Boardman trustees reach out to voters on proposed levies

If the front page story Saturday by Vindicator Reporter Ashley Luthern is any indication, Boardman Township’s trustees and administrator have concluded — rightly, of course — that giving voters all the information they need to make an informed decision on a proposed tax increase is good public policy. It also has the effect of a preemptive strike against those critics who will inevitably charge that trustees Larry Moliterno, Brad Calhoun and Tom Costello and Administrator Jason Loree aren’t being straight with the public.

No one reading the story and the accompanying graphic — it laid out in detail each of the levy options under considered — can feign ignorance about what is being proposed. And, no Boardman resident can complain about a lack of access, seeing as how the trustees have begun taking their regular meetings on the road. In fact, it could be argued that Moliterno, Calhoun and Costello have decided to venture into the eye of the electoral storm to talk to residents about the four levy options.

On Jan, 24, the trustees’ regular meeting will be held in Trinity Fellowship Church on South Avenue, and before any new business is conducted they will host a public forum on the proposed tax.

The church is the polling location for the precincts that rejected a 3.85-mill, five-year levy last November. The tax failed in the township by 437 votes. That is why the trustees are going back to the voters in May. They believe that they can make the case for the additional revenue that would be generated.

But rather than dictate what the voters should be asked to approve in the May primary, Moliterno et al have prepared four options: a 3.8-mill, five-year additional police levy; a 3.8-mill, five-year additional fire levy; a 3.8-mill, five-year additional general fund levy; or, no levy.

Each of the options come with their own features and nuances, which were spelled out in The Vindicator Saturday. They give township residents the chance to weigh each one within the context of the general operation of government and the specific needs of the police and fire departments.

The prospects

The no-levy option will mean a decrease of services and the furlough of at least 20 of the 132 township employees. That’s because the Boardman, like all communities in Ohio, is bracing for a reduction in state funding. Republican Gov. John Kasich and the Republican controlled General Assembly have made it clear that the $8 billion revenue shortfall in the next biennium budget will be made up through major cuts in spending and without an increase in taxes.

Kasich has made it clear that governments at all levels will have to bear the burden of the state’s fiscal crisis.

Boardman residents will have the opportunity to voice their opinions about the services they want from township government.

We would hope that there is enough public interest in what is going on to bring out a large crowd at the Jan. 24 meeting,