Townships Successful in Primary Election
A total of 89 township issues were on yesterday’s ballot statewide, and 76 percent of them passed. Safety service levies were the most common type with 37 levies, only five of which failed.
“Townships are heavily reliant on property taxes for local revenue. However, townships only levy about 6 percent of the total property taxes in Ohio. It’s not surprising that townships would seek more general fund levies since in many townships, the general fund balance is diminishing,” said Matt DeTemple, Ohio Township Association executive director.
There are several types of levies, including additional, renewal and replacement. The majority of the issues before voters yesterday were additional levies, which are funds not already being collected. Funds from this type of levy may be used to cover current expenses, a specific permanent improvement, road and bridge repairs, safety services, etc. These were also the most likely to fail. Of the 35 renewal levies, however, only one failed. Renewal levies renew all or a portion of an existing levy, and are renewed at the millage rate in effect at the time of voter approval . All 11 township replacement levies were successful. Replacement levies simply replace an existing levy, but allow for increased property values to apply to the new replacement levy.
Etna Township (Licking County) Trustee John Carlisle said Etna was victorious in its levy attempt, after the same road and bridge request failed three times previously. He attributes their success to better communication of the levy’s purpose, including how much it will bring to the township. The township mailed a flyer to each household over the weekend.