Perrysburg Township voters will see a five-year, 1.5-mill renewal levy for road upkeep on the Nov. 8 ballot.
If approved funds would be used for construction, reconstruction, resurfacing and repair of streets and roads.
Township administrator Walter Celley said the issue is a pretty straightforward. The levy first was approved in 2018 after township maintenance workers observed that areas of roadway needed help.
The township usually does not have any trouble passing measures of this kind, he said.
“I would call this a road maintenance levy,” Mr. Celley said. “This is largely for capital-type improvements like paving, repaving and road construction.”
Township trustee Gary Britten, a former employee of the township maintenance department, said that over the last term of the levy, township administrators have managed money well and roadwork goals were accomplished.
Rising costs of fuel have played a role in the township’s road maintenance efforts recently. Still, Mr. Britten said good management coupled with the implementation of newer techniques like micro-surfacing roads, which seals them with a thin layer of material, have led to success.
“If you do not manage these levies right, people will not support them the next time which is only fair,” Mr. Britten said. “They hold our feet to the fire, where they should be.
“This will be put to general use,” Mr. Britten said. “Our maintenance guys work on a five-year outlook and they forecast stuff. We did a lot of curb work over a three-year period, finishing this year. We did a lot of paving as well, and they spread that out over the whole township. Everything we wanted to get done in the current state that they were, we were able to get done.”
Mr. Britten said the township had a master plan done for their roads around seven years ago. The Wood County engineer also did a recent study on all the township roads, giving them ratings, which Perrysburg Township uses as guidelines and a basis for what to fix and when.
“In a lot of the subdivisions they did not have any work done, because we did not have any money before this levy passed. We did a lot of replacement, and the guys have managed the money so well,” Mr. Britten said. “They take a lot of pride in what they do and that is a major benefit to all residents.”
The levy is valued at 15 cents for every $100 of valuation and 1.5 mills for each dollar of valuation for five years, commencing in 2023 and first due in calendar year 2024.
The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $52.50 per year for this levy.
First Published October 21, 2022, 12:42 p.m.
