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Officials to attend Community Day
BOARDMAN
The second annual Community Day will offer entertainment and food, but township officials also expect to field questions from residents about an upcoming police levy.
Community Day begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at the township government center, 8299 Market St. A bounce-around and touch-a-truck will be set up for children and refreshments will be provided at the free event, which concludes at 2 p.m.
Community Day had several variations in the past but was revived last September for the first official Community Day, said Administrator Jason Loree, adding that food and activities are donated by local businesses.
Township trustees, the fiscal officer and township department leaders will attend Community Day, so that residents can meet them and ask questions, Loree said.
One discussion topic likely will be the 3.85-mill, five-year additional police levy on the Aug. 2 ballot.
The police levy is expected to generate $3,815,320 annually for the police department, which has a $7.1 million budget in 2011, and cost the owner of a home valued at $100,000 about $117 annually.
The Boardman Coalition Against Crime, a nonprofit organization of residents, business owners and clergy who support the police levy, will be at Community Day, said George Farris, founder of Farris Marketing, who is the coalition’s communications volunteer.
“It’s really a township event and the coalition only has a table there, but there’s an opportunity for people to learn firsthand from [police Chief Jack Nichols] what this levy is needed for and what it would be used for,” Farris said.
The township administration has said if the police levy is approved, the following positions would be filled within two years: 10 police officers, one diversion specialist, one advocate, one crime analyst, one secretary, two records clerks and two dispatchers.
Farris said absentee ballot applications will be available at Community Day and that the coalition estimates between 25 percent and 33 percent of Aug. 2 ballots to be absentee.
“I don’t really remember voting on Aug. 2. It’s an odd day for people to come out. It’s much more convenient to vote absentee and we encourage people to do so,” Farris said.