CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This May, three Cuyahoga County school districts and one city are asking voters to support tax increases on the May 2021 ballot.
Along with tax increases on the May 4 primary, Parma and Strongsville are holding primaries for city council candidates.
The board of elections always suggests people vote early, either in person or by mail. Early voting by mail, in-person, and drop-off begins April 6.
See a full list of Cuyahoga County issues from the Board of Elections.
Here are the increases on the Cuyahoga County ballots May 4:
North Olmsted schools: The district is asking for an 8.5-mill increase for current expenses, amounting to $297.50 a year in new taxes per $100,000 of home value. There is no expiration date.
Superintendent Michael Zalar says the district held off from asking voters for help as long as they could.
“We’re at a point right now where we need to make the request in order to continue to provide an excellent school system for this community,” Zalar said.
Zalar said the purpose is to help maintain current programs and services. He noted there could be major repercussions for district operations if voters don’t approve the tax.
“If we’re not successful, the district will be forced to look at areas in our operations that we will need to reduce or eliminate services and programs for students,” Zalar said. “That’s certainly not something we want to do.”
Parma schools: The district has two issues on the ballot. The first, a 5.9-mill, $271 million bond issue for 37 years, amounts to $206. 50 a year in new taxes per 100,000 of home value, for two new school buildings and facilities for grades 6-12, and improvements and renovations to other buildings.
The second, a 0.4-mill increase in taxes for construction, enlargement, renovation, and financing, amounts to $14 a year in new taxes per $100,000 of home value. There is no expiration date.
“Our need is real,” said district spokeswoman Audrey Holtzman. “Quite simply, we should no longer be a three high school district. Passage of this bond issue will allow us to cut the number of high school and middle school buildings we operate from six to two.”
Holtzman says the reduction will save the district over $1 million in operating costs per year.
“More importantly, new schools will have updated technology, a STEM learning center, and Career Technical Education classrooms that will allow our students to compete for high paying jobs when they graduate from high school,” said Holtzman. “If we cannot pass a bond issue, we will soon be forced to consolidate our students into old schools, the youngest of which opened during the Lyndon Johnson administration.”
Rocky River schools: A 4.9-mill increase in taxes is for current expenses, amounting to $171.50 a year in new taxes per $100,000 of home value. There is no expiration date.
But the school district has a 1-mill tax expiring, so if the new tax passes, the actual increase on tax bills will be $140.88 a year in new taxes per 100,000 of home value.
Rocky River superintendent Dr. Michael G. Shoaf said the district has been planning the request for more than three years and needs the money to cover operational costs and current building operations. The tax will also allow the district to buy new buses, technology, and textbooks and even redesign the high school kitchen to for the first time serve lunches for its two elementary schools.
Shoaf says the increase will help the school district maintain quality and support students in all academic areas.
“The levy is critical to maintaining our educational system as we have it in place in right now,” Shoaf said.
Strongsville: The city is asking voters to approve a 2-mill increase in taxes for fire and emergency medical service equipment and personnel, amounting to $70 a year in new taxes per $100,000 of home value. There is no expiration date.
Strongsville Fire Chief Jack Draves says the levy will help increase staffing if passed by voters in May.
“The goal is to increase our staffing by up to 20 firefighters,” Draves said.
Last fall, the city asked voters to pass a similar tax increase but it was ultimately not passed.
“Since it failed in the fall, we’re going back to the voters with a revised amount of millage and the language and has been reworded to be more clear, which is some feedback we got from residents,” Draves said.
Draves noted there had been a 45% increase in call volume since 2011. Fire and EMS workers deal with a variety of issues. He said the increase in calls could be due to traffic, the aging population of residents, etc.
“We’re trying to get ahead of this so that we can properly and effectively take care of the residents in the city,” Draves said. “The increased staffing will make sure we have more available units to respond to calls for service, and it will help us decrease our response times throughout the city.”
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February 15, 2021 at 05:30PM
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4 Cuyahoga County cities and schools ask for tax increases in May 2021 election - cleveland.com
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