BUTLER — Residents in the Village of Butler, as well as Troy and Cass townships, will decide property tax issues at the ballot box.
Butler residents will decide a five-year, 2-mill levy renewal for general construction, road and bridge repair.
The levy costs residents about $70 annually for each $100,000 in property value. It was last passed in 2014.
Butler Mayor Wes Dingus said the levy largely pays for resurfacing costs and road crew wages.
“What we usually do is we take out a loan to pay to do the roads properly,” Dingus said.
“That way, we’re not just chipping and sealing everything to get by. Once we pay that loan off, we take one out again, which is usually about every three years.”
The mayor estimated the levy generates about $25,000 for the village. If passed, tax dollars would be collected starting in 2025 for a five-year period.
“This levy really helps with a consistent source of income for the streets department,” Dingus said. “It will help us maintain what we currently do and keep up the equipment.”
Troy & Cass townships to decide cemetery levies
Troy Township residents will decide on a levy replacement for the Lexington-Troy Township Union Cemetery.
Wynn Kearns, vice chairman of the union cemetery board, said he couldn’t remember when the levy was first passed. It was last passed as a renewal in 2014.
“We decided to ask for a replacement because there’s really not enough money in the renewal,” Kearns said.
A replacement levy assesses current property values, meaning taxes will increase if property values have increased. The half-mill levy will cost about $17.5 annually per $100,000 in property value.
Collection would start in 2025 for a period of five years.
“The levy right now brings in around $40,000,” Kearns said. “It helps us maintain three cemeteries around Troy Township.”
Only the cemetery on Lexington’s Main Street cemetery is still active and accepting new burials. Kearns said cemetery staff clear brush, mow grass and repair monuments where needed at the Bell Road and Gass Road cemeteries.
“We do all of that at the downton cemetery as well, but we also pay for road upkeep, planting flowers and that sort of thing,” he said.
“And we have a full-time sexton to talk with the public and sell burial plots.”
Kearns said the levy generates about half the cemetery budget and the other half comes from burial fees and plot sales.
“We’re not talking about blowing money around here,” Kearns said. “If this doesn’t pass, we’d have to make severe cuts to monument repair and take a hard look at burial rates.”
Cass Township residents will also decide on a cemetery levy — a renewal last passed in 2019.
The five-year, 1-mill levy generates about $17,000 for the township each year, according to trustee David Shepherd.
“The funds will be used to purchase and upkeep equipment, such as lawn mowers, weed-eaters and other equipment used to maintain a cemetery,” Shepherd said. “The cost to maintain the cemeteries has gone up.
“This includes equipment, utilities, insurance, gasoline and other supplies. The renewal will help us tremendously.”
The levy dollars also help pay for maintenance of cemetery drives, buildings and headstone repair when needed.
Shepherd said Cass Township maintains three cemeteries — Mount Hope, Old Salem and Bodley cemeteries.
The levy collection would start in 2025 for a period of five years if it’s renewed. It will cost property owners approximately $35 annually per $100,000 in property value.
Sunday sales liquor option in Mansfield
On the primary ballot in Mansfield, precinct 1-F voters will determine a Sunday sales initiative at 2264 S. Main Street.
The BP gas station would be able to sell packaged beer, wine and mixed beverages if the option passes.
As a community development group committed to growing Mansfield, NECIC sees civic engagement as vital for a healthy community. Rooted in the North End, their efforts benefit North Central Ohio and beyond. They promote informed voter turnout for a thriving society. Explore at www.necic-ohio.org.
