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City officials said passage of the income tax increase would enable the city to have 12 full-time firefighters/medics on duty per shift and avoid periodic closures of Station 42, which is located off Ohio 48 near the Interstate 71 interchange and the Lebanon industrial parks.
Passage of the income tax increase will result in a property tax drop that would save the owner of a $200,000 home approximately $170 per year, according to city officials. The Warren County Auditor’s office estimated the property tax savings at $105 per year for a $100,000 home.
The impact of the income tax change would be more complicated, depending on whether a person is working, and if so, where. Lebanon residents who also work in the city, and those who work in townships, would see their income tax burden rise. A person with $50,000 of taxable income would pay an extra $250 per year.
Those on certain fixed incomes and residents that already pay income tax to another city are unlikely to see their income tax rise if the ballot issue passes.
City Council race
Lebanon residents have returned all three incumbents for new four-year terms on City Council.
The breakdown of the final, unofficial votes were for incumbents Mark Messer with 26.54%; Kristen Eggers with 25.73%; and Breighton Smith with 22.65% of the votes according to the Warren County Board of Elections.
Former councilman James Norris received 18.07%; and newcomer Joshua Toms had received 7.01% with all precincts reporting, according to the unofficial final results from the elections board.
Eggers, 43, was appointed to council in January 2022. Eggers works as an office manager for a family business.
Messer, 39, is a small business owner who is completing his 12th year on council and is currently the city’s mayor. Messer has lived in the community for 33 years.
Smith, 37, was appointed in January after Adam Mathews was elected state representative. A native of Cincinnati, Smith has been a Lebanon resident for three years and helps manage his family’s law practice.
Lebanon school board
Incumbent board members Kim Cope and Michael J. Lane were the top two vote-getters in a four-way race for three seats on the Lebanon Board of Education. Challenger Michelle Berry won the third and final spot, with incumbent Esther Larson finishing last.
With all precincts reporting, Cope had 27.5% of the vote, Lane had 26.2%, Berry had 26.1% and Larson had 20.1%, according to final, unofficial results from the board of elections.
Lebanon school levy
Voters also approved the Lebanon City School District’s five-year, 2-mill permanent improvement renewal levy by a vote of 56.9% for to 43.1% against, according to final, unofficial voting results.
By law, revenues received from the Permanent Improvement Levy may only fund capital improvements and expenditures, including: maintenance and repairs, heating and air conditioning systems, technology for students and teachers, textbook adoptions, safety and security improvements, and bus purchases. This levy does not fund salaries and benefits.
The levy will generate $1.4 million a year.
The levy was originally approved by voters in 1998 and it has been renewed five times in the last 25 years. The levy millage has never been increased.
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