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There are 66 total tax issues on the ballot in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties
YOUNGSTOWN
Toward the bottom of the fall election ballot Nov. 8 for Mahoning Valley voters – after president as well as seats in the U.S. Senate, House and Ohio Legislature – will be numerous tax issues to consider.
In Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, there are a total of 66 tax issues, including 24 requesting new money.
Leading the way is Trumbull with 35 issues, including 12 new levies.
There are 18 total tax issues in Mahoning, including five new ones, and of the 13 tax issues in Columbiana County, seven are seeking new money.
Among the new tax requests are two 1-mill levies in Austintown – one for police services and the other for roads and bridges work.
The city of Canfield is seeking approval on a 3.9-mill additional levy for police services.
Also, Warren voters will decide on a 0.5-percent income-tax increase to raise about $3.5 million to $4 million annually.
There are a number of issues on the ballot for the second and even the third time.
The Sebring school district, which saw its request for a 1 percent income-tax renewal fail Aug. 2 by 39 votes, put the issue back on the ballot. It also was rejected in the Nov. 3, 2015, election by 49 votes.
Also making a third return to the ballot is a 1.75-mill levy for roads and bridges in Berlin. This time, the issue is for five years. It was rejected twice when it was for a continuous period of time. When it was last on the March 15 ballot, it lost by 57 votes.
Green Township is putting a 1.5-mill replacement levy on the ballot again. It lost by 38 votes in March.
The 66 total tax issues to be considered in the upcoming election is down from 70 on the November 2014 ballot and from 80 on the 2012 general-election ballot.
Sixty-six is the same number of tax issues on the ballot in 2010.
There were only 53 tax issues considered by voters in the three counties in the 2008 general election.
There are 17 charter amendments on the ballot in Mahoning County as of Wednesday. Fourteen of them are in Campbell with two in Youngstown and one in Sebring.
But the issue in Sebring almost certainly is not going to be on the ballot.
The board of elections, based on the advice of its employees, likely will reject the citizen initiative in Sebring when it meets Aug. 19 because the number of signatures on one petition doesn’t include the number of signatures in the “circulator statement.” If that petition is tossed, the proposal won’t have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The proposal would allow voters to fire Village Manager Richard D. Giroux without a severance package.
The two citizen initiatives on the ballot in Youngstown will be joined by four proposed charter-amendment changes. City council officially will vote next Wednesday to put those four in front of voters.