Tipp & Bethel voters asked to approve renewal levies

Milton-Union voters asked to approve earned income tax

While voters in the Tipp City and Bethel school districts will be asked to approve renewal levies May 6, a request for additional dollars will be considered by those in the Milton-Union district.

The Tipp City Exempted Village Schools are seeking renewal of an emergency operating levy. This levy amounts to $104 for each $100,000 of the Miami County Auditor’s appraised value for a period of five years. It would raise $1,846,779 each year.

Voters first passed the levy in 2015 with the original 4.95 millage and renewed it in 2019. The millage is lower at 2.97 mills due to increased property values and a growing tax base, school officials said.

In Ohio, emergency levies are designed to generate a fixed amount. When property values increase, the effective millage rate decreases because the levy does not collect more than what was initially approved. If new homes or businesses are built, more taxpayers contribute to the levy, which means each individual pays a slightly smaller portion of the total tax obligation.

The Bethel Local Schools are asking voters to renew a 0.75 percent income tax for five years. District officials were asked to provide additional information on the request, but failed to do so.

The Milton Union schools are seeking an additional 0.75 percent earned income tax for a period of five years. The cost of the earned income tax for a family making $50,000 would be $375 a year.

District voters turned down funding requests for operations through a property tax in 2023 and earned income taxes in spring and fall 2024. Following those failures, the district made or will make $1.6 million in cuts to include going to a one bell schedule for all schools to increase efficiency, reducing busing opportunities to the state minimum, increasing athletic fees and reducing staffing levels. 

“This vote is extremely important to the Milton-Union Exempted Village School District,” said Kyle Hinkelman, chair of the Milton Union Alliance. “The district has made or will make $1.6 million in cuts since 2023. These cuts have impacted every student and family at Milton-Union.”

The last request defeated in November was reduced from 10 years to five years accompanied by a five-year plan for which the public can hold the board of education accountable, Hinkelman said.

The Milton-Union Alliance publishes information about the Milton-Union Schools on its social media accounts and website at www.miltonunionalliance.org. People can also email contact@miltonunionalliance.org if they have questions.

Also seeking additional funding is the Troy-Miami County Public Library.

The library “is hoping voters will help bridge a state funding gap and support a five-year, 1-mill, tax levy, said Rachelle Via, library director. This is the library’s first request for a tax increase in 12 years.

Those in the Troy, Miami East, Newton and Bethel school districts will vote on the request.

The requested additional levy amounts to $35 annually for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value. It would provide the library with $1,696,000 a year in funding.

It is hoped that the library could re-open seven days a week and reintroduce some services that have been cut. However, it depends on how the state budget process evolves, Via said.