Beavercreek residents have rejected an earned income tax five times since 1984. However, city leaders are trying again, aiming to put this measure on the November ballot.
According to the city’s finance director, in 2025, Beavercreek had a little more than $53 million in revenue. About $30 million came from property taxes.
During last month’s city council meeting, Councilman Pete Bales said having only property taxes as the city’s primary revenue source is not sustainable. He supports a 1% earned income tax to give the city a more diverse revenue source.
"We are restructuring the way our revenue is to be more fair, more balanced, and more sustainable," Bales said. "This approach provides real relief to homeowners. It protects our seniors whose retirement income is not subject to income tax, and importantly, a significant portion of that income tax will be paid by non-residents who work here and use our infrastructure every day."
City staff are creating the ordinance language that Beavercreek voters may see on the November ballot.
On April 27, Beavercreek’s city council members will vote on whether or not to put this issue on the November ballot.
If voters accept this plan, it will go into effect July 1, 2027.
It would directly affect nearly 23,000 non-residents who work in Beavercreek and about 3,000 who work and live here. A Miami University study estimated that if the city had an earned income tax in 2024, it would have collected more than $19 million.
The money would go into the city’s general fund to cover the costs of various infrastructure projects, purchase equipment and add needed staff.
But long-time resident Harold Lewis doesn’t like the idea of city leaders having access to these dollars. He wants a written guarantee requiring a resident's vote before any changes can be made to the amount of an earned income tax.
"What's going to keep the state from coming out and saying, 'hey, city council, you can increase the earnings tax, say a half percent,'" Lewis said. "I want to see something in there that prohibits that."
However, city attorney Josh Lounsbury said Beavercreek’s city charter already provides this protection.
"State law says that any time that a city wants an income tax greater than 1%, so if we wanted to raise the income tax that would require voter approval," Lounsbury said. "Even if the state law changed, the city's charter would require us to go back to the citizens for any increase."
With the proposed earned income tax, several types of income would be exempt. That includes pensions, 401Ks and IRAs, Social Security, active-duty military pay, qualifying military spouse income, child support and unemployment compensation.
Beavercreek has a population of almost 50,000.
Under this proposal, city residents who already pay at least a 1% municipal income tax to another city will not pay anything to the city of Beavercreek. However, if the community where they work has no income tax or a rate less than 1%, they would pay the difference up to 1%.
Beavercreek resident Debbie Alberico urges all residents to trust the city council members they voted into office.
"The city council has committees that look at the budget, they scrutinize the budget, that’s still going on that’s still going to happen. These city council people are voted in, they’re elected officials. So why don’t we trust them?" Alberico said. "The time to get them out is if you don’t like what they’re doing, you vote them out when they’re up for re-election. You don’t not pass a levy. "
Additionally, city leaders say they will permanently eliminate 9.5% of the 19% property taxes it currently collects. That would be a revenue loss of about $15 million. However, his will translate into an annual savings of almost $233 dollars for the owner of a $100,000 home.
