November 17, 2005

EDITORIAL

Voters show steadfast support for institutions at polls

If the 2005 election showed anything, it showed that the community of Yellow Springs and Miami Township is comprised of people who generously support vital services. Time and again, voters have approved school, fire and social service levies, agreeing to pay the taxes to finance institutions and services needed to make a community a great place to live.

During the Nov. 8 election, voters in Yellow Springs and Miami Township continued this trend, overwhelmingly supporting both the Miami Township fire levy and the Greene County library levy.

The fire levy, which provides operating funds for Miami Township Fire-Rescue, was approved by voters 86 percent to 14 percent. Now, the fire levy was a renewal so some people naturally were inclined to vote for it since it won’t raise their taxes.

But then there’s the library levy, which will increase in millage, from 0.35 to 1, and will triple the amount of taxes an individual property owner pays to the library system. Regardless of the increase in taxes, voters in Yellow Springs and Miami Township impressively favored the library levy 81 percent to 19 percent. A total of 1,738 local voters supported the levy. Given that the levy unofficially passed in Greene County by just 180 votes, the Yellow Springs community could rightly brag that it helped produce the winning margin.

The community’s support does not stop with fire and library levies. Voters have been unwavering in their support for the Yellow Springs school district. In 2003, for instance, the district placed two levies on the ballot: one levy was approved by a margin of 30 percent, while the other breezed through by 28 percent. Other Greene County services that receive funding through property tax levies receive similar support here.

Such strong and consistent backing for the Yellow Springs school system and the Miami Township fire department has allowed both institutions to grow and provide excellent services that are critical to keeping the community a thriving, healthy place.

Paul Cooper got it right in a letter to the editor about the election, which is published on this page, when he wrote, “we are a community that values education.” We are also a community that cares about its neighbors, its kids, its elders, its institutions and its future. We show this care not just through interest and involvement, but also through our wallets — where, in a sense, it counts most. We chose to tax ourselves.

Villagers like to complain that it’s expensive to live in Yellow Springs, that the taxes are high. Nevertheless, they steadfastly support levies and, therefore, community institutions. A week after Election Day, voters deserve credit for their financial commitments.

— Robert Mihalek