Effective: March 27, 2020
Latest Legislation: House Bill 197 - 133rd General Assembly
(A) A county shall not incur, without a vote of the electors, either of the following:
(1) Net indebtedness for all purposes that exceeds an amount equal to one per cent of its tax valuation;
(2) Net indebtedness for the purpose of paying the county's share of the cost of the construction, improvement, maintenance, or repair of state highways that exceeds an amount equal to one-half of one per cent of its tax valuation.
(B) A county shall not incur total net indebtedness that exceeds an amount equal to one of the following limitations that applies to the county:
(1) A county with a valuation not exceeding one hundred million dollars, three per cent of that tax valuation;
(2) A county with a tax valuation exceeding one hundred million dollars but not exceeding three hundred million dollars, three million dollars plus one and one-half per cent of that tax valuation in excess of one hundred million dollars;
(3) A county with a tax valuation exceeding three hundred million dollars, six million dollars plus two and one-half per cent of that tax valuation in excess of three hundred million dollars.
(C) In calculating the net indebtedness of a county, none of the following securities shall be considered:
(1) Securities described in section 307.201 of the Revised Code;
(2) Self-supporting securities issued for any purposes, including, but not limited to, any of the following general purposes:
(a) Water systems or facilities;
(b) Sanitary sewerage systems or facilities, or surface and storm water drainage and sewerage systems or facilities, or a combination of those systems or facilities;
(c) County or joint county scrap tire collection, storage, monocell, monofill, or recovery facilities, or any combination of those facilities;
(d) Off-street parking lots, facilities, or buildings, or on-street parking facilities, or any combination of off-street and on-street parking facilities;
(e) Facilities for the care or treatment of the sick or infirm, and for housing the persons providing that care or treatment and their families;
(f) Recreational, sports, convention, auditorium, museum, trade show, and other public attraction facilities;
(g) Facilities for natural resources exploration, development, recovery, use, and sale;
(h) Correctional and detention facilities and related rehabilitation facilities.
(3) Securities issued for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving, or extending water or sanitary or surface and storm water sewerage systems or facilities, or a combination of those systems or facilities, to the extent that an agreement entered into with another subdivision requires the other subdivision to pay to the county amounts equivalent to debt charges on the securities;
(4) Voted general obligation securities issued for the purpose of permanent improvements for sanitary sewerage or water systems or facilities to the extent that the total principal amount of voted securities outstanding for the purpose does not exceed an amount equal to two per cent of the county's tax valuation;
(5) Securities issued for permanent improvements to house agencies, departments, boards, or commissions of the county or of any municipal corporation located, in whole or in part, in the county, to the extent that the revenues, other than revenues from unvoted county property taxes, derived from leases or other agreements between the county and those agencies, departments, boards, commissions, or municipal corporations relating to the use of the permanent improvements are sufficient to cover the cost of all operating expenses of the permanent improvements paid by the county and debt charges on the securities;
(6) Securities issued pursuant to section 133.08 of the Revised Code;
(7) Securities issued for the purpose of acquiring or constructing roads, highways, bridges, or viaducts, for the purpose of acquiring or making other highway permanent improvements, or for the purpose of procuring and maintaining computer systems for the office of the clerk of any county-operated municipal court, for the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas, or for the office of the clerk of the probate, juvenile, or domestic relations division of the court of common pleas to the extent that the legislation authorizing the issuance of the securities includes a covenant to appropriate from moneys distributed to the county pursuant to division (B) of section 2101.162, 2151.541, 2153.081, 2301.031, or 2303.201 or Chapter 4501., 4503., 4504., or 5735. of the Revised Code a sufficient amount to cover debt charges on and financing costs relating to the securities as they become due;
(8) Securities issued for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, improving, and equipping a county, multicounty, or multicounty-municipal jail, workhouse, juvenile detention facility, or correctional facility;
(9) Securities issued for the acquisition, construction, equipping, or repair of any permanent improvement or any class or group of permanent improvements enumerated in a resolution adopted pursuant to division (D) of section 5739.026, or under division (J) of section 5739.09, of the Revised Code to the extent that the legislation authorizing the issuance of the securities includes a covenant to appropriate from moneys received from the taxes authorized under section 5739.023 and division (A)(5) of section 5739.026, or under division (J) of section 5739.09 of the Revised Code, respectively, an amount sufficient to pay debt charges on the securities and those moneys shall be pledged for that purpose;
(10) Securities issued for county or joint county solid waste or hazardous waste collection, transfer, or disposal facilities, or resource recovery and solid or hazardous waste recycling facilities, or any combination of those facilities;
(11) Securities issued for the acquisition, construction, and equipping of a port authority educational and cultural facility under section 307.671 of the Revised Code;
(12) Securities issued for the acquisition, construction, equipping, and improving of a municipal educational and cultural facility under division (B)(1) of section 307.672 of the Revised Code;
(13) Securities issued for energy conservation measures under section 307.041 of the Revised Code;
(14) Securities issued for the acquisition, construction, equipping, improving, or repair of a sports facility, including obligations issued to pay costs of a sports facility under section 307.673 of the Revised Code;
(15) Securities issued under section 755.17 of the Revised Code if the legislation authorizing issuance of the securities includes a covenant to appropriate from revenue received from a tax authorized under division (A)(5) of section 5739.026 and section 5741.023 of the Revised Code an amount sufficient to pay debt charges on the securities, and the board of county commissioners pledges that revenue for that purpose, pursuant to section 755.171 of the Revised Code;
(16) Sales tax supported bonds issued pursuant to section 133.081 of the Revised Code for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, improving, or equipping any permanent improvement to the extent that the legislation authorizing the issuance of the sales tax supported bonds pledges county sales taxes to the payment of debt charges on the sales tax supported bonds and contains a covenant to appropriate from county sales taxes a sufficient amount to cover debt charges or the financing costs related to the sales tax supported bonds as they become due;
(17) Bonds or notes issued under section 133.60 of the Revised Code if the legislation authorizing issuance of the bonds or notes includes a covenant to appropriate from revenue received from a tax authorized under division (A)(9) of section 5739.026 and section 5741.023 of the Revised Code an amount sufficient to pay the debt charges on the bonds or notes, and the board of county commissioners pledges that revenue for that purpose;
(18) Securities issued under section 3707.55 of the Revised Code for the acquisition of real property by a general health district;
(19) Securities issued under division (A)(3) of section 3313.37 of the Revised Code for the acquisition of real and personal property by an educational service center;
(20) Securities issued for the purpose of paying the costs of acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, renovating, rehabilitating, expanding, adding to, equipping, furnishing, or otherwise improving an arena, convention center, or a combination of an arena and convention center under section 307.695 of the Revised Code;
(21) Securities issued for the purpose of paying project costs under section 307.678 of the Revised Code;
(22) Securities issued for the purpose of paying project costs under section 307.679 of the Revised Code.
(D) In calculating the net indebtedness of a county, no obligation incurred under division (F) of section 339.06 of the Revised Code shall be considered.