Jim Roper, Perry Township Trustee

MY PROMISE TO YOU - NO NEW OR INCREASED TAX LEVIES

Perry Township is primarily funded through levies including levies for fire, road and police services. I pledge not to vote for any new or increased tax levy over the next four years if re-elected.

The reason I can make this promise is simple. As your trustee for the past 16 years, we have been very responsible spending your tax dollars. We have saved a significant amount of money though shared services agreements with other local governments. The biggest savings was partnering with Worthington and now Franklin County for radio dispatch services. That total savings for that partnership alone is over one million dollars. We’ve also saved money by purchasing fewer police cars and by purchasing used (7 days old) police radios rather than buying brand new ones. Additionally, we have acquired new police equipment by securing over $250,000 in grants at no cost to taxpayers.

Candidates often make promises of “no new taxes”. But, it is important to remember that the only reason they can make such a promise in Perry Township, is because we have been working diligently over the years to SAVE MONEY and SPEND WISELY.

In sum, not only do I promise not to vote for any new or increased tax levies, I promise to continue to look for new and creative ways to save YOUR taxpayer dollars. I’ve done that for the past 16 years. You can trust me do that for the next 4 years.

Jim Roper
Chairman, Perry Township Board of Trustees
Trustee Liaison, Perry Township Police Dept.

The Truth About Your Property Taxes

While campaigning door-to-door, I’ve learned that residents are being told that Perry Township has steadily increased property taxes for 10 years. That is not true.

This explanation is a bit long, but I promise you will know a lot more about your property taxes after you read this.

Your property taxes go to these 10 groups: 1) Franklin County General Fund; 2) Children’s Services; 3) Mental Health Services; 4) MRDD; 5) Metro Parks; 6) Columbus Zoo; 7) Senior Services; 8) Worthington Schools; 9) Library Services; and 10) Perry Township.

Worthington Schools takes the largest amount at 56%. The Franklin County group (Children’s Services, Mental Health, MRDD, etc.) along with the library takes 23%. Finally, Perry Township gets 21%. Whenever any one of these 10 groups passes a levy, your property taxes are impacted.

Here is what Perry Township has done as far as levies for the past 10 years:

ROAD LEVIES: Perry township road levies are temporary. They last five years and then they expire. The year before they expire, we typically ask votes to “renew” or “replace” the expiring levies. Here are the 4 road levies voters passed over the past 10 years:

2008: Passed a 1.5 mill road levy that resulted in a TAX DECREASE to 95% of Perry Township property owners

2009: Passed a 1.5 mill “replacement” levy to take the place of a 1.5 mill levy that was set to expire at year end.

2013: Passed a 1.5 mill “renewal” levy to take the place of a 5 mill levy that was set to expire at year end. This resulted in NO TAX INCREASE.

2014: Passed a 1.5 mill “renewal” levy to take the place of a 5 mill levy that was set to expire at year end. This resulted in NO TAX INCREASE.

POLICE LEVIES: Perry Township police levies are permanent. Here are the two police levies voters passed over the past 10 years:

2008: Passed a 9.1 mill levy that resulted in a TAX DECREASE to 95% of Perry residents. The DECREASE occurred because the trustees terminated two older permanent police levies. The DECREASED amount was $48 per $100,000 of property valuation.

2015: Passed a 3.5 mill police levy that resulted in a TAX INCREASE of $123 per $100,000 of property valuation.

Don’t be misled. Perry Township has NOT been steadily increasing your taxes. We’ve had TWO TAX DECREASES and ONE TAX INCREASE for 95% of residents over the past 10 years.