Sinclair College tax renewal levy passes by huge margin

Sinclair Community College’s downtown Dayton campus.

Sinclair Community College’s downtown Dayton campus.

Montgomery County voters easily approved Sinclair Community College’s tax levy request, according to unofficial final results from the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

As of 10:45 p.m., 71% of ballots contained “yes” votes, and 29% were “no” votes.

Sinclair was asking Montgomery County voters to renew an approximately $9.2 million levy this election.

The levy is for 10 years and costs $25.40 per $100,000 in home value per year, according to the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office. If passed, the levy does not increase the taxes a property owner currently pays.

Sinclair Community College spokesman Cathy Petersen said the levy helps Sinclair operate and update more than 300 education and job-training programs for healthcare, manufacturing, IT, engineering, public safety and more.

Voters last approved the levy in 2015 for eight years. This is the first time it is up for renewal.

Petersen said this levy is one of two that Montgomery County voters pay into that support Sinclair. The other one generates $28 million per year and was established in 1966. It was last renewed in 2017 with 74% of the vote, according to the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

The two levies combined generate about $37.7 million annually, making up about 26% of Sinclair’s budget. State subsidies make up about $54.5 million of Sinclair’s budget, or about 38%, and tuition and fees make up about $44.8 million or 32%.

The money generated by the Montgomery County levy can only be used within the county, according to state law, meaning no levy revenue can be used at Sinclair’s locations in Warren or Greene counties.