Local questions and issues on Nov. 4 ballot
COSHOCTON – Below is a list of local questions and issues that will appear on the Tuesday, Nov. 4 ballot and precincts that can vote on them. You will then find a more details look at the three major levies.
– River View Local School District/Renewal 1.8 mills/Permanent Improvements – River View School District
– Newcomerstown EVSD/Renewal 6.9 mills/providing for emergency requirements of school district – Newcomerstown School District
– East Knox LSD/Shall the East Knox Local School District be authorized to do both of the following: Annual income tax of one half percent on earned income of individual in the school district for 10 years beginning Jan. 1, 2015 for the purpose of providing for current expenses of the school district and levy a tax outside of the 10-mill limitation for the purpose of providing for the necessary requirements of the school district in the sum of $950,000 estimated by the county auditor to average 3.9 mills for 10 year(s) – East Knox Local School District
– Children Services/Renewal 1 mill/Care, protection and placement of abused, neglected and dependent children – county wide
– OSU Extension/Renewal .4 mill/providing educational activities including agriculture and 4-H by Ohio State University to the credit of the OSU Extension fund created by section 3335.36 of the revised code – county wide
– Village of Warsaw/Renewal 2.5 mills/Current Expenses – Village of Warsaw
– Village of Warsaw/Renewal 1.5 mills/Street Improvements – Village of Warsaw
– Village of West Lafayette/Renewal 3 mills/current general operating expenses – Village of West Lafayette
– Village of West Lafayette/Additional 2 mills/police department – Village of West Lafayette
– Franklin Township/Natural Gas Aggregation – Franklin Township Village of Conesville
– Franklin Township/Electricity Aggregation – Franklin Township Village of Conesville
– Adams Township/Renewal 2 mills/General Construction of Roads and Equipment Purchases – Adams Township
– Franklin Township/Renewal .4 mill/Fire Protection Services – Franklin Township Village of Conesville
– Lafayette Township/Renewal 1 mill/Fire Protection Services – Lafayette Township Village of West Lafayette
– Bethlehem Township/Renewal 3 mills /Current expenses – Bethlehem Township
– Bedford Township/Renewal 1 mill/Current expenses – Bedford Township
– Tuscarawas Township/Natural Gas Aggregation – Tuscarawas Township
– Tuscarawas Township/Electricity Aggregation – Tuscarawas Township
– Pike Township/Renewal .75 mill/Fire protection services – Pike Township
– Pike Township/Renewal .50 mill/maintenance of cemeteries – Pike Township
– Keene Township/Renewal 3 mills/Road Repairs – Keene Township
Coshocton County Children Services Levy
Is it a renewal or new levy? Our levy is a 1 mil renewal that has been renewed since 1995. Actually, Coshocton County voters have supported Children Services with a levy for the last 50 years.
How many years is it for? It is a five year renewal that generates .586096 of a mil under current valuations.
What will it cost a property owner? $50,000 home – $8.98/year…less than 3¢/day and $100,000 home – $17.95/year…less than 5¢/day
What will the funds be used for? The levy provides about $550,000/year that can only be used for Child Protective Services. We make every attempt to help parents keep their children safe in their own homes and funds may be used for food, shelter or clothing to assist these families. If parents cannot keep their children safe, we always look for family members or close family friends to take custody of the child(ren). We use the funds to help the custodians with various items such as food, shelter, clothing, and transportation costs.
When appropriate family help is not available, we utilize foster care to keep children safe. We currently have 26 children in foster care and a portion of the funds are used to pay for foster care. We expect that this will cost approximately $600,000 for 2014.
We use the funds to pay a portion of our Children Services case workers’ salaries and some of the funds are used to pay a portion of the juvenile detective at the Sheriff’s Office.
Why should voters vote for this levy? Over the past 10 years, our Children Services costs have risen 30 percent – mainly through increases in foster care placements, additional services purchased for families and staff benefit costs. We considered asking the voters for additional funds or a replacement levy, but instead have tightened our “fiscal belts” to be more efficient. We believe your money is well spent and are confident we are good stewards of the tax dollars you provide us.
What happens if this levy doesn’t pass? Public Child Protective agencies receive federal, state and in our case, local funds to operate. State funding is extremely limited. In fact, Ohio ranks 50th (the very bottom) in the nation for state funding support for county Children Services operations. If the state would double the amount of funding provided locally, Ohio would still rank 50th in the nation for state support of local services.
The levy provides 30 percent of our revenue to operate our Children Services Division. Without it, we would fail to meet the high standards to which we aspire and may be unable to respond to concerns about child safety in a prudent manner.
Editor’s note: Information about the Coshocton County Children Services Levy was provided to The Beacon by Mindy Fehrman, director of Job and Family Services.
River View Local Permanent Improvement Levy
Is it a renewal or new levy? Renewal levy for 1.8 mills
How many years is it for? This Levy was first passed in 1995 and has been renewed every five years
What will it cost a property owner? The cost for a property owner with $100,000 property is around $30 a year. (This has been consistent.)
What will the funds be used for? A permanent improvement levy can ONLY be used for maintenance and improvements on buildings and grounds, transportation expenses, and purchase of technology. This IS NOT operational money for salaries, benefits, curriculum, programs, etc.
Why should voters vote for this levy? The River View Local School District is one of the largest school districts, area wise, in the state of Ohio. (376 square miles) Our transportation costs and needs far exceed the state average. We use around 24 percent of these funds to replace and maintain our bus fleet. We operate six buildings. Four of these building are 80 to 100 years old. We use around 59 percent of this money towards the upkeep, maintenance, and improvements to our buildings and grounds. (furnaces, roofs, parking lots, windows, furniture replacement, etc. etc.) Around 17 percent of the funds are used to replace and keep the needed technology used by students and staff as up-to date as possible. This is an ever growing challenge and this money is essential to trying to provide a 21st century learning environment for our students.
What happens if this levy doesn’t pass? This levy generates around $600,000 a year. Without this money, we would have to take this amount from the GF (general fund) which provides the instruction for the students. Our permanent improvement costs are significant and because the River View Community has supported this levy for the past 20 years, we have been able to maintain these costs without taking funds from the educational costs for our kids.
Editor’s note: Information about the River View Local Permanent Improvement Levy was provided to The Beacon by Dalton Summers, River View Local School District Superintendent.
OSU Extension Levy
Is it a renewal or new levy? Renewal, this levy first passed in 2010.
How many years is it for? Five years. It will commence in 2016 and end in 2020.
What will it cost a property owner? For $50,000 value property it will cost approximately $6 a year, for $100,000 value property it will cost approximately $12 a year, also CAUV land is valued at 5.6 cents per acre for land enrolled in the program.
What will the funds be used for? 4-H Youth Development and Agriculture & Natural Resources are the two primary educational programming areas that are supported in Coshocton County. The funds from this levy renewal will continue to support operating expenses for our OSU Extension office, including the salaries of seven employees: Two full time educators, three full time staff, and two part-time staff. All levy funds generated will stay here in Coshocton County and allow the office to be eligible for additional state, federal and grant dollars. One example of this is a current full time staff position for the Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program that is supported through federal grant dollars.
Why should voters vote for this levy? Our Coshocton County OSU Extension service makes our lives better…
- by helping our 4-H youth develop life skills and become productive citizens in our community.
- by helping our farmers make wise management decisions with access to researched based, unbiased, scientific information.
- by helping our families, homeowners, individuals and our community grow through educational programs and services that improve our lives in many ways.
OSU Extension has been a part of the social fabric of our community for 100 years. Your support of this renewal levy ensures that 4-H and all the other services offered by OSU Extension will continue to strengthen communities and enrich lives here in Coshocton County.
What happens if this levy doesn’t pass? Under federal statute enacted by the Smith–Lever Act in 1914, OSU Extension has had a cooperative agreement with Ohio counties, which states that each county will provide local dollars in order to receive state and federal Extension funds. If local funding is not supported, then OSU Extension will not operate in Coshocton County.
Editor’s note: Information about the OSU Extension Levy was provided to The Beacon by Danielle Ellis, levy committee chair.
Category: Government
