Some Zanesfield residents want to keep the village together.
Others don’t like the prospect of paying a new property tax. At least that’s what council members and village administrators reported at Monday’s monthly meeting.
Overall, the issue of whether the village government should continue to exist didn’t generate enough interest among the citizenry to draw a single person out to discuss the idea publicly.
“I expected to be a lightning rod for this issue after bringing it up at the last meeting, but I have not been,” Mayor Bo Johns said.
During the May meeting, the mayor asked council to talk to residents to see if they believe the village should try to continue to operate on the minimal funding stream it has, ask voters to approve a tax levy or dissolve and be controlled by the township, as is the case with nearby towns East Liberty and Middleburg.
“We seem to have a mix with some people in favor and some not in favor,” Johns said.
Council members each said they had a few conversations about the issue, but for the most part people were of mixed opinions.
“Those I talked to said if a tax was a matter of keeping us a village, a small tax was not an issue,” Councilwoman Glenna Theis said.
“The common sentiment I got was that neither one of (two residents) was in favor of a tax,” Council Jeremy Watkins said of his interactions.
Mayor Johns said he has already begun meeting with Jefferson Township Trustees and they indicated they would like the village government to continue to function.
Read complete story in Tuesday’s Examiner.
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