CLEVES, Ohio — Cleves village officials are moving forward with plans to put a new public safety levy on the November ballot to cover rising costs for police and fire protection.
The proposed 4.5 mill levy would generate more than $375,000 annually to pay for contracts with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and Miami Township Fire Department.
If approved, homeowners would pay approximately $158 for every $100,000 of property value.
"Government's not free, okay," said Chuck Birkholtz, mayor of Cleves. "We have a number of services that we provide for our residents."
The village council held a special meeting Friday evening that lasted just 14 minutes, with only one resident in attendance, who apparently supported the measure.
WATCH: We talk one-on-one with Mayor Chuck Birkholtz about the new tax levy
Birkholtz explained the financial pressures facing the village.
"I believe the sheriff's contract is right around $215,000," said Birkholtz. "The Miami Township fire will go up 5 percent a year. And we have no idea what the end result is over, I think we have two years left in our sheriff's and we're anticipating a pretty significant increase."
Cleves disbanded its police department in 2020 due to budget concerns and has since contracted with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services. In addition to these contracts, the village council has recently approved a part-time village marshal and hired a part-time investigator to pursue criminal nuisance violations against property owners in Cleves.
Some residents have expressed opposition to the proposed levy.
"A levy hasn't passed in a long time. The last levy they proposed failed miserably. I don't believe people want their property tax raised," said Kyle Smith, a Cleves resident, when speaking with WCPO's I-Team. "Find a way to create revenue outside of taxes!"
When asked if this was the best option for the village, Birkholtz was direct.
"It is the only option we have at this time," said Birkholtz. "When you take a look at what happened back in 2021, the year after the council voted to [disband] the Cleves police department, a levy went down. And that was a renewal levy, renewal levies seldom fail."
The village will now send the proposal to the Hamilton County Board of Elections, which will craft the language and place it on November's ballot.
