The levy will replace a 5.25-mill levy voters approved in November 2018, one that generates just under $2.9 million a year, but expires this year. It will generate an additional $893,065 per year, according to the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office.
Miami Twp. Police Chief Charlie Stiegelmeyer said approval of the levy helps the department’s long-term planning, including its ability to hire additional personnel.
“We’ve become a lot more self sufficient as far as not having to rely on forfeiture monies, or any other type of grants that may or may not be there in the future to help us secure equipment that we need for everyday use,” Stiegelmeyer said. “This levy was extremely important just to maintain the sustainability for the police department itself.”
WASHINGTON TWP.
Voters in Washington Twp. and the city of Centerville, by a 58.4% to 41.6% ratio, approved a replacement of a 1-mill recreation levy and an increase of 0.5 mills of property tax, with a 5-year term, to fund the community’s recreation department.
The levy will generate about $3.28 million annually, an increase of $1.34 million per year, according to the Montgomery County Auditor’s office. Collection will start in 2024, as a five-year, 1-mill recreation levy expires this year.
The levy will continue to provide programming and services inclusive of all ages and abilities, including the fitness center, walking track, climbing wall, pools and waterslides, summer camps, senior center, Town Hall theater and more.
“Seeing the support from our community is incredible,” Trustee President Dale Berry said in a statement. “We know how important the services are that our recreation department provides, and we look forward to improving our programming and facilities to meet the needs of our community.”
Voters also approved, by a 76.2% to 23.9% ratio, a 4.65-mill fire levy that is a straight five-year renewal of existing taxes. It will take the place of a 5-year, 4.65-mill fire levy that will expire at the end of the year.
The levy will generate $8.5 million in revenue per year for the fire department, helping it provide and maintain apparatus, equipment, appliances, buildings and sites, as well as payment to personnel.
TROTWOOD
Trotwood voters, by a 75.6% to 24.4% ratio, approved the renewal of a levy that has been in place since 2013 for the purpose of funding city fire and emergency medical services.
First approved a decade ago, the 4.15-mill levy was renewed for a period of five years in 2018. Voting to renew the levy — which is set to expire Dec. 31 — on a permanent basis eliminates the need for future renewal requests.
According to city officials, this tax generates around $989,000 annually.
Trotwood Fire Chief Rick Haacke said approval of the levy means the department can keep the services it’s supplying without any cutbacks.
HUBER HEIGHTS
Voters in Huber Heights rejected a 10-year, 0.25% earned income tax — a tax levy that has funded fire, police, and emergency medical services since its initial approval in 2014.
They nixed the measure by a 49.6% to 50.4% ratio, according to the combined total of votes from Montgomery and Miami counties.
Huber Heights interim City Manager Bryan Chodowski said rejection of the levy“gives us an opportunity to go before the voters in November with that specific plan available to them so that they understand this time, with specificity, the outcome of a negative vote on this measure in the future.”
BROWN TWP.
Brown Twp. voters in Miami County, by a 55.4% to 44.6% ratio, rejected an additional 1.5-mills for five years for current expenses. The measure would have generated $69,000, money that township official said would have been used for general expenses of the township.
The request previously appeared on the November ballot, where it was defeated by 57 percent of those who voted.
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