Issue - Renewal of 0.60 mill for Mental Health Services and Facilities
Explanation: This is a 0.60 mill property tax levy, to be renewed at the same rate as already exists, for a period of five years. The cost is $1.25 per month for each $100,000 of a property’s assessed value.
Points to consider:
- Passage of the levy will result in no increase in taxation from the present level.
- The renewal will enable the Board of Mental Health to maintain its present level of services in Lorain County.
- If the levy fails, a property owner will pay $1.25 less per month in property taxes for each $100,000 of a property’s assessed value.
- The failure will likely result in the Board of Mental Health having to cut its present level of services in Lorain County.
Referendum on Ordinance No. 07-150. County Sales Tax Referendum
Explanation: The County Commissioners voted to enact a 0.25% increase in Lorain County’s sales tax in order to increase revenue for the operating expenses of Lorain County. A citizens’ petition drive collected enough signatures to place this referendum on the ballot. If passed, sales taxes in Lorain County will increase by 0.25% from 6.25% to 6.50%, which includes both the state and local sales tax rates.
Points to Consider:
- The tax will increase the revenues Lorain County can use towards operating expenses.
- Lorain County has lost more than 3.5 million in local government funding at the same time that expenses are increasing. For example, a new Common Pleas Court Judgeship was implemented.
- The sales and use tax in Lorain County is one of the lowest in the State of Ohio.
- The sales tax is a regressive tax, affecting those with lower incomes to a greater degree than those with higher incomes.
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Issue #21 - Replacement of 1 mill with increase of 0.3 mill for a total of 1.3 mills, Providing for Education Technology, 5 years.
Explanation: This replacement of the current 1 mill property tax with a 1.3 mill property tax would expire in December 2012. This levy provides all funding for technology spending in the school district. It includes projectors, smart boards, replacement of obsolete computers and software, and technology to increase the communication and instructional capabilities of the district.
Points to Consider:
- With the passage of Issues #21 and #22, the Oberlin School district will allow current 8 and 5 mill operating levies to expire at the end of 2008, thereby reducing property tax in the school district to the minimum millage (20 mills) allowed by statute and decreasing reliance on the property tax as a source of revenue for the schools.
- This is not a one-to-one laptop initiative, which voters rejected previously.
- The property owner would pay an additional $16 per year for every $100,000 assessed real estate value.
Issue #22 - Additional income tax of 0.75%, Current Expenses, 5 years
Explanation: This issue provides for general operations of the school district, which includes such expenses as salaries, benefits, textbooks, supplies, utilities, insurance, bus fuel, and equipment. It would add .75% to the current school district income tax for a total of 2.0% and would expire in December 2012.
Points to consider:
- Issue #22 is an income tax levy that seeks to replace two property taxes. (See above.)
- The percentage of the amount of taxes paid as a percentage of income will be more equitable. Currently 42% of Oberlin’s property is exempt from property taxes. An income tax spreads the tax burden more broadly. Those with higher incomes will pay a similar percentage of their incomes to fund the schools as those in lower income categories. Current school funding takes proportionately more from lower income taxpayers.
- The Supreme Court of Ohio has come down strongly on the need for school districts to move away from a reliance on the property tax, which fosters inequality among school districts in Ohio.
- This provides for a stable revenue stream for our schools that will help stabilize school funding in the foreseeable future.
Since it is a five-year tax, it can be voted out at that time, if citizens don’t like it. For further information - http://sustaintheprogress.org/
Issue #23 - Central Lorain County Ambulance District
Replacement of a portion of an existing levy, being a reduction of 1.38 mills, to constitute a tax …for the purpose of providing ambulance service and emergency medical service at a rate not exceeding 1.19 mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to $0.119 for each one hundred dollars of valuation, for 3 years, commencing in 2008, first due in calendar year 2009. |
