Tremont City plans levies

Police, street issues expected to be decided by voters.

Tremont City Council plans to seek voter approval of a 6-mill street and sidewalk repair levy and a 7.5-mill police services levy, but it wasn’t known if they would be filed in time for the November election.

The council doesn’t have another regular meeting scheduled until Aug. 12, six days after the filing deadline for November. A special meeting could be called, or the issue could be placed on the ballot for next year.

Clerk-Treasurer Carole Clippinger said Thursday she would meet with the village’s attorney that afternoon about the details of filing the two levies, but declined to talk more about it until she’d met with the attorney.

Based on calculations from the Clark County Auditor’s Office, the proposed levies — if certified by the Board of Elections and passed by voters — would cost the owner of a $100,000 home roughly $210 additional on the 6-mill levy and $262.50 additional on the 7.5-mill levy.

In November 2011, voters defeated a 12-mill, 5-year current expenses levy, which is similar in millage to the newly-proposed ballot issue. The 2011 issue would have generated about $48,000 annually, the Springfield News-Sun previously reported.

Village officials said then it would have replaced a 1 percent income tax, put in place by council after voters defeated a 6-mill operating expenses levy in February 2009.

Voters also declined to renew a 6-mill operating expenses levy November 2008, first approved in November 2003.

The village has about 250 parcels, according to the auditor’s office, and a population of about 375 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

It has two paid police officers and about 13 volunteer officers currently, according to Clippinger.

Filings with the Clark County Board of Elections for the Nov. 5 ballot are due Wednesday, just a day after the special election on Tuesday.

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