Mansfield voters reject water main issue

MANSFIELD — Mansfield voters on Tuesday rejected a proposed income tax increase aimed at beginning the process of replacing 53 miles of aging, four-inch water lines in the community.

According to final, unofficial vote totals from the Richland County Board of Elections, 52.73 percent of city voters on Tuesday opposed a four-year, 1/4 percent income tax increase proposed by a citizens group, the Mansfield Water Main Initiative.

There were 5,766 votes against the issue, compared to 5,168 in favor, according to the elections board.

“I am disappointed with the loss,” said Eric Miller, a Mansfield attorney who spearheaded the effort.

“Our committee will continue to monitor the costs associated with the failure to replace these aging water mains.”

It was Miller who helped create the successful “Pothole Haters Tax” in the city in 1984, an effort that has been renewed every four years since its inception and is responsible for annual paving road paving efforts around the city

He had hoped to recreate that with the water main effort, a tax that would generate revenue that could only be used to replace the water mains.

Miller said the committee worked to educate voters about the need for the proposal.

“As we went door-to-door, I was amazed at the number of people who didn’t know anything about the proposal,” he said. “Those who took the time to learn about it voted for it.”

During the campaign, Miller said there are 385 fire hydrants in the city that cannot function properly due to the small, old water lines, some of which are a century old.

He also spoke about businesses and residents in the city who lose water supply frequently due to water mains breaking.

The new tax would have generated $17 to $18 million over its four-year life span.

It would be enough to start the effort to help solve a lack of fire hydrant water pressure due to inadequate water lines, which affects 2,400 addresses in the city.