Liberty fire, Lynchburg police levies defeated
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
Voters in Liberty Township and the Village of Lynchburg each turned down levies to support fire and police protection, respectively in Tuesday's primary.
However, representatives from the Paint Valley ADAMH (Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services) Board say the results are too close to celebrate in their unofficial victory in passing a 1-mill replacement levy.
Liberty Township voters did not pass the 1.8 mill fire protection levy, with unofficial results showing 359 votes for the levy and 429 votes against the levy.
The township is not currently receiving funding toward fire and ambulance services, after voters turned down a fire levy last November.
Prior to the election, Liberty Township Fiscal Officer Jolene Walker told The Highland County Press that the township has carryover funds in its budget, which will cover the costs of fire protection for 2012.
"But we can't sustain that forever," Walker said.
On Feb. 27, the board of trustees voted 3-0 to accepted a fire/EMS contract for $22 per person for each township for a one-year period. The contract will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2012 and will end Dec. 31, 2012. As a result of the contract, Liberty Township will pay approximately $80,000 to the city in 2012.
The township paid $61,088 for EMS and fire services in 2011.
The village of Lynchburg once again declined to give additional funding to its police department, defeating the levy with 429 votes against, to 359 votes for the levy, unofficially.
In a letter to the editor published online Feb. 28, Lynchburg Police Chief Tim Helzer asked that voters support the levy.
"I know that people are taxed to death and the economy is bad, and it seems like prices keep going up. Along with that, crime is on the rise, and being a small village, we are not exempt from all this. I have been a resident in the village for over 20 years, and this will be my third time as your police chief. My kids have grown up here, and I feel it is important to have our own police department," Helzer said.
Helzer has been the chief of police since the end of January, after former Chief Brandon Wooten resigned.
The levy was previously defeated in November 2011, with 200 votes for it and 212 votes against it.
The ADAMH Board is still waiting for official confirmation that their levy received the needed support from voters.
Serving Ross, Pike, Fayette, Pickaway and Highland county, the ADAMH Board's mission is "To meet the recovery needs of our communities by providing access to quality and integrated services, empowering consumers and supporting innovative and evidence based approaches to treatment and prevention," according to their website.
In Highland County, the levy failed to pass with 2,861 votes for the levy, and 4,351 votes against it.
The Chillicothe Gazette reported Tuesday night that "In unofficial vote tallies, the levy request had 100 more 'yes' votes than 'no' out of the 38,080 cast, but there are still 437 provisional ballots remaining to be counted. Those votes won’t be added to the totals until March 22, when official vote tallies are released."
The levy had previously failed to pass in the November general election.
Voters in Liberty Township and the Village of Lynchburg each turned down levies to support fire and police protection, respectively in Tuesday's primary.
However, representatives from the Paint Valley ADAMH (Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services) Board say the results are too close to celebrate in their unofficial victory in passing a 1-mill replacement levy.
Liberty Township voters did not pass the 1.8 mill fire protection levy, with unofficial results showing 359 votes for the levy and 429 votes against the levy.
The township is not currently receiving funding toward fire and ambulance services, after voters turned down a fire levy last November.
Prior to the election, Liberty Township Fiscal Officer Jolene Walker told The Highland County Press that the township has carryover funds in its budget, which will cover the costs of fire protection for 2012.
"But we can't sustain that forever," Walker said.
On Feb. 27, the board of trustees voted 3-0 to accept a fire/EMS contract for $22 per person for each township for a one-year period. The contract will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2012 and will end Dec. 31, 2012. As a result of the contract, Liberty Township will pay approximately $80,000 to the city in 2012.
[[In-content Ad]]The township paid $61,088 for EMS and fire services in 2011.
The village of Lynchburg once again declined to give additional funding to its police department, defeating the levy with 429 votes against, to 359 votes for the levy, unofficially.
In a letter to the editor published online Feb. 28, Lynchburg Police Chief Tim Helzer asked that voters support the levy.
"I know that people are taxed to death and the economy is bad, and it seems like prices keep going up. Along with that, crime is on the rise, and being a small village, we are not exempt from all this. I have been a resident in the village for over 20 years, and this will be my third time as your police chief. My kids have grown up here, and I feel it is important to have our own police department," Helzer said.
Helzer has been the chief of police since the end of January, after former Chief Brandon Wooten resigned.
The levy was previously defeated in November 2011, with 200 votes for it and 212 votes against it.
The ADAMH Board is still waiting for official confirmation that their levy received the needed support from voters.
Serving Ross, Pike, Fayette, Pickaway and Highland county, the ADAMH Board's mission is "To meet the recovery needs of our communities by providing access to quality and integrated services, empowering consumers and supporting innovative and evidence-based approaches to treatment and prevention," according to their website.
In Highland County, the levy failed to pass with 2,861 votes for the levy and 4,351 votes against it.
The Chillicothe Gazette reported Tuesday night that "In unofficial vote tallies, the levy request had 100 more 'yes' votes than 'no' out of the 38,080 cast, but there are still 437 provisional ballots remaining to be counted. Those votes won’t be added to the totals until March 22, when official vote tallies are released."
The levy had previously failed to pass in the November general election.