Bremen residents vote down property tax levy to fund return of the village police force
BREMEN — Village residents vote down a property tax levy that would have funded the return of the police force after about a 20-year absence.
In unofficial results, 203 voted against it (68.12%) and 95 voted for the levy (31.88%).
According to the ballot, the proposed 5-mill, five-year village tax levy would go toward "providing and maintaining motor vehicles, communication, and buildings for [the] operations of [a] police department."
The levy would have brought in $130,000 per year.
Council member Kelly Brown was behind the levy push. He is also a Sugar Grove police officer. Had the levy passed, Brown said the village already has a building to house it and would have needed two vehicles for a five-member police force.
"I'm glad people had a chance to vote," he said. "That is what we were after when we decided to put on a levy, that everyone would get their input on it. But we'll rework it and try to address some of the issues and concerns with where the money comes from. Maybe that will be a better option for us."
Brown said the next attempt could be for an income tax increase instead of a property tax levy. He said another option is to find money in the village budget for a police force.
"I don't see them (resident) voting for it if we were to do the exact same thing next time," Brown said.
The Fairfield County Sheriff's Office responds to calls in the village. But Brown said the office doesn't always prioritize little issues, but that those issues are a big deal to residents.
He said after a contract with the sheriff's office expired in 2020, there has not been a deputy assigned to the village. Instead, it's part of a larger sector the office covers. Therefore, Brown said if the deputy in the sector is tied up with something else, the village caller has to wait until the deputy is free.
Besides the Bremen police levy there were other levies on the ballot for county municipalities.
Sugar Grove residents passed a 4-mill, five-year renewal for current operating expenses. The levy passed 75 (68.81%) to 34 (31.19%).
Madison Township voters passed a 1.5-mill, three-year renewal levy for construction and repair of streets, roads and bridges. It passed 174 votes (52.10%) to 160 (47.90%).
Pleasantville voters passed a 2-mill, five-year renewal levy for parks and recreation. It passed with 59 (64.84%) voting for it and 32 (35.16%) voting against it.
They also passed a 2-mill, five-year renewal operating levy by a 57 (62.64%) to 34 (37.36%) mark.
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This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Bremen residents vote down levy to fund return of village police force
