Hubbard trustees plan to place police levies on ballot

January 9, 2019 at 12:07a.m.

HUBBARD

Township trustees plan to place two police levies on the May primary ballot in an attempt to alleviate budget woes.

Since the 3.75-mill levy was rejected in November, the police fund is headed for a deficit, the trustees said.

First readings were given to these latest levy measures. The first is a 1.75-mill police levy renewal; the second is also 1.75 mills, but it’s a new levy, for police maintenance, training and equipment, including police vehicles and radios.

The township is in the process of applying for a $200,000 bank loan, at 2.99 percent interest, to cover payroll through June 31. The trustees are seeking to avoid laying off police personnel.

Trustee Fred Hanley noted this is the first year since he began serving that the board is taking out a loan, but the fund will be “broke” by Jan. 20, he said.

A special meeting is set for 6 p.m. Jan. 24 at the township administration building for residents to discuss why they rejected the November levy. It lost by 16 votes.

In other business Tuesday, Hanley announced that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources received the township’s public records request for the physical locations of the state’s injection wells. Hanley plans to cross check the well locations with the budgets of those communities as provided by the Ohio Township Association.

Hanley and the other trustees suspect that townships that don’t have the financial wherewithal to fight the wells are being targeted, and noted that cities surrounding the local townships haven’t had any proposed well sites yet.

Bobcat Energy of Canfield filed a permit for an injection well near Interstate 80. The trustees also requested a traffic study by the Ohio Department of Transportation regarding the impact of the 20 to 40 trucks predicted to go to the well site daily if the well is approved.

Also Tuesday, Police Chief Todd Coonce said that all but two signs needed to begin a speed camera program have been installed.

After the signs are installed, the township will conduct a trial period – likely for 30 days – during which people receive warnings instead of citations on I-80.

Coonce noted that most of the accidents on I-80 within township limits are caused by speed and distracted driving.