Editor’s note: Each day this week, the Journal-Tribune will feature coverage of contested races and issues throughout the county ahead of the March 17 primary election.
Today’s edition features issues including a fire levy in Jerome Township, as well as a police levy and charter commission in Plain City.
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Residents in the southeast corner of the county will have a series of issues to vote on this election.
Voters in Plain City will decide on a 5-mill, permanent levy to support the village police department.
Plain City currently has a 5-mill levy dedicated to the police department. Because of changes in property values, that levy is being collected at 3.71 mills. If approved, the levy would restore funding to the originally approved 5 mills.
“This is not a new tax,” said Lt. Tom Jaskiewicz of the Plain City Police Department. “This is a direct replacement of the tax that was first passed in the 1980s, then renewed in 1992 and again in 2005.”
Police officials said approving the levy will cost the owner of a $100,000 property an additional $69 per year.
Jaskiewicz stressed the levy can be used to fund police operations only, not to pay the village expenses. He said the money would likely be used to increase staffing.
“This will generate additional funds for the police department,” Jaskiewicz said. “This is going to allow us to continue to provide good, quality service to our residents, to operate community outreach programs and provide adequate staffing to protect the community.”
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Jerome Township voters will see a 3.5 mill, five-year fire and EMS operating levy on the March ballot.
If the levy passes, Fire Chief Douglas Stewart said trustees have agreed to stop collecting the 1991, 2.3 mill levy.
The approval of the 3.5 mill levy, along with withholding of the 2.3 mill levy, will result in a collection rate of approximately $90 per $100,000 of property valuation per year.
Stewart said levy funding would be used to keep up with a growing community – specifically, addressing inadequate response times, a lack of staffing and the need for a new facility.
Response travel time exceeds 10-12 minutes in some areas of the township, according to Stewart, and units are cross-staffed and generally understaffed. For that reason, he said the fire department relies heavily on mutual aid from other agencies.
Although the township was awarded the SAFER Grant by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund the salaries and benefits of nine new firefighters for three years, Stewart said the levy is needed to keep the positions in place.
“If we do nothing, we’re going to hire nine people and in three years we’re going to lay them off,” he said.
Following the failure of a 5.5 mill levy on the November ballot, Stewart said he spoke with residents and consulted the strategic plan before deciding on the new number. He said he hoped a 3.5 mill levy would strike a balance between an amount needed by the fire department and one residents would be willing to approve.
“Is it where we need to be? Absolutely not, but it gets us headed in the right direction,” he said.
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Plain City residents will also be asked to approve the formation of a charter committee and select its members.
Plain City currently operates under a statutory form of government, meaning that village government is structured under state regulations, outlined in the Ohio Revised Code.
However, because Ohio is a home rule state, cities are given certain powers to create and adapt government structure in a way that best fits their residents. The mechanism for a city to determine the government structure is a city charter.
A city charter serves almost as its constitution. The charter outlines the form, structure, duties and powers of a local government.
A first step in that process is this public vote to create a charter committee. A charter committee is the group of city residents elected to frame the charter. Residents will vote on a list of potential committee members, including Linda M. Beachy, James T. Baker, Glenn A. Wheeler, Carrie M. McGlaughlin, Anthony M. Matessa, Raymond T. Skidmore, Bobbi D. Watkins, Michael J. Malone, Amy Rucker, Sherry J. Headlee, Melissa J. McCoy, Galen D. Troyer, Michael S. Terry, Darren Lee and Kerri Ferguson.
If a commission is formed, it will meet and determine specifics of the city’s charter. The commissioners are considered elected officials and the meetings will be open to the public. The commission will have a year to work and the actual charter will then be placed on the ballot next year. If the charter is rejected, the commission can begin the process again.
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Additionally, residents in Dover, Millcreek, York and Washington townships will vote whether to renew tax levies to support their respective fire departments.
Magnetic Springs voters are being asked to renew a 5-mill, five-year levy to support the village operations fund.
Plain City Public Library is asking residents to renew a 5-year, 1.5 mills levy to support the library.
“Since 2000, regular operating expenses have doubled,” according to information from the library. “Unfortunately, state funding is still less than a decade ago.”
Officials added, “Losing levy funds would be catastrophic to current services.”
A local liquor option to allow Sunday sales at a proposed Texas Roadhouse is on the ballot in Marysville.