knight, 42, of Newark. “I’m super pumped, this is my space. I don’t do big crowds, if I’m gonna see it this is how I’m gonna see it.” 

This enthusiasm was shared between fans who saw the tour and those who did not see it. 

“I went to Cincinnati in July,” said Dorothy Ellis. “I bought the tickets [for the movie] immediately.” 

Ellis attended the film clad in friendship bracelets — a staple of the Eras tour wardrobe. Hers featured song names alongside green, blue, and orange beads. 

“Some of them I made for the tour,” Ellis explained. “We made a bunch of them last night.” 

The atmosphere inside the theater was just as thrilling. Kids were dancing at the front of the theater, and applause scored the end of every song. When Swift would pause in her concert to work the crowd, the audience in the theater would cheer as if it were happening live. The mother and daughter in E4 and E5 embraced, singing throughout the whole film. 

Duncan Curry, 20, of Elburn Illinois, sat transfixed in seat E2. As the film ended Curry had that James Dean daydream look in his eyes, like he wanted to ask God if she could play it again. 

Newark Pride Festival: diversity and inclusion, small-town Ohio style

Originally published for The Reporting Project on Oct. 11, 2023

Between hugging and talking with strangers at Newark Ohio Pride Coalition’s Pride festival, Free Mom Hugs member Nancy Pagliaro did her part to make everyone feel welcome and valued.

“We do it for the children,” Pagliaro said. “Sometimes, they just want a hug or someone to talk to.”      

Pagliaro has worked with the organization Free Mom Hugs for about two years now, striving to create a more sensitive and encouraging environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community in central Ohio. 

When Pagliaro’s daughter came out as trans at 21 years old, Pagliaro and her husband John, who works at Capital University, did everything they could to support her.

“He’s done some things on [Capital’s] campus to promote inclusiveness there as well,” Pagliaro said. “Seeing him do that helped my daughter a lot.”

Though Pride celebrations typically happen during summer, this event began in early October. 

“I think it’s wonderful, and I love that they’re doing this in October,” Pagliaro said. “So many do them in June and you really have to divide your resources.”

The festival began at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, with The People’s Lighting of the Licking County Courthouse, when attendees shined their own flashlights on the building. 

The lighting is significant, organizers said, because Licking County officials have declined requests to light up the courthouse for the celebration. 

“We do this with people-power because our Licking County officials have continued to deny our requests to light the courthouse in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride, even though it is a federally recognized celebration,” Newark Ohio Pride Coalition President Dash Groves said in a news release. “Until they honor our request, we will continue to make ourselves visible.” 

The main event on Saturday saw Canal Market District just south of the courthouse flooded with vendors and patrons, featuring dancers, singers, and speakers. The Pride Coalition began this tradition in 2018, and it has drawn participation from a wide variety of groups, such as the Licking County Coalition for Housing, the Gay-Straight Alliance, and all manner of independent artists. 

“It’s important to express pride when you can in public,” said Rita Kipp of Granville. “I’ve been coming to Pride for several years; this is not my first rodeo. I think it’s great. It’s necessary in this climate.” 

Kipp represented Ohio Democrats at a tent giving out signs to vote on Issue 1. 

“I think it’s great for a town like Newark to have a festival like this to show even small towns have a queer community,” said Cody Snare of Marion, “and that we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Snare has been performing drag under the name Patty Cakes for eight years and performs in shows across Ohio.

Patty can be seen performing at the Toolbox Saloon in Columbus once a month and currently holds the title of Ms. Toolbox.

“I normally perform about six or seven times a month, all over the state of Ohio,” Snare said. “I went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and performed at a pageant.”

On top of so many diverse voices, the event was scored by DJ IamUnecc, who kept positive, high-energy songs bumping throughout.

Average home values are up 40%, but Licking County auditor says property tax bills won’t jump that high

Originally published for The Reporting Project on Oct. 3, 2023

The recent reappraisal of Licking County properties left some owners in shock and wondering how high their tax bills might go.

The short answer from Licking County Auditor Michael L. Smith is that the bills won’t go as high as some property owners might think.

“A fair thing to say is that, regardless of the increase in valuation, the tax bill increase won’t be one-for-one,” Smith said.

In this year’s revaluation, the average increase in residential property values in Licking County since 2020 is 40%.

Property values are reassessed every three years. A letter sent by Smith’s office in late August told owners that the latest reappraisal, required by the state, is based on recent sales and reflects the 2023 market value.

Smith wrote in the letter that “despite potentially historic increases in property values, property taxes will not increase or decrease by the same percentage as property value.”

Smith told The Reporting Project he understands that “it’s hard to think that it’s not going up,” but even in some cases in which property values went up, it’s possible that some owners will see their taxes stay virtually unchanged or decrease.

He said he even heard from his mother after his letter went out at the end of August. “My 87-year-old mother calls and says, ‘I got your letter!’ She said, ‘It doubled!’”

“We did the math, and no, it didn’t double,” Smith said, but he understands the concern and said again that the message is that “it’s not one-for-one” in terms of percentage increase in market value and tax bills.

The average increase in appraised market value for commercial real estate is 32%, and the average increase for industrial property is 48%, Smith said.

He said his office can’t calculate tax bills now for a couple of reasons: Any levy approved by voters in the Nov. 7 election would affect the tax bills in that jurisdiction, and his office won’t receive the state-calculated effective tax rates for the county until late this year.

He noted that any tax approved in November is generally retroactive and collected for the entire year, unless the ballot language says otherwise. So a new tax approved on Nov. 7 will be collected for all of 2023.

Smith said some residents have asked whether the sale of 1,000 acres of farmland in western Licking County for construction by Intel of the world’s largest computer-chip manufacturing campus was a factor in the increase in property values. He said it was not a factor in this reappraisal, but that the presence of Intel and the rising demand for housing could affect property values in the future – in Licking County and beyond.

“We asked property owners to call us if they want to come in for an informal meeting to discuss the reappraisal,” Smith said in late September. “We’ve had 150 people say they want to come in and see us.”

Given that there are 85,000 parcels in the county, he said, “I tell my staff that’s an A.” 

If owners believe their property appraisal is incorrect and want to challenge it, they have that right, Smith said. “We want to help people,” he said. “If they deserve a reduction, they’ll get it.”

Property taxes support schools, fire and safety services, parks, cemeteries, and such programs as those for recreation, mental health, children services, senior citizens, and local governments. 

Smith said that school districts receive the largest share of property tax revenue, and it also is the single largest source of funding for most districts, which also receive some money from the state, and some also collect voter-approved income taxes. 

“Our largest source of revenue is property tax, so we’re dependent on property tax for the majority of our funding,” said Granville School District Treasurer Brittany Treolo.

Treolo said that a 0.75% income tax renewal approved by voters in May, along with property taxes and some other funds, are expected to sustain the district without the need for additional levy requests for the next five years. The income tax provides about 20% of the district’s total budget. 

“Through the five-year forecast period, we are not anticipating the need for a new levy,” Treolo said, and she hopes that anxiety about property taxes will be reduced when bills are calculated.

“We passed the income tax levy (in 2023) for another five years; that has shown to be successful,” Treolo said. “We’ve seen that grow even during the pandemic when some other districts struggled. It’s been a successful model that we’ve used. It’s now 20% of our revenue. To lose that would be challenging, and it would have to be replaced with some other funding source.”

Some homeowners have expressed concern that the schools will receive a windfall in funding because an increase in property values will result in higher tax bills for some owners, but Treolo said this is not the case.

She said the effective tax rate is adjusted so that the district collects the total annual amount voters approved.