Decisions needed for the top of the ballot for county voters will be brief as only eight of the 25 candidate races for Nov. 3 are contested.
No levy or issue filed has been certified yet. The Butler County Board of Elections will consider levies and issues for certification on Aug. 17. All partisan candidates were certified earlier this year ahead of the state’s primary election.
Here are what Butler County voters will consider on Nov. 3, and in the 28 days of early voting:
Butler County
The first of two countywide tax levy renewal requests voters will consider is the five-year, 1-mill mental health levy managed by the Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Services Board. It would generate $7.5 million a year. The MHARS Board oversees the county mental health and addiction system and provides funding, strategic planning, quality assurance and needs assessments for outside service providers.
The second levy renewal request is the five-year, 1.3-mill elderly services levy managed by the Council on Aging. The elderly services levy generates $10 million a year for the Elderly Service Program, which provides programming for seniors. The agency in 2019 served 4,121 clients, paying for various services like transportation, meals, mental health, adult day services, housekeeping and repairs.
Middletown
Middletown voters will see on their ballot a new 10-year, 0.25 percent income tax, which would generate around $3 million per year. It would be dedicated to street and road repairs, and resurfacing.
West Chester Twp.
West Chester Twp. voters will consider two new tax levies, one for the police department and the other for the fire department. Both are 2-mill continuing levies and each would generate around $4.4 million. This is in addition to the township’s current police and fire levies.
Milford and Morgan townships
Milford and Morgan townships are both requesting a renewal of levies. Milford Twp. is asking voters to approve a renewal of a five-year, 2-mill fire levy. Morgan Twp. is asking voters to renew its five-year, 2.75-mill fire levy.
Village of New Miami
The village of New Miami has a pair of issues on November’s ballot, but they are for electric and natural gas aggregation. These issues would allow residents to form a buying group to combine natural gas or electric usage, respectively. It’s designed to allow residents to have bargaining power in hopes of securing lower rates.
Hamilton
Ohio election law requires any questions and tax issues to be presented before voters to be filed 90 days before an election. However, that rule doesn’t apply to charter amendment proposals, which can be filed between 120 and 60 days before the election, according to the Ohio constitution. The city of Hamilton is considering on Wednesday as many as 14 proposed charter amendments. City Council is expected to vote on those at next week’s meeting.
IMPORTANT ELECTION DATES
Sept. 18: Military and overseas absentee voting begins
Oct. 5: Voter registration deadline. Ohioans can register online or until 9 p.m. at their county board of elections office
Oct. 6: Absentee voting and in-office early voting can begin.
Oct. 24-25: First of two weekends for in-office early voting at boards of elections
Oct. 31-Nov. 1: Second of two weekends for in-office early voting at boards of elections
Nov. 2: Last day for in-office early voting, all absentee ballots must be postmarked by this date. Last day for military and overseas absentee voting
Nov. 3: Election Day. Polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and absentee ballots may be hand-delivered to the elections office by 7:30 p.m.
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