Friday, August 13, 1999
Colerain proposes heftier road levy
BY LEW MOORES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLERAIN TOWNSHIP — Trustees here voted to place a continuous 2-mill road levy on the November ballot, which would replace a 1.5-mill levy that had been in effect since 1984 and was based on 1984 property values.
The new levy, if approved by township residents, would almost double the amount of money raised to pay for road repairs and maintenance. The current road levy has been renewed by voters every five years since 1984.
According to the Hamilton County auditor's office, the new levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 house $58.34 a year. The current levy costs $27.13.
“I think we can go to the citizens and show that this is going to directly affect them by the improvement of roads,” said Trustee Joseph Wolterman.
Trustees Keith Corman and Diana Lynn Rielage agreed,and all three said the additional money would help the township get more state money for road improvements.
“It means we can continue the level of service that people have come to expect from the road department, and also go a little further,” Mrs. Rielage said.
Dennis Chapman, township public works director, had recommended the 2-mill continuous levy.
Mr. Chapman told trustees that they'd been able to leverage matching grants totaling about $8 million over the past five years. That amount could increase with more money generated by the new levy, as well as increase the amount of state matching grants.
“We were successful in getting certain grants when others couldn't come forward and make that match,” said Mr. Wolterman.
The new levy would generate more than $1.6 million a year for roads. The current levy generates about $845,000.
Mr. Chapman said the additional money would help the township keep abreast of inflation and the increased costs of road repair.
The trustees think resi dents will support the request for a larger levy because they can see the tangible results of their tax money at work.
“It's a matter of civic pride,” Mr. Corman said. “And if a house catches on fire or somebody has a heart attack, they want to make sure those emergency vehicles get to them. It has the broad scope of serving the people and not a special group. The only special group is the public.”
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