GATES MILLS – The Village Council held a special meeting Monday afternoon to approve an amended resolution for a 3.5-mill tax levy renewal after state officials required a technical change just one day before the ballot submission deadline.
The emergency session at 4:30 p.m. was necessitated by a notification from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections on July 28 regarding new requirements under Ohio House Bill 496, which was passed in April. The legislation requires county auditors and fiscal officers to round estimated annual revenue to the nearest dollar rather than the nearest $1,000 when providing tax estimates to local authorities.
Mayor Steve Siemborski explained that the change affects the dollar amount expressed in the resolution, which needed to be amended and resubmitted to the Board of Elections by Aug. 6 to appear on the November ballot. The original Resolution 2025-19, passed in June, had to be repealed and replaced with Resolution 2025-31.
“This all occurred with respect to section 496 which just happened,” Siemborski said. “It happened in April, but the Secretary of State did not notify everyone until July.”
The amended resolution seeks renewal of the existing 3.5-mill levy for current village expenses. The County Fiscal Officer certified that the levy would generate $616,491 annually, based on the village’s current tax valuation of $280,855,500. For property owners, the levy amounts to $66 for each $100,000 of appraised value.
Council members present for the meeting included David Atton, Scotte Broome, Laurie Laidlaw Deacon, John Onysko, Michael Press and Sandra Turner. Council member Craig Steinbrink joined the meeting after roll call. One council member was noted as absent.
Janet Maul served as clerk pro tem for the meeting after regular clerk Beth DeCapite called in ill.
The council voted unanimously to suspend the rules and pass the emergency resolution after brief discussion about the timing and necessity of the last-minute change. Some members expressed frustration with the short notice from state officials.
“It’s unfortunate, but could we have expedited the last… is there a way that we could have expedited and found about it sooner?” one council member asked.
The mayor noted the legislative change was beyond the village’s control and thanked council members for adjusting their schedules on short notice.
The 3.5-mill levy was last renewed by voters in November 2020 for a five-year period. The current levy authority expires with the 2025 tax duplicate, making the renewal necessary to avoid interruption in revenue collection beginning in 2027.
The resolution will now go before voters on the November ballot as scheduled.
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