Voters reject Rittman income tax increase, Wayne County Care Center levy
A Rittman income tax increase and a levy to support the Wayne County Care Center were each defeated by voters in the May 2 primary.
Rittman voters shot down the additional 0.5% income tax that would have resumed the 1.5% rate the city had operated on since 1977.
Out of 669 votes, 368 voted against the tax while 301 voted in favor of it. A small portion of Rittman is in Medina County where voters approved the tax 9 to 8, bringing the unofficial tally to 310 in favor and 376 opposed.
Wayne County voters rejected a two-part levy for the Care Center by 931 votes. This leaves the care center without its 0.5-mill tax and the 0.7-mill additional.
Rittman says 'no' to income tax hike
Sitting at the base 1% income tax rate, the city of Rittman had told residents in January that without the additional 0.5% tax, there would be service cuts across the board.
The income tax funds everything from police and fire to street repairs, public health, parks and more.
Income tax: Rittman taxpayers vent frustrations over city's 15-year income tax mistake
Rittman had operated with a 1.5% income tax rate every year since 1977, but that changed earlier this year when the city refunded the 0.5% tax for 2022.
That refund came after Rittman Finance Director Matt Bubp discovered an administrative mistake dating back to 1996 that resulted in the city collecting too much income tax for 15 years.
When the first 1977 income tax bump was passed, increasing the tax to 1.5%, it was slated to expire in 2007, but that expiration was never copied over to the changed 1996 city tax code.
Bubp explained at a public forum on the tax that 2007 came and went, and the 0.5% addition remained.
Why the Care Center levy was on the ballot
The 5-year 1.2-mill levy for the Wayne County Care Center would have generated roughly $3.5 million per year to help provide skilled nursing and rehabilitation services. The levy would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home roughly $37 annually.
The levy had aimed to make up for rising inflation while allowing the center to hire more employees and increase the payroll, said Ron Amstutz, Wayne County commissioner.
Care Center levy: Voters to decide tax issue to fund operation of Wayne County Care Center
"This is to help increase the staffing level to the level we need to provide the best care we can," Amstutz had told The Daily Record. "To do that, we need to keep up with payroll increases."
It also would have allowed the center to continue providing services ranging from therapies to rehabilitative care and a variety of activities for residents.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Voters say no to Rittman income tax, Wayne County Care Center levy
