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April 27, 2006
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April 27, 2006 |
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Information on May 2 election Click on the links below to read each
article: MTFR asks local voters to pass second levy (back to top) Miami Township Fire-Rescue has placed on the May 2 ballot a 0.9-mill four-year levy that would generate an additional $112,000 a year for the fire department. The levy will be listed as Issue 13 on the ballot. The levy is expected to cost a homeowner an additional $27.58 per $100,000 valuation each year. Property owners currently pay $94.28 per $100,000 of assessed property value in tax to MTFR. Voters approved a 3.8-mill five-year levy renewal last fall that generates approximately $350,000 a year for the department. Miami Township had intended to replace the November levy at the same millage rate to generate $443,000 for MTFR a year. But an error in the application process forced the Township to split the levy into two parts, asking for the first part last November and the second piece on May 2. The fire department has operated with the same $350,000 budget since 2000. But the Fire-Rescue strategic planning committee said that an increase in funding is necessary to support rising training and emergency service costs as well as to maintain and replace the department’s fleet of ambulances, tankers and emergency responders. Last year, the committee created MTFR’s 10-year strategic plan, which includes increases in the fire budget. The first part of the plan recommends an increase in recruitment and retention efforts to help adequately staff the department with well-trained paramedics and fire and EMS responders. The plan also includes the replacement of a tanker, a staff vehicle and a fire engine and the upgrade of engine 811 over the next 10 years. The fire department staff includes three full-time employees and close to 50 volunteer staff members who are reimbursed at an hourly on-call rate. MTFR estimates that it would cost the Township nearly $620,000 a year to replace the volunteers with paid full-time personnel. The fire department’s budget is funded solely by property taxes. The department does not bill for its services. The average cost of responding and transporting a patient by ambulance to the hospital is $350 to $800. Last year Fire-Rescue responded to 605 EMS calls and 412 fire calls, the first time the total number of calls rose above 1,000 in a year. Contact: lheaton@ysnews.com County bridge levy on ballot (back to top) The Hyde Road bridge located outside the Vale in Yellow Springs is one of about 14 Greene County bridges that would be replaced if voters on May 2 pass a 0.25-mill levy for bridge repair and replacement. The five-year levy, which will be a replacement, although in a lesser amount, of a 0.65-mill bridge levy passed in the 1960s, will be used to keep in good repair the county’s 283 bridges, about 37 of which are not in compliance with state regulations. The tax measure will be listed as Issue 3 on the ballot. “Hopefully, the voters will be as kind to us as they have been in the past,” Greene County Engineer Robert Geyer said in an interview last week. The current levy has “afforded us the opportunity to keep the bridges in relatively good shape,” he said. The May 2 levy would generate initially $826,000 a year, but that amount would gradually decrease to $715,000 annually in five years, due to the phasing out of the state’s personal property tax, according to Geyer. The levy would cost a homeowner $2.80 a year for each $100,000 of appraised value of the home. Part of the levy’s proceeds would be spent on immediate bridge repairs and part would be used to leverage other revenue sources, such as state and federal grants that require local contributions, Geyer said. If the levy does not pass, Geyer said, Greene County would have significantly less money to work with and “there will be a limited number of bridges that we can replace.” Geyer estimated that the Hyde Road bridge is at least 100 years old, and is in “really poor shape,” with abutments that have crumbled and turned to gravel. The bridge has a posted load limit of five tons, and while it is considered safe for cars, it is less safe for trucks. The engineer’s office keeps a close eye on the bridge, Geyer said, and “if it gets much worse we’ll have to close it.” Contributing to the bridge’s decline is the fact that twice as many cars use it each day — up to 300 cars daily — compared to five years ago. Geyer said staff members in the engineer’s office have observed that many drivers are young people, and they suspect that it may be a “cut-through” for Cedarville University students who live in Fairborn. While about 94 percent of the county’s bridges are in good repair, a significant number — about 13 or 14 — are “structurally obsolete,” Geyer said, and need to be replaced, because they are too narrow or are so unsound that they have a load limit. Some of these bridges were constructed when the county was awarded a federal grant in the late 1940s, he said, and they are now more than 50 years old. Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com Candidates on May 2 ballot (back to top) Republican and Democratic voters who go to the polls on May 2 will find plenty of competitive races in the primary elections. The following is a list of candidates who will appear on both parties’ ballots. Incumbents are listed in italics. U.S. Senator Governor/Lt. Governor State Attorney General State Auditor Secretary of State State Treasurer Supreme Court Justice Supreme Court Justice U.S. House, 7th District Ohio House, 84th District Greene County Commissioner Dem: None Dem: None Ohioans can vote by absentee ballot (back to top) A new state law allows all Ohioans to vote by absentee ballot. In the past, voters needed a reason to request absentee ballots. Greene County voters may request in writing or in person at the Greene County Board of Elections absentee ballots for the May 2 Primary Election. The Greene County Board of Elections is located at 651 Dayton-Xenia Road, Xenia 45385. The deadline for applying for a mailed absentee ballot is Saturday, April 29, at noon. Office hours at the Board of Elections are Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. The board office will be open for extended hours for absentee voting to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, and on Saturday, April 29, 9 a.m.–noon. To be counted, voted absentee ballots from within the United States must be received at the Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. on May 2. Out-of-country voted absentee ballots must be postmarked no later than May 2, and received at the Board of Elections within 10 days after the election to be counted. An acceptable form of I.D. must be presented when requesting the ballot. Acceptable I.D.’s include current and valid Ohio driver’s license number, the last four digits of a voter’s Social Security number, a copy of a current and valid photo I.D., current utility bill, or current government document or check showing a voter’s address. Applications must also include the voter’s name, voting residence and address where the ballot is to be mailed, if different from the voting residence, voter’s date of birth and party preference. The voter must sign the application. Voters hospitalized at Greene Memorial Hospital on Election Day may apply for an absentee ballot until 3 p.m. on May 2. For more information, call 562-7433 or 427-2883, ext. 7433. Polling locations
(back to top) Voters in Yellow Springs precincts 440 and 441 vote at the Bryan Community Center. Precinct 440 consists of most of the north side of town, and precinct 441 includes the western part of Yellow Springs. Voters in Yellow Springs precincts 442 and 443 vote at the First Presbyterian Church. Precinct 442 consists of much of the central areas of the village and downtown. Precinct 443 includes the south end of Yellow Springs. Voters in Miami Township precinct 455 vote at the Cedarville Grace Baptist Church, 109 North Main Street. The precinct includes the eastern portion of Miami Township, residences east of Grinnell and Bryan Park Roads. Voters in Miami Township precinct 456 vote at the Bryan Center. This precinct consists of the portion of the township west of Grinnell and Bryan Park Roads, and outside Yellow Springs. For more information call the Greene County Board of Elections at 562-7470. The board office is located at 651 Dayton-Xenia Road in Xenia.
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