Mineral City sets Sept. 29 public meeting on 1% income tax increase

Mineral City will ask voters to approve a 1% increase in income tax. The measure was defeated at the polls in May of this year, so a public meeting to present information and answer questions has been set for Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. at the fire station.

Becky Carpenter told council at its Sept. 11 meeting she is pulling together numbers for a presentation that will show village residents precisely how much money the village spends and where it spends it in order to demonstrate why the tax increase is needed.

Carpenter also said she wants to inform residents on the village’s revenue streams, stating that most people probably think property taxes are a large source of revenue for the village, but in actuality, the village only receives about 19.5% of the property taxes collected from homeowners. 

Mayor Laurie Green said she believes the reason the tax increase failed in May is because people didn’t understand why the money is needed. She also said people may not have understood that income tax will not be collected from people who are living in circumstances such as being disabled or unemployed.

Reports to council

In her mayor’s report, Green expressed a safety concern over a couple of houses with boarded up windows, even though residents are living there. She asked Fire Chief Sam Moore to look into the matter.

Councilman Rick Cain said he is aware of one home where the residents have moved out but left dogs behind. Green said the dog warden will likely need to be called. 

Street Supervisor Moore requested funds to blacktop the alley behind the Church of the Nazarene. Council approved spending up to $5,000 on asphalt. Moore also said the backhoe has been serviced.

Cain provided a status update on the new park, stating the goal is to have the park fully open by mid-summer of 2026. He said the basketball and pickleball courts are open now and are getting steady use. Additionally, Cain reported:

— Sandy Township has agreed to grade the flat areas in the park at no charge. 

— Another $24,000 is needed to complete the playground; he will seek grant funding

— He obtained costs for renting a RockHound to clear rocks from the land in order to plant trees and grass seed, but agreed to look into borrowing one.

Green brought up the water fountains planned for the park, saying the area does not have the infrastructure to support those features and cannot afford to run water lines at this point, although eventually it will need to happen in order to build restrooms. Cain said until lines can be run, the park will have porta-potties.

As part of the fire and safety report, Moore said a woman who lives on Sandyville Road watched her cat get attacked by two loose dogs belonging to a village resident. The cat owner reported the incident to the sheriff.

Green reminded residents that dogs must be on leashes per a village ordinance and per Ohio state laws.

Council President Terry Nill reported for the Friends of the Library, saying the King of Hearts jackpot was up to $4,955 as of Sept. 11.

Nill also said this year’s golf outing drew more golfers than any of the previous outings, netting almost $6,000.

Announcements

Fall clean-up day will be held Saturday, Sept. 27. Residents should leave items on the curb for pickup by Kenstar.

Trick or Treat is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

A vacant seat still remains on council. Anyone interested in being appointed to council should submit a letter of interest to the attention of Mayor Laurie Green, Village Hall, P.O. Box 336, Mineral City, call 330-859-2222. or send email to mineralcityoh.org. Candidates must live within the village corporation limits.

Mineral City Council meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 5 p.m. at village hall. All meetings are open to the public.