The decisions range from grand — a large, growing school district deciding whether to build a quarter-billion-dollar high school complex for future generations in Beavercreek — to as small as whether a few extra blocks of road get paved in a small Preble County village.
It’s a tough time to ask voters for more of their money, as property taxes have risen in many communities the past few years, in some cases significantly. But townships, fire departments, schools and others have argued that their costs have gone up too, and services still need to be provided.
Since it’s America, we all get a say Nov. 5.
Here’s a look at the most prominent tax votes this election cycle.
Dayton Metro Library
The terms: New tax, 1 mill, 5 years. Would cost a homeowner $35 annually per $100,000 of home value ($52 for a $150K home, $105 for a $300K home), according to the county auditor. Would raise $10.55 million per year for the library system.
The details: Dayton Metro Library has projected it will spend $5.5 million more than it takes in for 2024, the latest in a series of annual deficits that are depleting its fund balance and putting future operations in jeopardy. According to library financial statements, revenues increased from $39 million in 2015 to $44.5 million in 2022, but the annual deficits continued.
Chief Financial Officer Hilary Browning said the library has cut spending recently by reducing hours, delaying IT projects and not replacing furniture, but those cuts are not significant enough to put the library in the black.
Library officials say passage of the Nov. 5 levy would determine DML’s ability to continue youth and family programs, job search and resume support, books, free Wi-Fi and computer access, and other services.
Everyone in Montgomery County will vote on the levy, except those in Oakwood, Centerville/Washington Twp., and Germantown, as those communities have separate library systems.
In 2012, despite voters still feeling the pain of the Great Recession, they overwhelmingly approved a $187 million tax plan to construct all new library buildings in the county, a project that finished last year. Now the question is whether those voters will agree to another tax to pay for a certain level of day-to-day services.
Five Rivers MetroParks
The terms: New tax, 1 mill, 10 years. Would cost a homeowner $35 annually per $100,000 of home value ($52 for a $150K home, $105 for a $300K home), according to the county auditor. Would raise about $14.2 million per year for the parks.
The details: Parks officials say the additional tax money is needed to address a backlog of $58 million in deferred maintenance needs and projects. They said if the levy does not pass, they will delay important repairs, reduce maintenance, cut programs, eliminate festivals and events and not fill 19 open positions.
About 87% of MetroParks’ $22 million annual operating budget comes from its existing tax levy. Donations, local government funds, grants, user fees and more cover the remaining 13%. MetroParks operated at a deficit in both 2022 and 2023, despite levy funds increasing slightly each year.
MetroParks leaders said quality parks affect where families decide where to live and businesses decide where to locate. More than 300,000 Montgomery County residents visit the MetroParks’ 18 parks plus conservation areas, trails and 2nd Street Market at least a few times each year, according to the agency.
Some critics said MetroParks has failed to implement key recommendations of the agency’s 2016-2026 comprehensive master plan. MetroParks said it didn’t get to some of the capital projects exactly because of the lack of funding they’re trying to resolve via this levy.
The agency gave almost a dozen examples of projects that would be done in specific MetroParks if the levy passes, including things like restoring a play area at Eastwood and replacing restrooms at Possum Creek, resurfacing trails at Island, upgrading sound and lighting for the ice rink at RiverScape and repairing a bridge at Taylorsville.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Beavercreek school project
The terms: New tax, 4.9 mills, up to 37 years. Would cost a homeowner $172 annually per $100,000 of home value ($258 for a $150K home, $516 for a $300K home), according to the county auditor.
The details: If voters approve a multimillion-dollar bond issue, the district would build a new high school, relieving facility pressure on a district that is expected to rapidly grow, according to school officials.
About $260 million of the $265 million total project would go toward constructing a new high school complex at an 89-acre property on the southeast corner of South Alpha Bellbrook Road and Indian Ripple Road. The site is in Beavercreek Twp., just south of the Russ Research Center property, a half-mile west of The Narrows Reserve.
Approval would trigger a domino effect of other changes. The current high school would be renovated into a middle school, and Ferguson Hall would be used for alternatives like working with the Greene County Career Center. Coy and Ankeney middle schools would be converted to elementary schools. Main Elementary would be renovated into district central offices, and the current offices off of Kemp Road would become a centralized preschool.
In addition to the school building itself, the new high school campus would have a 1,200-seat theater, a roughly 5,500-seat football stadium, a 1,000-seat soccer stadium, practice fields for sports and marching band, and 1,400 parking spaces.
Public opinion is a mix of supporters citing already-crowded buildings, and opposition saying the plan is too expensive because good teachers are more important than nice buildings.
Centerville schools’ third try
The terms: New tax, 3.9 mills, permanent. Would cost a homeowner $136.50 annually per $100,000 of home value ($205 for a $150K home, $410 for a $300K home), according to the county auditor. Would raise about $11.2 million per year for daily operating costs of the schools.
The details: Centerville school district voters have rejected two recent tax levy requests — shooting down a larger levy by a 57-43 ratio in November 2023 and nixing a smaller tax by a 53-47 vote in March. The schools are asking voters to reconsider the smaller one Nov. 5.
The district spent more than it took in each of the past two years and projects to continue that trend. District leaders point to Ohio’s school funding model, which gives a wealthier community like Centerville fairly little state funding, meaning the schools rely heavily on property taxes from residents and businesses.
Over the past year-plus, Centerville schools have cut some budgeted expenses, but the district’s five-year forecast shows that total expenditures have increased by at least $4 million each year from 2020-21 through 2023-24.
Now the district is adding more staff cuts that are a mix of layoffs and not replacing people who leave the district. They also approved a new two-year contract with teachers, limiting them to a one-time stipend and small adjustments, with no base salary raise those two years.
The district has been clear about a wide variety of staff and program cuts as well as fee increases that will take effect if this levy is rejected. At the same time, on the 2023-24 state report card released last month, Centerville was one of just a handful of districts to earn the top mark of 5 stars for student performance.
Other tax levies
There are dozens of other tax levies on the ballot in local communities. A majority of them are renewal levies, which take a tax that voters already approved years ago and extend it for more years at the same rate. Significant renewals on the Nov. 5 ballot include a 4.95-mill police levy in Riverside, a 3.5-mill general city levy in Xenia and a 0.9-mill parks levy for most of Greene County.
But many communities do have new, additional taxes on the ballot Nov. 5. They include:
* Clayton: The city is asking voters for a third time to change their income tax structure, increasing the city tax by 1%, offset by also giving residents full credit for city taxes paid to other jurisdictions.
* Beavercreek: In addition to the school levy, city of Beavercreek voters will consider a 0.49-mill permanent tax levy for parks. It would pay to hire two full-time park maintenance workers and a staff member for the Beavercreek Senior Center. The levy cost would be $17 per $100,000 of home value.
* Mad River schools: The district in Riverside is seeking a 2.9-mill levy for building repair and maintenance that would be permanent. The cost would be just over $100 a year for a $100,000 home.
* Other schools: Greeneview is making its third and final attempt at a combined bond issue and permanent improvement levy, so the district can get money from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission to build schools. This time, Greeneview has removed athletic facilities from its plans, focusing instead entirely on academic spaces.
Milton-Union schools have a small renewal levy on the ballot, but their headliner is a separate 10-year, 0.75% school income tax request for daily expenses. If passed, it would cost someone with $50,000 of taxable income $375 per year.
* Smaller jurisdictions: Phillipsburg, Verona and German Twp. all have levies seeking an additional 3 mills or more. Meanwhile Jefferson Twp. is asking for two huge tax levies — 7 mills for general expenses and 10 mills for street repair.
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