Wednesday, November 4th, 2015
Auglaize tax issues pass
By Jared Mauch
WAPAKONETA - Auglaize County voters approved three tax issues on Election Day.
Auglaize County sales tax
Voters renewed a 0.5 percent county sales tax for another 10 years with 8,273 votes or 56 percent to 6,541. The tax was set to expire April 1 and is part of the county's overall 7.25 percent sales tax.
The tax generates about $2.5 million annually for the county's general fund.
In 2008, the sales tax brought in about $2.3 million. That figure rose 14 percent to about $2.7 million in 2014. By mid-October, it had earned more than $2.1 million.
The tax was first enacted in 1996 to pay for the construction and operation of the Auglaize County jail. The bulk of the money generated still funds the sheriff's department.
The county also will use the money to pay for future projects including the installation of lightning rods at the courthouse, which was struck by lightning twice in 2014, causing the elevators in the building to malfunction.
Auglaize County
Council on Aging levy
County residents renewed a five-year, 1-mill operating levy to support the Auglaize County Council on Aging. Unofficial results showed 11,684 votes or 79 percent for the issue and 3,175 or 21 percent against.
The levy generates about $846,178 per year and makes up the largest portion of the council's budget, according to council executive director Christina Roby.
The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $23 per year, down from $30 when approved in 2010.
Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board of Allen,
Auglaize and Hardin
Counties tax levy
Voters in all involved counties renewed a 10-year, 0.5-mill tax levy for the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize and Hardin Counties.
Unofficial Auglaize County results showed 10,875 votes for the levy and 3,923 against it. Allen County approved the measure 19,320 to 8,414, and Hardin County passed it with 4,833 votes to 2,674, according to unofficial results.
The levy supports basic mental health and alcohol and drug treatment for adults and children. It will generate about $1.6 million per year from all three counties. The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $11.88 per year, down from $15 when it was last approved in 2005.
The revenue supports the children's crisis team, heroin addiction treatment, psychiatry, substance-abuse services for youth and adults, the 24-hour crisis stabilization unitand a texting and phone hotline, according to the board's website.
The levy has been approved by voters for 40 years.
