Rejected police levy going back up for vote in Strasburg
STRASBURG (WJER) (Dec. 26, 2023) – Village officials are making yet another attempt to replace and increase the more than 30-year-old tax that helps equip the police department.
The same 2.3-mill levy that failed by 19 votes in November will be back on the ballot in next year’s presidential primary. The development came during the last village council meeting when members voted 4-to-2 on the final resolution needed to send the request to the board of elections.
If approved, the levy would collect around $125,000 annually for policing-related expenses and raise property taxes by around $60 for every $100,000 of home value. Mayor-elect Bruce Metzger didn’t get a say in whether to make another attempt because of the earlier filing deadline but shared his thoughts during the December 5th council meeting.
“I was for waiting until November because of the fact that it had been on multiple times in a row and I feel people are gonna think they got it shoved down their throat until it passes. That’s why my suggestion was November to give it a break.”
Village voters twice rejected a previous proposal that would have more than quadrupled what they were paying under the existing levy.