Thursday, August 18, 2005
There will also be a levy for the fire department on the ballot.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- A 4-mill levy for the village police department will appear on the November ballot.
New Middletown Village Council passed a third reading, at a special meeting Wednesday, of a resolution to put 3 replacement mills and 1 additional mill on the ballot.
The measure passed unanimously with all six members of council present.
At a meeting Aug. 8, council member Dan Santangelo had opposed passing the measure under suspension of the rules. Because one council member was absent, Santangelo's vote defeated suspension of the rules because all five council members attending would have had to support it to meet the three-fourths majority.
This made it necessary to have three separate readings on the millage.
Reversed vote
But at an Aug. 12 meeting to pass a second reading, Santangelo reversed himself and voted for the police levy, as did all other council members.
Contacted before Wednesday's meeting, Santangelo said at the original meeting he "had lots of questions that needed to be answered."
He said that since then he has spoken to Clerk Carl Flitcraft Jr., Mayor Robert Carson and other council members and is satisfied the levy is needed.
Carson has said that if voters fail to pass the levy, it could mean drastic cuts in safety forces.
In addition to the police levy, village voters also will see a 2.5-mill replacement levy for the village fire department on the fall ballot.