North Canton asks Ohio Supreme Court to put levy requests on May ballot

NORTH CANTON ‒ The city's attorneys asked the Ohio Supreme Court Monday to force the Stark County Board of Elections to put two proposed levy increases for the May 2 ballot.

The filing with the state's high court came after the Board of Elections on Feb. 7 rejected two replacement and increase levies − one to fund roads and the other to fund storm sewers and flood defenses.

The board's attorney, Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Deborah Dawson, advised the board that state law did not generally permit the placement of replacement levies on a ballot prior to the year the original levies would expire. North Canton's road and storm sewer levies expire next year. She said that the city could not bring those issues before voters prior to the general election in November 2024.

More:North Canton levy requests rejected from May ballot

Both proposed levies are a 1-mill replacement and 1-mill increase that would adjust for the city's updated, higher property values and double the millage rate. For each levy approved, the cost to the owner of a $100,000 home would increase by nearly $48 a year, according to the Stark County Auditor's office. So if both levies went into effect, the increase starting next year would total more than $95 a year for every $100,000 in home property value. Each levy would generate $1.03 million a year, an increase from the current $385,496 a year.

What is the argument about North Canton's levies?

The city's attorneys, who work for the firm Krugliak Wilkins, argue that the levies are exempt from the law cited by Dawson.

Under another provision of state law, levies related to "public assistance, human or social services, relief, welfare, hospitalization, health, and support of general hospitals," can be placed on a ballot at any time. The city says levies for roads and storm sewers are for public assistance and health purposes, an argument Dawson rejected.

Dawson said the city never mentioned that section of the law in the resolutions council approved Jan. 23. And though council passed new levy resolutions on Feb. 7 citing that law, that action came after the Feb. 1 ballot deadline, making it moot, she argues.

The city's filing also suggests the Board of Elections should have told the city it was not certifying the issues before the ballot deadline of Feb. 1, rather than Feb. 3, denying the city the opportunity to fix the legal issues.

The federal deadline is March 17 for the ballots to be finalized, allowing military personnel and U.S. voters overseas enough time to cast absentee ballots.

The attorneys signing North Canton's filing were Matthew Onest, North Canton's law director Wayne Boyer and Angela Connelly, all attorneys of Krugliak Wilkins.

Dawson Monday evening in a text message said she had not yet received or read the city's filing with the Ohio Supreme Court so she could not yet comment.

Reactions to North Canton's legal move

North Canton Administrator Patrick DeOrio declined to comment, repeating that the matter is a "difference of opinion" with the Board of Elections, which would be decided by the court.

Chuck Osborne, a former councilman and regular critic of the city's government, in remarks to council Monday raised the question of why Krugliak Wilkins didn't run the issues language by the Stark County Prosecutor's office, which advises the board of elections, prior to the ballot deadline of Feb. 1.

Now, the city is going to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees to litigate the issue, he said.

DeOrio said he didn't know how much the legal fees would end up being.

"Why not simply admit the city made a mistake and move on?" Osborne asked. "The problem is the ballot language will not comply with the law."

Council Member David Metheney, Ward 2, said, "my hope is the voters get a chance to decide."

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: North Canton wants state's high court to rule in levies case