A “Tax Levy” in this case, means the rate of tax imposed against the income you earn from employment within the City of Middletown. The City of Middletown currently imposes a 1.75% local income tax on all income earned within the City and this request would add ¼ of 1% (.0025) to the existing 1.75% levy for a period of ten (10) years – resulting in a new tax levy rate of two percent (2%) for the period 2021-2030. In turn, all the revenues the City of Middletown receives as a result of this additional ¼ of 1% will be used exclusively to pay the principal and interest associated with a $31.3 Million, comprehensive roads paving project to be completed in 2021-22.
In Warren County, it will be Issue 03 Middletown Income Tax .25% Street Maintenance
In Butler County, it will be Issue 15
A Bond issue is the financial mechanism a City uses to borrow a large sum of money, up-front and all at once, that will be used to pay for the purchase, construction, or reconstruction of a major capital improvement project. Then, much like a homeowner must pledge their commitment to repay (over an extended time period) the principal and interest owed on a home mortgage when they buy a house, the City pledges its commitment to repay (using an identified revenue stream such as an income tax levy) the principal and interest due on the cost of obtaining the up-front funds necessary to pay the costs of the capital improvement project.
If the additional ¼% “roads” income tax levy is approved, The City of Middletown will issue a $31.3 Million Bond issue in early 2021 dedicated exclusively to a comprehensive roads paving project to be completed in 2021-2022, and then use the new tax revenues generated between 2021 and 2030 to fully and exclusively repay the principal and interest on the $31.3 Million Bond. In this manner, the citizens of Middletown can be assured that the “roads levy” will go only to the road paving project and nowhere else. The $31.3 Million Bond issue has been calculated to maximize the amount of Road work that can be completed in 2021=2022 so that the City takes full advantage of historically-low interest rates and the competitive bidding (lower prices) that results from large construction quantities bid all at once.
A Public Safety Levy was passed by the voters in November 2007 which enacted an additional one-quarter percent (.0025) income tax for a period of five years (2008-2012). This levy was then passed permanently by the voters in 2012. This portion of the income tax revenue is designated to help fund the public safety divisions (Police and Fire).
An Ordinance voted on by City Council on December 18, 2007 put a 1/4 of 1% income tax to be used for street paving on the March 4, 2008 ballot. However, on January 15, 2008 Council voted to withdraw this from the ballot.
60 lane miles were paved within 2016-2020, costing $9.7 million dollars.
137 lane miles would be paved within the 2021-2022 paving season with the passage of the bond levy.
Paving would begin in Summer 2021.
Several factors are considered for each paving season allotment. These include:
- Pavement Condition
- Traffic Volume/Safety Concerns
- Maintenance Cost (i.e. are we constantly filling potholes)
- Utility Considerations (i.e. are any water, sewer, gas or electric projects scheduled)
- Complaints Received
Pavement Condition Index (PCI) is an industry standard system to rate the quality of street pavement on a scale of 0 -100 with 0 being the worst and 100 being the best (new pavement). All City streets are typically inspected every two years. Each street section is color coded on the PCI map with “green” meaning excellent/good condition, “yellow” meaning fair condition, and “red” meaning poor condition.
Keep in mind that recently completed projects may not be reflected in this data. Additionally, each year that work is not done on a street its PCI degrades.
