Auroraadvocate.com - Library, sewer levies defeated

by Ken Lahmers

Editor

Aurora — The funding level for the Portage County District Library will not increase after voters turned down a 0.5-mill levy Nov. 4.

Meanwhile, Aurora’s 1.1-mill additional levy to pay off the debt for wastewater treatment facilities also was defeated.

The Portage County Board of Elections reported the library levy went down 16,961 to 14,613 votes, while the sewer levy failed 3,500 to 1,585, according to complete but unofficial results.

Issue 6, the library levy, would have aided branches in Aurora, Brimfield, Garrettsville, Randolph, Streetsboro and Windham.

The library had hoped to raise money to restore funds that have been cut by the state in recent years.

Cecelia Swanson, director of the PCDL, said the system has been in dire straits since 2001, when the Ohio legislature froze state funding. The PCDL gets 100 percent of its funding from the state.

The district was hoping to restore hours that were cut in the past several months — allowing the branches to be open six days a week — plus restore the materials budget, which has been slashed over the years.

Meanwhile, Issue 11, the sewer levy, would have replaced a levy passed in 1989 to build the Westerly wastewater treatment plant.

Mayor Lynn McGill said the levy would not have increased residents’ taxes. Its defeat means owners of property valued at $200,000 will pay about $66 less a year.

Over an 11-year period, the new levy would have paid off the remaining $6 million of an $11 million bond issuance for wastewater facilities.

“I expected it to be defeated,” McGill said. “People are just not favoring taxes at this time. People are hurting financially. We’ll put something together to address the debt; we might have to raise sewer rates.”

Issues 12 to 15, the charter amendments, all passed by a wide margin.

Issue 12 will prohibit City Council from enacting as an emergency measure any purchase or sale of property with a price tag of $100,000 or more.

Issue 13 declares that Council must consider a master plan review commission’s recommendation as “a comprehensive guideline upon which land use and other regulations should be based.”

Issue 14 requires the subject of a referendum petition to be submitted to voters at the next scheduled general or special election occurring not less than 75 days, nor more than 180 days, after the petition is certified by the clerk of Council.

Issue 15 clarified the language of a conflict of interest section of the charter.

Charter, Portage issues

Voters in Reminderville approved establishing a village charter by a vote of 684 to 203. A charter will allow the village more say and flexibility regarding its safety forces and other governing changes.

In Portage County, Issue 4, a 0.75-mill renewal for children’s services passed 28,402 to 14,967, but Issue 5, a 0.4-mill additional levy for the health district failed 22,286 to 13,583.

Three state issues passed in Portage County and statewide.

Issue 1 authorizes the state to issue bonds to compensate veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

Issue 2 creates a livestock standards board, and Issue 3 allows one casino each to be built and operated in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo.

E-mail:

klahmers@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3155