Trumbull County voters will see Senior Service Replacement Levy on Nov. ballot

Trumbull County voters will see a Senior Service Replacement Levy on the ballot in November.
In a regular commission meeting on Wednesday, July 31, the resolution to put the levy on the ballot did not receive enough votes. The resolution needs the majority of the commission to vote “yes” for approval. Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa voted “yes” while Commissioner Niki Frenchko voted “no”, Commissioner Denny Malloy was not at the meeting.
Following that meeting, Commissioner Malloy called a special meeting for Thursday, Aug. 1 to have a re-vote. Commissioner Cantalamessa and Commissioner Malloy were the two “yes” votes for the levy. Commissioner Niki Frenchko was not at the meeting.
“Communities are judged by how they take care of their most vulnerable and Trumbull County has a rich history of taking care of our seniors and we're going to continue to do just that,” Commissioner Cantalamessa said.
Commissioner Malloy said at first he was hesitant about putting a replacement on the ballot but felt this cause was important.
“As a human society and as a community we need to take care of our elderly and the senior levy was brought up with a purpose years ago and that purpose still is needed,” Commissioner Malloy.
If the levy passes, for a $100,000 dollar home the taxpayer will be billed 26$ a year. That's an increase of less than $10 a year from the last levy.
If approved by voters, it will bring in an additional $1.2 million a year for senior services. The money will mostly go towards getting hundreds of seniors off a waiting list for at home care.
“Let the people vote is my opinion on this,” Diane Jurkovic, the Trumbull County Senior Levy Administrator said. “If they chose not to vote for this then we just keep operating within our same dollar amount with the waiting list.”
The Trumbull County Auditor estimates the new levy would collect $3,627,000 annually, at an annual tax rate of .75 mills for each $1 of taxable value. If approved, the levy would be in place for five years.
A replacement levy keeps the same millage from an old levy but factors in new property values. If a homes value has gone up since the levy was last voted on then taxpayers will see and increase in their bill. If a home has decreased in value, taxpayers may see a lower bill if passed.