SILVERTON — Residents will vote next month on a quarter-percent increase in the city income tax that would be used for street repairs.

        The increase would generate an estimated $230,000 annually.

        The measure, recommended by City Council, has survived one public hearing with minor opposition and is set for another hearing April 18. The issue is on the May 7 primary ballot. The extra 0.25 percent would add $75 to the tax bill of a resident earning $30,000 a year. That resident pays $300 under the current 1 percent tax.

        “We definitely need the street improvement,” said Idella Thompson, a resident of the 6500 block of Elwynne Drive. “This is the first time we have voted on an income tax increase. I know a lot of people don't want tax increases, but this is a matter of need. We either vote to get the streets repaired or we don't get them repaired.”

        David Waltz, municipal manager, said the city doesn't have enough money for street repairs because the bulk of the budget goes for operations such as fire, police, trash collection, street cleaning and snow removal.

        He said the city has completed only about half a mile of street repairs a year in the last five years.

        Streets usually last 15-20 years before repairs are needed, Mr. Waltz said. Based on that, the city should be repairing about 1 1/2 miles per year, at an estimated cost of $400,000 to $500,000.

        “What the income tax increase will do is give us an infusion of money to get on some kind of schedule for repairs,” Mr. Waltz said. “It still does not get us to the average repair work we should be doing each year.”

        Officials have developed a five-year plan for repair, but have not set a priority list, he said.

        Silverton, like many other municipalities, has streets that qualify for grants from the Ohio Public Works Commission's State Capital Improvement Program (SCIP).

        Mr. Waltz said the city has about 64 streets, some of which do not qualify for state grants.

        “A dead-end street will not be as competitive for state money as a Montgomery Road or a Hamilton Avenue,” he said.

        With the increase, Silverton's income tax would still be lower than the 2.1 percent in Cincinnati; the 2 percent in Amberley Village, Cheviot, Hamilton, Lincoln Heights and Woodlawn; and the 1.5 percent in Fairfield, Middletown, Mount Healthy and Reading.

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