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Vienna trustees OK new police levy for ballot
By Sarah Lehr
VIENNA
Township officials believe the third time could be the charm for a township police levy.
Trustees voted unanimously this month to send a new five-year, 1-mill police levy to the Trumbull County Board of Elections for placement on the general-election ballot.
If approved by voters in November, the levy will generate about $91,755 annually and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $35 a year, according to the Trumbull County Auditor’s Office.
Township voters previously have rejected higher-millage versions of a police levy.
In the May 2015 election, in which 523 people voted on the issue, voters rejected a five-year 1.5-mill police levy by 131 votes, according to figures posted by the county board of elections. Residents again voted down the five-year 1.5-mill police levy in November 2015 – that time by 99 votes with 1,489 people voting.
Township Trustee Heidi Brown said the board decided the 1-mill levy stood a greater chance of approval because of the reduced millage. She also said levy proponents likely could “swing” the relatively small numbers of voters who had opposed new police levies in past elections.
Brown contended the revenue would allow the township to maintain a robust local police presence. She attributed police response times averaging four to five minutes to the township’s ability to use local officers, rather than relying on county deputy sheriffs.
“Our police officers are very community-oriented,” Brown said. “Many residents know them by their first names. It’s that kind of a small-town thing.”
The police department employs two full-time officers, including a school-resource officer. It also employs nine part-time officers including the chief.
The township previously has subsidized the police fund with transfers from the general fund. Brown said the levy would be a step toward enabling the police fund to support itself, though the revenue would not allow the fund to operate completely on its own.
The township has a 2016 budget of approximately $3,755,661, including $2,358,169 for the general fund and $315,909 for the police fund.
In 2015, the township transferred $75,000 from the general fund to the police fund, according to the fiscal officer.
Trustee Richard Dascenzo, Jr. characterized the proposed tax as an operating levy, saying revenue would maintain existing staff and would not be used to purchase any new equipment.
“It’s basically to maintain our full-time, 24/7 police department,” Dascenzo said of the levy.
The township has two existing police levies currently in effect, according to the county auditor’s office. A five-year, 1-mill police levy, first approved in 2003, generates $90,084 annually and costs the owner of a $100,000 home $34 a year. Another five-year, 1-mill police levy, first approved in 2008, generates $90,986 annually and costs the owner of a $100,000 home $35 a year.