If Buckeye Schools puts a combined property and earned income tax issue on the November ballot, it would be the first school district in Medina County to do so.
Ohio legislators made the combination possible as part of the state budget that took effect in September.
Tracy Mattern
Previously, districts could put two different money issues on the ballot, but they only could be voted on separately.
The combined issue is one of four Buckeye is considering for the November ballot.
Board members and administrators have stressed that they are hopeful the district?s August levy will pass, and they can remove all issues from the November ballot.
By law, the district is required to notify the state 90 days ahead of putting an issue on the ballot. The deadline for the Nov. 6 election is the day after the Aug. 7 election.
Last week, Buckeye read legislation to ask voters in November for a property tax, an income tax and an earned income tax, or a combination earned income and property tax issue. Each would be aimed to bring in $3.2 million.
Once the Medina County auditor calculates the millages and percentages for the issues, the school board will vote on which of the issues to move forward.
Buckeye school board President Tracy Mattern said the combination option would lessen the burden on each kind of tax.
For example, if a district wanted to raise a certain amount of money with an 8-mill property tax or a 1 percentage point earned income tax, it instead could decide to combine a4-mill property tax with a 0.5 percentage point earned income tax.
?That may appeal to a broader section of taxpayers,? Mattern said. ?Takes a little bit of the sting out of (both taxes).?
Roger Hardin, assistant director of finance program services for the Ohio Department of Education, said the combination option can be a useful tool for districts that need to collect money as soon as possible but would rather use an income tax to do so.
A property tax would start collecting next January, he said, but an income tax can take up to two years for full collection. A district could combine the two taxes into one issue that would include a property tax that would run out as soon as the income tax collection began.
Some districts have shied away from the combination effort, Hardin said, because it is confusing and can be hard to explain. There is also concern people will think they are being taxed twice, he said.
?It?s just the districts knowing their constituents,? Hardin said.
In communities with a larger population of people who are retired and on Social Security, the combination issue that involves an earned income tax is usually attractive, he said.
Earned income affects only wages, salaries and tips and does not touch income like retirement, disability, Social Security or alimony.
Mattern said a handful of districts in the state have had success with the combination, which may prove attractive to Buckeye, which has not passed an income-related issue or a property tax since 1994.
Medina County Board of Elections Director Carol Gurney said no school district in the county has tried to put two taxes into one issue.
Buckeye has a 7.9-mill levy on the Aug. 7 ballot that would bring in $3.2 million a year for five years.
Mattern said the hope is not to have to move forward with any issue on the November ballot.
?We are simply doing our due diligence,? he said.
Contact Jennifer Pignolet at (330) 721-4063 or jpignolet@medina-gazette.com.
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