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Poland Village seeks 3.2-mill, five-year renewal levy
POLAND
A 3.2-mill, five-year renewal levy that would raise more than $175,000 annually for the general fund will be on the November ballot for Poland Village voters.
“This is the general fund’s largest revenue that comes in and actually runs the town. All of our services are dependent on this levy,” said Linda Srnec, village council member and finance committee chairwoman.
“It’s really the livelihood of this village, and if we lost that, we would have a very big problem,” she said.
The proposed renewal, which would raise $176,129 annually, is for a general fund levy that originated at least as far back as 2000, according to the Mahoning County Auditor office’s records.
The levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $94.08 annually.
It was last renewed in November 2009, and is currently paying out at an effective rate of 3.07 mills.
The levy is the village’s largest source of funds, and is used for all of the village’s operations, including the street and police departments’ duties, Srnec said.
The village employs about 30 people.
Srnec said village officials decided to go for a levy renewal rather than a levy replacement to benefit taxpayers, even though a replacement would have generated more money.
Taxpayers can get a 12.5 percent residential rollback on this tax. They could not, however, get the rollback if the village opted for a replacement levy. The village is reimbursed by the state for the rollback.
Fire district levy
A 0.8-mill, five-year renewal levy that would generate $160,831 annually for the Western Reserve Joint Fire District also will be on the ballot.
“This money is used to provide the basic services of our fire district, which include response to fire and medical emergencies,” said Fire Chief David Comstock, Jr. “If it did not pass, we’d have to make cuts.”
Since the fire district is operated by volunteer firefighters, cutting personnel or salaries would not be an option, Comstock said.
“So we [would] say, do we go ahead and not provide training or not provide essential services?,” he said.
The current levy has been on the books at least since 1999, according to the Mahoning County Auditor office’s records, and was last renewed in November 2009.
The levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $13.52 annually.
Comstock said he is confident voters will approve the renewal, especially since it is small.
“We’ve not had problems with renewals,” he said. “I would say residents have always been appreciative of our services and have supported our ongoing services.”