MANSFIELD — Mansfield administrators were ecstatic Tuesday night as votes rolled in from the Richland County Board of Elections.
The celebration was well underway before the last precinct was counted.
“It’s terrific. I mean it’s great to sit here and see all the tax levies that passed,” said Mark Abrams, parks and recreation director for the city.
Abrams spearheaded the renewal of the PRIDE Tax and relished in the election watch party at the Raemelton School Board site on Tuesday night.
“We worked in unison with the tax levies to get these done,” Abrams said. “We helped them out. Eric Miller (of the Pothole Renewal Levy campaign) was particularly great in bringing us all together and getting us over the hump. It’s good to see people still support the community.”
The PRIDE Tax levy passed with 78.87 percent voting for it. While the Streets and Park Roads continuation tax levy passed at 79.87 percent.
Mayor Tim Theaker said there were a bevy of hands helping to make all the levies pass.
“We have done a tremendous job over the last three to four years in tearing down blighted houses and making sure our safety services can serve so the people can feel safe,” he said. “It’s proven now with the renewing of these levies with a resounding response that it’s something the citizens see we have been frugal and efficient.
“We needed these levies to grow to make (Mansfield) a better place.”
The new levies will be put into place on Jan. 1, 2018. Money for the PRIDE Tax will continue to be used as it has since 2014, Abrams said.
“As far as I know, talking to the administration when we were talking about the passing of the PRIDE Tax, we are going to continue going on like we have the past four years,” Abrams said. “I know the Landbank is in on a whole lot of tearing down. They’re hard at it.
“It will be more of the same of what we’ve had in the last four years.”
The tax was approved in 2014 and has generated about $3.7 million per year since. The PRIDE Tax allots 50 percent to Mansfield’s Fire and Police departments, 22 percent to the Parks and Recreation Department, 20 percent demolition and 8 percent to illumination.
Miller, chairman of the “I Hate Potholes” levy, said he too was delighted all four levies passed.
“That’s the key,” he said. “If even one of them had failed then that would have been another campaign season waiting for us because three out of four wasn’t going to be good enough. This isn’t a baseball team. We needed a clean sweep in order for the community to function well.”
The mayor applauded “the Pothole Haters” for their efforts during his tenure.
“Yes, we do have potholes,” Theaker said “But go to other areas and you’ll see we have a really great and better infrastructure in streets.”
Miller said the victory of the levies will help position Mansfield for a positive future. The monies allotted to street repair will be spent on streets as the city sees fit.
“We really have no role as the Potholes Haters Committee as to selecting which streets will be paved,” he said. “We audit the compliance. We don’t plan which streets will be paved. We audit if it’s going to city streets and city park roads.”
This past year the levy generated $3.5 million, city engineer Bob Bianchi said. The city will typically spend between $3 million and $3.7 million, “depending on revenue and cash reserves at the given time.”
