Many people have accused me of being opposed to all taxes. This is not true. However, my level of justification for additional taxes is quite high. It is not each individual tax levy that I oppose. In and of themselves, each levy that Sylvania voters will be facing November 6, be it COSI, the Metroparks, the Library, TARTA, and even all three fire levies can easily be justified by supporters citing helpful statistics.
But as a whole, our property taxes are becoming more and more of a burden, and I believe they are detrimental to continuing to build and maintain a quality residential and commercial community in Sylvania.
Taxes in the Sylvania area already exceed 2% of the value of our homes. The 7.5 mills of tax requests on our ballet this election will push that up even more. By comparison, Monclova Township is 1.53% of assessed value; Maumee - 1.79%, Perrysburg Township - 1.73%, and Evergreen School District in Amboy Township (Metamora, Ohio) - 1.51%. These are all "Excellent" rated school districts, they all have access to the amenities of northwest Ohio; they all share the same level of state taxation.
These are the communities that Sylvania competes with for quality employers and residents, yet they are not faced with the tax hike that we are. So, when looking at tax levies, whether they are new or replacement or renewals, I look not just at who is asking and what is promised to be done with the revenue, but at what is our overall tax burden.
In all, there is $618 at issue for my family, over 10% of our property taxes. Each seperate levy is asking for a 50% to 100% increase in funding. Words such as 'mere', 'only', and 'just' are used to describe each levy but I don't consider $618 to be a meager amount.
So, when you vote next Tuesday, and are faced with a "yes" or "no" vote on seven different levies, think not only of what each individual levy is promising, but ask yourself "How much more can I afford?"
