Akron voters gave the city permission to create a gas aggregation plan and to form a human resources department, Canton voters were looking favorably on a parks levy, and an early tally showed a Hudson library tax doing well.
But an operating levy in Coventry Township was struggling and a Massillon income tax was on the verge of failing for a third time, according to partial results late Tuesday.
Here’s how local issues were faring at press time:
• Akron is — make that, was — the largest city in Summit County without a gas aggregation program.
Voters approved the city locking into a rate with a gas supplier, with the goal being to provide savings for residents.
They also gave thumbs up to creating a Department of Human Resources for the city’s 1,800 employees.
The move will eliminate the position of personnel director and combine operations currently carried out by several offices.
That issue was particularly satisfying for Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan, who said, “It allows us to move along with efficiency.”
• Coventry Township voters were asked to pass an issue that would renew an existing 0.95 mill levy while adding an additional 2.05 mills, providing an additional $450,000 a year for the township.
With a fourth of the votes counted late Tuesday, the issue was failing by a handful of votes.
Trustees warned that without new money this year, it was likely all five township parks would be closed and township roads would fall into further disrepair.
Coventry Township Trustee Ed Diebold traced the budget woes to a reduction in state funding, elimination of the estate tax, property valuations that have never returned to pre-recession numbers and a contract with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office that costs more than the existing police levy raises.
• Early votes were looking good for the Hudson Library & Historical Society, which said the financial challenges dogging area libraries for several years finally caught up with it.
One-third of the library’s budget comes from the state, but that amount hasn’t grown in a decade while expenses continue to increase.
Officials asked to replace a 2.3-mill levy with a 2.9-mill levy to bring in an additional $500,000.
• The Wayne County Board of Developmental Disabilities won its request for a 1-mill levy for five years to support its work in helping children and adults with developmental disabilities.
• Massillon officials were hoping the third time would be the charm on an issue that would increase the local income tax from 1.8 percent income to 2 percent. But with a third of the votes in Tuesday night, the issue was on pace to lose again. It would have raised $1 million a year in new income, to be split between the general fund and road improvements.
• Minerva, which closed a 60-year-old village swimming pool last summer because it was too expensive to maintain, gave voters an opportunity to pass a quarter-percent income tax hike that would pay for construction of a new pool. With half the vote in Tuesday night, the issue was narrowly winning.
• Canton’s 5-mill, 5-year levy for parks and recreation was doing well late Tuesday, with 67 percent of the votes in favor. While state law requires it be labeled as an “additional” tax, it is actually combining two existing levies that are expiring and won’t raise property taxes.
• A Louisville Public Library levy that was defeated by just 389 votes in November was narrowly losing again with a fourth of the ballots counted. The new tax would generate $290,000 a year and help build a new library.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.