Many levies put on May 3 ballot

4/20/2005

Voters in Fulton County will be asked to approve a host of issues on the May 3 ballot including levies to renovate schools, roads, and parks in the county.

Pettisville Local School District is asking for a renewal of a 3.5-mill, five-year permanent improvement levy.

It is meant for maintenance of school buildings and permanent structures, said Superintendent Steven Switzer.

"We've had this levy since 2000 and it will collect about $130,000 a year," Mr. Switzer said, noting that a homeowner of a $100,000 owner-occupied home would be assessed at 35 percent and would pay about $107 a year in taxes.

"This is nothing new. It is a renewal of an existing levy," he said.

Chesterfield Township is asking its residents to renew a 1-mill, five-year fire levy and a 2-mill, five-year road levy.

The fire levy is used to pay for fire protection for residents of the township because it doesn't have its own fire department, said Tina Jones, clerk of the township.

"It's not a huge amount because we pay for fire services from Morenci, Wauseon, and Royalton Township," said Ms. Jones. She noted that the road levy is also critical to do fundamental road resurfacing.

The road levy collects $30,250 a year for the township at the cost of just over $53 to the owner of a $100,000, owner-occupied home. The fire levy collects $15,125 a year at a cost of nearly $27 to such a homeowner.

"It's the same levy that we've had for a long time and it's a long-standing levy that residents know," she said.

Clinton Township is asking its voters to pass a new 1-mill, five-year road levy and replace a 0.3-mill, five-year fire levy.

Money raised by the new road levy will not be used to maintain roads in Wauseon, but in unincorporated areas of the township outside the city, said township trustee Brett Kolb.

If voters pass the levy, it will collect more than $172,000 a year as the township trustees will let expire two levies charged against property owners outside the Wauseon city limits.

Collections from the new levy would be 75 percent higher than the two expiring levies combined. The levy would cost the owner of a $100,000, owner-occupied home nearly $31 a year.

The township is asking for replacement of a 0.3-mill, five-year fire levy, which has been taxing residents both inside and outside city limits.

Replacing the fire levy, which ends this year, will increase collections to $51,700 annually, up from almost $46, 800. The cost to a $100, 000 homeowner will rise to $9.19 a year, up from $8.27.

Dover Township is asking voters for the fifth time to adopt a township zoning plan.

The proposed zoning code designates areas for agricultural, real estate, and commercial/industrial purposes. The proposal lost by two votes, 201-199, in March, 2000.

Dover Township is in the center of Fulton County. The Fulton County Fairgrounds and the county airport, dog pound, transfer station, and engineer's office and garage are in the township.

Swan Creek Township, excluding Swanton and Delta, is asking for the replacement of a 1-mill, five-year road levy.

The levy, if it passes, will increase annual collections to almost $111,500, up from almost $35,500 on the levy that expires this year. The levy has been approved for decades and if the replacement passes, the annual cost to the owner of a $100,000, owner-occupied home would increase to almost $31 a year, up from about $8.50 now.

Swanton residents in Lucas and Fulton counties are being asked to replace a 0.5-mill, five-year park levy.

The levy will collect about $31, 000 and it is replacing a levy that generated about $27,000 a year, said John Gochenour, the village administrator. He noted that the money is needed for maintenance of the three parks in the village including Memorial, Rotary, and Tilliod Park.

It will cost $8.98 a year for a resident who owns a $100,000 owner-occupied home, up from $8.78 per year for the previous levy.

Contact Karamagi Rujumba at:

krujumba@theblade.com or

419-724-6064