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Your Tax Dollars

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When residents entrust their tax dollars to the City of Hilliard, how is it re-invested in our community?

The City of Hilliard’s primary funding source is a 2-percent income tax paid by individuals who

  • work within Hilliard corporate limits (regardless of where they live) or
  • live in this community and do not pay at least 2-percent local income tax to another municipality.

Hilliard’s income tax rate is lower than that collected by Columbus, Upper Arlington, and Worthington residents (2.5 percent) and is the same as that paid by communities such as Dublin, Grove City, and Westerville. Residents who work in any of those communities get a 2-percent credit and do not pay income taxes to Hilliard.

Regardless of whether they pay income taxes to the City, every Hilliard resident age 18 and older must file an income tax form through RITA – the Regional Income Tax Agency. A link to RITA can be found at https://hilliardohio.gov/taxes/.

How does the City invest the money entrusted to us by our taxpayers?

  • Two-thirds of our expenditures are for operating expenses. As is typical in a municipal government, most of those operating expenses pay for the staff who have the most direct effect on our residents’ daily lives: police, recreation and parks, and public service workers who handle projects such as snow plowing and leaf collection. Safety is a core priority, and our men and women in blue represent 57 percent of our staffing costs. Rec and parks and public service comprise another 25 percent of our personnel.
  • 25 percent of our funds are reinvested into the community through capital improvement projects such as transportation, infrastructure, parkland acquisition and development, the HiFiO fiber optic network, and vehicles. In 2020, $15.4 million has been scheduled for capital improvement projects.
  • 10 percent is allocated for street maintenance. Whenever possible, the City uses existing funds rather than by borrowing to avoid paying interest to fix potholes and resurface neighborhood streets.

Our efficient use of resources was one of the reasons the City received a Aaa bond rating in 2019. That is the highest rating Moody’s provides. Moody’s also reports that it projects a stable outlook for the City’s financial future. As of 2019, only 15 other municipalities in Ohio had a Aaa rating.

Where the City is primarily funded through income taxes, property taxes are largely invested in Hilliard City Schools, Franklin County, and Norwich Township (mostly for fire services). The City of Hilliard receives just 1.74 percent of local property taxes (less than two cents of every dollar collected.)

Questions About Local Taxes?

Find more information about local taxes (as well as our City financial reports) at https://hilliardohio.gov/departments/finance/.

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