Friday, December 21, 2001
Mahoning County commissioners had no choice but to approve the boundary change, a lawyer said.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
Nearly all of Columbiana is in Columbiana County. But for years, part of its border has jutted north into Mahoning County's southern Beaver Township, because of annexations.
City residents and businesses in that area receive fire and police services from Columbiana, for which they pay city taxes, but have also had to pay Beaver Township taxes for the same services because they lived in the township.
The township does not service that area, said Keith Chamberlin, Columbiana city manager.
Tired of paying taxes for services they don't receive, a group of residents from housing developments around Arrowhead Lake petitioned to have the boundaries reconfigured so the entire city is part of Fairfield Township in Columbiana County and removed from Beaver Township.
"They didn't want to continue to pay those duplicate levies. That's what led to this," said Daniel Blasdell, Columbiana's municipal attorney.
Background: Mahoning County commissioners approved that resolution Thursday. Karen Gaglione, assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, said they were powerless to stop the move.
When Columbiana was a village, Ohio law gave commissioners discretion to either approve or reject such a petition. But when the 2000 census showed that Columbiana's population had grown to more than 5,000, making it a city, the county lost its discretion, Gaglione said.
Beaver Township Trustee Larry Wehr said the move was not a surprise.
"Over the years, Columbiana has parcel-by-parcel annexed [township] land into the village," he said. "When Columbiana became a city, we all knew this was going to happen."
Neither he nor township Clerk Richard Lotze knew just how much the township stands to lose in property tax or other revenue from the affected businesses and homeowners. Wehr said it could take up to a year to sort that out.
Wehr said township tax levies for police and fire services have traditionally been a tough sell in the affected area because residents did not want to vote for services they didn't receive.
To be determined: Neither city nor township officials knew how many homes and businesses are included in the 377-acre area, which Chamberlin said extends north from Route 14 to West Garfield Road and includes the Arrowhead Bay and Jamestown Trace condo developments.
It also includes the new Dutch Village Inn, a 52-room motel off Route 14, and the Alzheimer's Research Center of Northeastern Ohio on Garfield Road, Wehr said.
bjackson@vindy.com