Buckeye Reporter

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has been late paying property taxes in Cleveland and Washington, D.C. ten times since 2006. That’s according to a review of county tax records by the Buckeye Reporter.

Brown also took a potentially illegal tax credit on two Ohio properties in violation of Ohio's Owner Occupancy Tax Credit, which allows property owners to receive a 2.5% reduction credit on property taxes for their primary residence. 

In addition to the Cleveland and DC properties, Brown also has owned a property in Columbus since 2014, and according to Franklin County property tax records, he has taken the owner occupied credit there since at least 2019.

In order to have two owner occupancy credits, a married couple must show they reside separately. Brown and his wife Connie Schultz are registered to vote at their Cleveland address, 4471 Sexton Road.

Regarding their Cleveland property purchased in 2013, records kept by the Cuyahoga County treasurer show that the couple were late paying at least seven times and incurred $953.82 in penalties for tax years between 2014 and 2022.

For the tax bill due in 2015 (for 2014), Brown and his wife were delinquent in the amount of $1,198.20. Installments were due on Jan. 22, 2015 and July 13, 2015, but Brown and his wife did not pay the bill until Oct. 21, 2015. 

When property owners are late paying by the installment due date - in January and July - an interest charge is incurred. Taxes are delinquent when both deadlines are missed. 

Brown and his wife were late paying property taxes on the Cleveland property as recently as in 2023 (for 2022). The first half payment was due by Feb. 9, 2023 and Brown did not pay until Feb. 22, 2023. 

The couple were also late paying in 2016 (for 2015), in 2018 (for 2017), in 2019 (for 2018), in 2020 (for 2019) and in 2022 (for 2021).  

For the Washington, DC condo first purchased in 1993, Brown was delinquent in 2006, 2007 and 2011 property taxes, for amounts due of less than $1,000 each year. He paid a total of $869.92 in interest and penalites for the condo. 

In 2007, Brown's condo was put on an auction list for delinquent property taxes. He paid the tax and kept the property.

When a reporter asked him about it in 2012, he told the Plain Dealer, “I misplaced the bill and I paid it as soon as I found out. I paid a penalty for being late, and it won't happen again.”

Of the late payments for the DC condo in 2006 and 2007, he told the Plain Dealer, "I misplaced it then. This is a small apartment. I'm not in DC nearly every week, I'm here when the Senate's in session, I'm here three or four nights a week. I paid the penalty. And in no way, obviously, was I avoiding taxes."

For the late property taxes due in Cleveland, former Cuyahoga County Treasurer W. Christopher Murray told a reporter for Cleveland.com that a large majority of delinquencies are for less than $10,000 and a lot of small delinquencies add up to a lot of money. 

Public schools across the country rely predominantly on property taxes to fund operations. 

According to Cleveland.com, Murray said, "It’s a burden that falls disproportionately on some communities, especially when it comes to schools - the biggest recipient of property tax dollars.”

Brown, first elected to the Senate in 2006, is seeking his third term. He faces conservative Republican Bernie Moreno.