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Mercer County residents performed their constitutional right of voting on Tuesday at Market Hall at the Mercer County Fairgrounds.
CELINA - Fort Recovery voters overwhelmingly passed the village's income tax hike from 1% to 1.5%.
The levy passed with 73% of the vote, or 170 to 62, according to unofficial election results. Now that it has passed, councilors have vowed to stop collecting revenue from the four real estate tax levies on the books totaling 9.8 mills that currently bring in about $300,000 annually.
The increased rate of 1.5% will generate about $1.5 million annually.
The Mercer County Health District's fourth levy attempt passed, raising their annual collections to $434,062 from $325,000.
The measure to add a .25-mill levy for five years passed with 54% of the vote, or 4,002 votes to 3,453, per unofficial election results.
Levy funds will go toward the district's essential services like food service inspections, immunizations, private water system inspections, sewage inspections, and keeping birth and death records.
In addition, levy funds will support other programs that are mandated by the state but do not receive any state or federal funding, such as animal bite investigations; sanitation inspections for schools and jails; and case management for communicable diseases.
The health department's previous three levy attempts failed, most recently in the November 2022 general election.
The increased tax will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $9 each year. It'll be placed on the tax list beginning in 2025, with taxes first due in calendar year 2026.
Voters once again came through for the Southern Mercer County Joint Ambulance District on Election Day, decisively passing a five-year, 0.75-mill replacement tax levy for the benefit of the Southern Mercer County Joint Ambulance District on Election Day.
The levy was approved with 1,307 votes or 82.2% of the total.
Commencing in 2026, and first due in calendar year 2027, the levy will collect $411,726 annually and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $26 each year.
The levy will help cover day-to-day operational costs and long-term expenses such as equipment upgrades and ambulance purchases.
During a special election in May 2021, voters resoundingly supported a new five-year, 0.75-mill levy for the then freshly minted joint ambulance district.
The levy passed with 484 votes in favor, or 93.80%, and 32 votes against, or 6.20%, according to the official results of the Mercer County Board of Elections.
At the time the levy was projected to collect $270,000 annually, costing the owner of a $100,000 home $26.25 a year.
With the levy set to expire at the end of this year, the joint ambulance district opted to pursue a five-year replacement levy to continue funding operations. The replacement levy will collect at a rate not exceeding 0.75 mills based on current property valuations, which have risen significantly in recent years.
The Southern Mercer County Joint Ambulance District began operating in January 2021, covering Recovery, Gibson, Granville and Marion townships and the villages of Burkettsville, Chickasaw, Fort Recovery and St. Henry. It is governed by a board of trustees consisting of trustees from each of the townships and representatives from each of the village governments.
In addition to its levy, the joint ambulance district also receives revenue from Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance companies for runs
Franklin Township voters resoundingly passed a five-year, 1.6-mill renewal levy for fire protection on Election Day.
The levy made it over the finish line with 431 votes or 76.96% of the total.
Commencing in 2025, and first due in calendar year 2026, the levy will generate $129,629 per year. The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $34 annually.
Levy funds are used for operational costs, including equipment, training and insurance.
Union Township voters handily passed the township's 2.5-mill renewal fire levy by 78%, or 118 to 33 votes, per unofficial election results.
The fire protection levy will generate $63,505 and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $42 annually.
The levy was raised by voter approval from 1.4 mills to 2 mills in 2010, then increased by another 0.5 mills in 2015.
