Thursday, May 19, 2011
POLAND
Village council took the first step to placing a 1-mill renewal levy for police services on the November ballot.
Council approved a resolution Tuesday requesting the Mahoning County auditor certify the tax valuation of the Poland Village and what the 1-mill renewal levy would generate.
The police levy was approved by voters in 2007 and generates about $59,000 annually, said Linda Srnec, clerk-treasurer.
A representative with the Mahoning County Auditor’s office said the levy costs the owner of home valued at $100,000 exactly $30.63 annually.
The police renewal levy is not the only decision Poland voters will make in November.
In February, residents submitted petition with 220 signatures to the Mahoning County Board of Elections for a referendum on the storm water utility ordinance.
The exact language on the referendum has not been finalized, said a board of elections employee.
The village is planning to have a series of public meetings before the November election about the storm-water utility measure, said Mayor Tim Sicafuse.
“We’ll explain why we did it and what’s in the ordinance,” he said.
The monthly storm water utility fee is $3.50 per one equivalent residential unit, which is 2,500 square feet. Under the ordinance, all homes, regardless of size, are equal to one ERU and would pay $42 annually. Commercial properties, however, are assessed the fee based only on square footage without a cap.
An earlier version of the ordinance had capped commercial properties at five ERU. The change to remove the cap received criticism from local business owners and the school district, which owns a large amount of land in the village.
Council members have said ordinance’s function is to maintain the water quality, provide education to keep the water clean and address flooding concerns that could affect the water quality.
Sicafuse said the ordinance was to have taken effect in January.
“We could [collect the fee], but we’re not. It’s not the right thing to do. If it gets repealed we’d have to give it all back,” he said.