Bethel Twp.
Trustees are asking for an additional 1.5-mills for current expenses from residents in the unincorporated area.
The property tax levy is expected to bring in about $250,000 annually to nearly replace cuts to the estate tax and local government funding from the state, Township Fiscal Office Melanie Cochran said.
“It will replace a shortfall for at least the next five years,” Cochran said. “We tried to appropriately calculate the millage so it would last for the length of the levy.”
If approved, the new property tax would go to the general fund to cover expenses related to administration, parks, most of the cemeteries, nuisance abatement and matching funds for grants, according to Cochran.
According to the Clark County Auditor’s Office, it will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $52.50 per year and bring in nearly $250,000 annually. It will appear as Issue 5 on the ballot.
Moorefield Twp.
Trustees here are seeking two, 1-mill levies for streets, and fire and emergency medical services.
Jack McKee, president of the board of trustees, said Moorefield Twp. needs to replace the estimated $510,000 it will lose in estate tax and tangible personal property tax revenues passed down from the state over the levies’ five-year term.
If the fire and EMS levy is passed, those services would increase from 19 hours per day to 24 hours per day, McKee said.
The street levy, if passed, would allow street maintenance to continue on its current 40-year cycle, though that is already about 20 years behind the recommended maintenance, according to McKee. The township spent $225,000 this year to improve 1.5 miles of streets. It has 62 miles of roadways.
Each levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $35 per year and would bring in a combined total of nearly $529,000, according to the county auditor. The new property tax requests will appear as Issues 10 and 11 on the ballot.
Springfield Twp.
Springfield Twp. is seeking a new 1-mill property tax for streets.
The township’s cost to maintain roadways has dramatically increased in the past several years, Fiscal Officer Michael Hively said.
This year, it spent about $90,000 maintaining about one mile of roadway. Five years ago, it spent about $200,000 on five miles, according to Hively.
“This has been toyed around with by the trustees for a couple years,” Hively said. “Like everything else, oil-based products are up dramatically.”
He said the township has cut everywhere it could and it’s running on a tight budget. “This levy would allow us to keep roads from totally collapsing,” he said.
It will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $35 per year and bring in more than $255,000 annually, according to the auditor. The five-year levy will appear as Issue 17 on the ballot.
There are also several five-year renewal levies on the ballot:
• Issue 3 – Village of Donnelsville: 7-mills for current operating expenses.
• Issue 4 – Village of Enon: 2-mills for current operating expenses.
• Issue 6 – Green Twp. Fire District 2: 1-mill for fire services.
• Issue 7 – Harmony Twp. (excluding South Vienna): 1.8-mills for streets.
• Issue 8 – Madison Twp. (including South Charleston): 1-mill for emergency medical services.
• Issue 9 – Madison Twp. (including South Charleston): 1.7-mills for fire services.
• Issue 12 – Unincorporated areas of Pike Twp.: 1-mill for streets.
• Issue 13 – Unincorporated areas of Pike Twp.: 2-mills for streets.
• Issue 14 – Pike Twp. (including North Hampton): 2.5-mills for fire and emergency medical services.
• Issue 15 – Pleasant Twp.: (including Catawba): 1.8-mills for fire and emergency medical services.
• Issue 16 – Springfield Twp.: 0.4-mill for emergency medical services.
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