Spouses of first responders killed on job would get aid

Official: Give yearly $50,000 property tax exemption.

Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo wants Ohio lawmakers to give a $50,000 property tax exemption per year to surviving spouses of police officers, paramedics and firefighters killed on the job.

“The purpose of this is to honor the life of the first-responders and aid the spouse in a very difficult time,” Mingo said Thursday, adding that his proposal should be retroactive for surviving spouses and continue until they die or remarry.

Mingo estimates the tax exemption will cost taxpayers “about $150,000” annually.

“Because of the beneficiary,” Mingo said, “we should be honored to pay it.”

His research shows there have been 120 first-responders killed on the job in Ohio in the past 15 years. Each surviving spouse, as well as surviving spouses in the future, would be eligible for the tax exemption under Mingo’s proposal. That means they would pay less property tax on their homes.

If the proposal becomes law, the surviving spouse of a first-responder killed on the job with a home valued at $200,000 would pay property taxes on the house as if it were valued at $150,000.

Another Mingo initiative, which has been implemented, provides a property tax exemption for disabled veterans. That exemption, Mingo said, has cost Ohio taxpayers “to date, well under half a millions dollars.”

Mingo, a Republican who was appointed county auditor in 2009 and won elections in 2010 and 2014, announced his proposal a day after the deadline to file to run for his job. He has two challengers.

Is Mingo’s proposal a move to impress voters?

“It absolutely is not,” Mingo said. “This is legislation we conceived while I was on the state treasurer trail.”

Mingo considered running for Ohio treasurer but couldn’t raise the money needed for the statewide campaign and dropped out.

Mingo is working with Reps. Tim Ginter, R-Salem, and Andrew Brenner, R-Powell, to turn his proposal into Ohio law. It could be introduced, Mingo said, as early as next week.

Mingo’s opponent Michael Stinziano, a Columbus City Council member, called the timing of Mingo’s proposal “a little obvious.” But he said that as long as the exemption is strictly limited to spouses of police officers, firefighters and paramedics killed on the job, it seems like a good idea. “The devil’s in the details,” Stinziano said.

Mingo’s other opponent, James H. Robinson, couldn’t be reached to comment.