Millersburg Council keeping tax department in-house

Millersburg Village Council held a regular meeting on Nov. 11.

Several items were discussed during the meeting.

The design/review board approved signage for 13 Tattoo Studio at 18 N. Washington St.

The footers were dug, and masonry will begin on the street department storage building.

The village met remotely with its CSI representative, who answered questions regarding upgrading the village’s water/sewer bills. The village is planning to proceed with the upgrade. It would be a one-time $13,000 implementation cost, along with a $1,000-a-month hosting and software cost. The system will include a customer web portal, ACH payment acceptance and an e-payment module and will still allow residents who wish to receive paper water bills to do so. The village is going to get on CSI’s schedule to install. The village expects regular water bills to be sent out at the beginning of January. The village hopes to be online and have everything up and running for the April water bills.

The 2024 sidewalk work is underway. Hebron Street, South Crawford Street, North Clay Street, North Monroe Street, Walkup Street, South Clay Street, South Washington Street, East Adams Street and South Mad Anthony Street are all areas where parts of the sidewalk and/or curb will be replaced. Thomas Concrete is doing the work for the village this year.

As part of the EPA requirements, the village recently completed the first round of letters to customers informing them of the status of their individual service water lines. In total the village had 13 lead, 34 galvanized requiring replacement and 1,128 lead status unknown lines. Village residents who received one of the letters and know what type of waterline they have going into their home should call the village and let it know so it can update its records. Residents who are unsure what kind of waterline they have can call the village, and the village can walk the resident through the necessary steps to figure that out.

Police Chief Matt Shaner said he will be at Millersburg Elementary School on Nov. 19 to do some ride-alongs with students and teachers.

The 2025 bed tax grant applications were all approved. Mayor Kelly Hoffee thanked all the applicants for submitting how they spend their bed tax dollars, as it shows the village’s local businesses how they are being promoted.

The village will continue leaf pickup for at least three more weeks.

After council’s last discussion about RITA, council decided it was not interested in taking the village’s tax department out of town. The village will keep its tax department in-house as it always has. Council will continue to discuss ways of reaching nonfilers, as well as additional help for the tax department.

Hoffee’s office hours are now by appointment only until after the first of the year. Residents who want to make an appointment can call the village office at 330-674-1886 or email the mayor directly at kelly.hoffee@Millersburgohio.com.

Hoffee had a discussion with Northeast Ohio Gas about its ongoing meter installation. NOG finished south of Jackson Street the week of Nov. 11 and will be north of Jackson Street to finish its work in the village. NOG will continue replacing meters throughout the winter; however, its rules will be more lenient on gas shut-off procedures. If the gas leak is at an appliance (hot water heater, stove, et cetera), that appliance will be red-tagged, and the owner will be required to sign a form stating they know no gas will go to that appliance until the leak is fixed, but NOG will leave the heat on in the house. If the leak is near the furnace or is improperly vented, those are the only two reasons NOG will shut off the heat to the house.

NOG is hoping to be done with Millersburg quickly. After that, it will move to Holmesville to begin meter replacement there. Village residents with questions can call Northeast Ohio Gas at the phone number on their bill.

Council will next meet for a regular meeting on Nov. 25.