With 100 percent of the votes counted, 792 supported the measure while 604 voted against it.
Issue 3 is a 5.5-mill replacement levy that will generate an additional $447,558 a year and cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $192.50 a year, records show.
That’s about $40 more per year than Miami Twp. property owners are now paying.
Issue 3 will replace a 5-mill, five-year levy set to expire Dec. 31. The new levy would generate about $3.35 million a year, officials said.
The additional tax revenue will be used to hire three more police officers, according to the township.
The FBI indicates a community the size of Miami Twp. – about 30,000 residents – should have 50 sworn officers, according to Police Chief Ron Hess, the township’s acting administrator.
5 things to watch: ELECTION 2019
The township has 39 officers, he added, and Issue 3 will strengthen those numbers, township officials have said.
It is one of two levies the township uses to fund police operations. The other a 5.25-mill, five-year renewal levy that was approved in November by 67 percent of voters, according to the board of elections.
The need for additional officers coincides with an increase in demand, according to the township. Last year, police covering the township’s 21 square miles responded to 30,066 calls for service in 2018, 1,482 more than the year prior.
The township has fewer than 25 officers to patrol an area where the population expands to 50,000 at night with the dining, entertainment and lodging corridors of Austin Landing and the Dayton Mall, police said.
About the Author
