Holmes County road sales tax renewal on ballot
The Holmes County commissioners approved a resolution on Monday, May 10 that will allow residents to vote on a renewal of a five-year, 0.25% sales tax to be used for the paving of county roads.
Investing in the county roads was a priority for Holmes County engineer Chris Young when he proposed a county tax plan that would hopefully span 10 years and cover all of the county’s roadways.
As the county enters its fifth and final year of the first half of the 10-year plan, it has been a success.
The Holmes County commissioners approved a resolution on Monday, May 10 that will allow residents to vote on a renewal of a five-year, 0.25% sales tax to be used for the paving of county roads. If the levy is approved by Holmes County voters on Nov. 2, the funds will be used to complete the second half of the 10-year resurfacing project that was laid out by Young when the sales tax was first passed in 2016.
The commissioners didn’t hesitate when the option to support this levy arose.
“We strongly support this levy,” commissioner Joe Miller said. “Chris and the county have done such a tremendous job of making our county roads nice, and it has been a great addition to both the people who live here and to those who visit.”
According to Young, the current five-year, 0.25% sales tax has been in place since 2017 and expires at the end of 2021. This road sales tax has been used to pave 129 miles of county road, which is approximately half of the county road system. The county roads that were completely repaved from 2017 through 2021 include the following:
—2017: County Roads 51, 144, 160, 168 (west of state Route 515) and 189.
—2018: County Roads 6, 25, 59, 168 (east of state Route 515), 114, 172, 245 and 575.
—2019: County Roads 22, 50, 203, 207 and 385.
—2020: County Roads 58, 68, 70, 77 (state Route 39 to U.S. Route 62) and 120.
—2021: County Roads 10, 23, 52, 88, 100, 101, 135, 186, 192, 193, 230, 329, 407, 620 and 622.
“I am very pleased with the repaving program that we have been able to establish here in Holmes County. It helps all facets of our community, from tourism, to industry, to the average person just traveling to and from work or school. Holmes County is blessed to have such a strong economy that generates enough funding from a small 0.25% sales tax to pave all our county roads,” Young said. “We are very fortunate in Holmes County because most of the sales-tax revenue used to repave the roads comes from the millions of tourists that visit our beautiful county each year. My hope is that the people of Holmes County approve of the job we have been doing so far and recognize the good value in renewing the 0.25% sales tax for another five years.”
The renewal of the 0.25% sales tax will be used to complete the remaining half of the county road system that was not repaved in the first 5-year phase. The second 5-year phase will see the repaving of 119 miles of county road from 2022-26.
The roads that will be repaved include the following: County Roads 1, 12, 19, 27, 35, 47, 53, 59, 61, 75, 77 (U.S. 62 to Wayne County line), 108, 114, 140, 141, 145, 150, 216, 229, 235, 270, 280, 292, 314, 316, 318, 320, 330, 333, 349, 373, 390, 391, 392, 393, 400, 558, 580, 600, 621, 623, 624, 625 and 672.
“With sustained funding from the sales tax, my office will finally be able to get our county road system onto a 10-year resurfacing project. While not the recommended best practice of seven to eight years, this is far better than the 16- to 17-year replacement cycle that we were heading for before the road sales tax was passed,” Young said. “If we continue to demonstrate good value, then I believe the people of Holmes County will vote to continue funding Holmes County’s roads in this same way long into the future.”
The addition of the 0.25% sales tax revenue has not only provided the funding to establish a proper repaving cycle, it also has freed up more of the traditional gasoline and road mileage-based funding from the State of Ohio to be used on road maintenance and repairs. Proper road maintenance and repair allows newly paved roads to last longer. Adequate funding to maintain and repair each road will help to make the road last the 10 years necessary until it will be repaved.
Safety has always been a core component of the 0.25% road sales tax. Safety projects on county roads are always a priority as new development and increased tourism continually present new challenges to the transportation system. From the outset, 10% of the road sales tax revenue has been set aside specifically for township road-safety projects. These funds have been used on various safety projects all over Holmes County. This township road-safety program will continue if the 0.25% road sales tax is renewed for another five-year term.
The paving this summer and fall that will finish up the final year of the first 5-year plan will be done by Melway Paving, which has done the work on the road-paving project from the beginning. Melway was awarded the job after two companies including Melway provided bids to the county.