MANSFIELD — Eric Miller’s work may begin in earnest after Tuesday night.
Mansfield City Council is scheduled to vote on a citizen-initiative proposal that would ask voters to approve a quarter-percent income tax increase to replace 53 miles of aging, four-inch water lines around the city.
The “Mansfield Water Main Initiative for Fire Safety” would raise between $17 and $18 million during its four-year run — if council agrees to put it on the ballot — and if city residents approve it Nov. 7.
The “ifs” are considerable.
Based on reactions from several members of City Council on June 6, Miller and supporters of have their work cut out for them. Not a single local lawmaker expressed support for the proposal.
But none said they would deny Miller and his group a shot at convincing voters.
Instead, during a public utilities committee meeting, council members expressed concerns about the timing of the proposal. Fourth Ward Councilman Alomar Davenport was among those concerned with the timing.
“We have not had the opportunity to collect any data in regard to how the increase that we’ve already done will address this particular issue,” Davenport said. “I will vote yes to put it on the ballot, but I do believe this is premature.
“I believe we should have been waiting to see how our previous action impacts what we are trying to address.”
Miller’s citizen-initiative proposal comes just a few months after council approved adding a “readiness to serve” charge to local water bills in the hopes of generating enough money to maintain the water delivery system and begin the process of replacing lines.
That “readiness” charge is estimated to generate about $2.7 million annually. City engineer Bob Bianchi had said about $850,000 of that could go to water main replacement, about 1 percent of the city’s water lines annually.
“So that means (it would take) 100 years to take care of 60 miles of water main that are a problem right now. That kind of gradualism … it just isn’t going to work,” Miller told council.
The local attorney, who helped launch the successful “United Pothole Haters Tax” in 1984, said there are currently 2,400 addresses in the city “that are not within a reasonable distance” of properly working fire hydrants.
“We have got to have a faster start than 1 percent a year,” he said. “Our theme, our organization, the Mansfield Water Line Initiative, is to let the voters decide.
“Put it on the ballot and give us a chance to explain this to the voters and let’s let the voters decide.”
Council’s public utilities committee, chaired by 1st Ward Councilwoman Laura Burns, is expected to again discuss the proposal Tuesday during a 6:30 p.m. meeting.
Also on Tuesday, City Council is scheduled to:
— adopt the 2024 tax budget and submit it to Richland County Auditor Pat Dropsey, an annual move required by state law. The tax budget will be discussed during a public hearing scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m.
— vote on the acceptance and appropriation of a $6,210 grant from the EPA to be used in the purchase of equipment for the water repair department.
— vote on the acceptance and appropriation of a $20,512.48 grant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services for the Project Safe Neighborhood Program. The grant is a one-year renewal that helps pay for the FLOCK license plate reader program (eight cameras at $2,500 each) and a portion of the overtime for a crime analyst.
— vote on the acceptance of a $588,784, two-year Community Corrections Act Grant through the the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for use by the Mansfield Municipal Court
— vote on a $75,000 contract with United Drilling Inc. from Plumsteadville, Penn., for emergency repairs to the service elevator at the water treatment plant.
