LEVIES 101 ELECTION BASICS STRUCTURE OF ELECTION OFFICIALS. Secretary of State (SOS) County Board of Elections (BOE)

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1 LEVIES 101 Christopher D. Betts Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney s Office 140 North Sandusky Street, 3 rd Floor Delaware, Ohio Telephone: (740) Facsimile: (740) cbetts@co.delaware.oh.us ELECTION BASICS STRUCTURE OF ELECTION OFFICIALS Secretary of State (SOS) Chief Elections Official Boss of County BOE Oversees elections in all Of Ohio s 88 Counties County Board of Elections (BOE) 4 members (2 Republican/2 Democrat) Director/Deputy Director (Republican/Democrat) Set ballot Run elections 1

2 TYPES OF ELECTIONS (R.C (A), (D), AND (E)) Primary Election Special Election General Election ON THE BALLOT Candidates Issues Tax Levies Initiative Referendum SOURCES OF ELECTION LAW ORC Title 35 ORC Chapter 5705 Other locations throughout ORC Specific requirements for levy/initiative/referendum SOS Directives 2

3 CONSTRUCTION Strict Compliance Substantial Compliance Generally only where statute expressly permits STRICT COMPLIANCE? Orange Township Fire Levy (State ex rel. Orange Twp. Bd. of Trustees v. Delaware Cty. Bd. of Elections, 135 Ohio St.3d 162 (2013)). Original fire levy failed BOT approved new resolutions to place levy on ballot ed documents to BOE Physically delivered 2 minutes after 4:00 deadline OSC Granted Mandamus and Ordered BOE to Place Levy on the Ballot Avoid unduly technical interpretations that impede public policy in elections cases. A technical violation that prevents issue from reaching the ballot must be 1) connected to public interest and 2) serve a public purpose. TAX LEVIES 3

4 TAX LEVY BASICS Annual Tax on Real Estate Assessed by County Auditor Appraisal Every 6 yrs. (R.C (B)) Revaluation 3 yrs. following 6 yr. appraisal (R.C ) Amount Based on Assessed Value of Real Estate Collected by County Treasurer Subject to Ten-Mill Limitation MILL Mill one-tenth (1/10) of one (1) cent or 1/10th $1.00 of tax assessment per $1,000 of property value assessment. 10 Mills 1% or $10.00 of tax assessment per $1,000 of property value assessment. TEN-MILL LIMITATION (R.C ) Aggregate or combined amount of unvoted real estate taxes levied in a political subdivision in any one (1) year may not exceed ten mills ( ten-mill limit ) All real estate taxes over or exceeding ten-mill limit must be voted 4

5 INSIDE/OUTSIDE MILLAGE Inside Millage is the amount of mills within or under the 10 mill limit Outside Millage is the amount of mills above or exceeding the 10 mill limit TYPES OF LEVIES Additional Renewal (Straight/Increase/Decrease) Same Purpose and Rate (poss. increase/decrease) Same Real Property Valuation Less Taxes Collected Due to Older Valuation Replacement (Straight/Increase/Decrease) Same Purpose and Rate (poss. increase/decrease) Updated Real Property Valuation More Taxes Collected Due to New Valuation PURPOSES OF TAX LEVIES R.C Current Expenses Debt Charges Ambulance/EMS Solid Waste Construction of Permanent Senior Citizens Improvement Services/Facilities Roads Airport Parks/Recreation Costs Associated with Fire Contract With County for Police Water Supply Improvement Sewage Disposal Acquire Greenspace Plant/Facilities Sidewalks/Trails/Bike Paths Cemeteries Agricultural Easements 5

6 LENGTH OF LEVY (R.C AND ) Fixed Number of Years (Generally up to 5 years) Continuing As Otherwise Specified by Governing Statute STATUTES ON PROCEDURE TAX LEVY Basic Procedure - R.C (B) Other Sections of R.C. Ch supplement procedure in (B) Depending on: Subdivision Purpose of Levy PROCEDURE- TAX LEVY 1. Resolution of Necessity (R.C , (A), , and ) 2. County Auditor s Certification (R.C ) 3. Resolution to Proceed (R.C ) 6

7 1. RESOLUTION OF NECESSITY Declare it necessary to levy a tax outside the ten-mill limitation Purpose of the tax Type levy (additional, renewal, replacement) Section of the R.C. authorizing the submission of the question of the tax Request the County Auditor certify to the Township: A. The total current tax valuation of the Township B. The number of mills required to generate a specified amount of revenue or the dollar amount of revenue that would be generated by a specified number of mills Township must certify the Resolution to the County Auditor (Certification Statement) 2. COUNTY AUDITOR S CERTIFICATION Auditor must issue the Certification within 10 days after receiving Resolution of Necessity Will Include; The total current tax valuation of the Township The number of mills required to generate a specified amount of revenue or the dollar amount of revenue that would be generated by a specified number of mills 3. RESOLUTION TO PROCEED Must be approved by BOT AFTER receiving County Auditor s Certification Must include: A. Statement that it is the intention of the Township to proceed with placing the tax levy on the ballot B. Rate of the tax levy, expressed in mills for each one dollar ($1.00) in tax valuation as estimated by the County Auditor. 7

8 BALLOT LANGUAGE Generally included in Resolution to Proceed Form for Ballot Language (B) Also see: SOS Ohio Ballot Questions and Issues Handbook FILING OF LEVY DOCUMENTS WITH BOE Resolutions Certified by FO File with BOE by 4:00 PM 90 Days Before Election (R.C (A) and (F)(1)) 90 Days Before Election = Day After Preceding Election Certification (resolutions and Auditor certification) must be ON PAPER NOT ELECTRONIC (R.C ) TALE OF 2 TOWNSHIPS Race to File Before the Deadline Orange Township Fire Levy (State ex rel. Orange Twp. Bd. of Trustees v. Delaware Cty. Bd. of Elections, 135 Ohio St.3d 162 (2013)). Liberty Township Fire Levy Electronic vs. Paper 8

9 BOE PROCEDURE TAX LEVY Accept Filing Certification to Ballot by BOE Prepare Ballot Language Publish Conduct Election Certification of Results INITIATIVE TYPES OF INITIATIVE Limited Home Rule Aggregation of Electricity/Natural Gas Regulations for Adult Oriented Businesses Township Zoning JEDD 9

10 PROCEDURE - INITIATIVE Procedure is specific to type of initiative and prescribed by the R.C. Generally will require approval of a specific resolution, which then must be certified to the BOE FILING OF INITIATIVE WITH BOE Resolution Certified by FO Most likely will need to file with BOE 90 days before election Do not assume 90 days Think Ahead - May vary by initiative BOE PROCEDURE - INITIATIVE Accept Filing Certification to Ballot by BOE Prepare Ballot Language Publish Conduct Election Certification of Results 10

11 ZONING REFERENDUM PROCEDURE Township Follows Procedure for Zoning Amendment (R.C ) Amendment becomes effective 30 days after adoption (BOT vote) unless petition is filed (R.C (H)) Petition Filed with BOT (R.C (H)) PETITION VS. PART-PETITION Part-Petition means each individually circulated petition paper Petition means collectively all circulated part-petitions 11

12 CERTIFY PETITIONS TO BOE BOT must review petitions for sufficiency and validity with petition requirements (i.e. facial compliance). (R.C (H)). Certify to BOE within 2 weeks of receipt by BOT and not less than 90 days before the election. Board should approve resolution create record of review and certification. Resolution should be provided to BOE. PETITION CRITERIA FOR FACIALLY VALIDITY Form Petition must be in Proper Form (Form of petition is in R.C (H) (Also See SOS Form No. 6-O)). Petition must also conform to requirements in R.C Signatures: Contain required number of signatures (not validity of signatures). Number available from BOE (8% of total vote cast for governor in the township at the last preceding election at which a governor was elected). Contents: Number of zoning amendment resolution. Full and correct name, if any, of zoning amendment resolution, motion, or application. Brief summary of the contents of the zoning amendment resolution Map: Appropriate map of the area affected by the zoning. BALLOT AND VOTE Election on referendum held at a special election on the day of the next primary or general election at least 90 days after the petition is filed with the BOE Vote Zoning amendment effective if majority vote in favor of the zoning amendment 12

13 BOE PROCEDURE - REFERENDUM Accept Filing Check Validity and Sufficiency of Petition Check Validity of Signatures Certification to Ballot by BOE Prepare Ballot Language Conduct Election Certification of Results REMEDIES PROTEST Various Statutes Provide for Protest of Referendum Quasi-judicial hearing before BOE 13

14 EXPEDITED ELECTIONS CASES Jurisdiction Usually filed as an original action in the Supreme Court Common Pleas/Court of Appeals also have jurisdiction Extraordinary Writ: Mandamus and/or Prohibition S. Ct. Prac. R Applies to election cases filed within 90 days of election VERY accelerated schedule (5 days to answer/3 days to brief weekends/holidays included in time) RESOURCES ELECTION CALENDAR SOS Election Calendar Annually published Contains important dates throughout the year concerning elections with statutory cite 14

15 RESOURCES SOS Ohio Ballot Questions and Issues Handbook SOS Website ( SOS Advisories SOS Memoranda Election Materials/Guides Forms QUESTIONS? Christopher D. Betts Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney s Office 140 North Sandusky Street, 3 rd Floor Delaware, Ohio Telephone: (740) Facsimile: (740) cbetts@co.delaware.oh.us 15