The city of New Philadelphia is considering putting a parks levy on the ballot this November.
After months of tense budget discussions among city administrators and Council members, Mayor Joel Day told Council the city’s financial structure is broken, and a levy to fund the parks would help fix it.
“Our financial architecture is stuck in the past. Currently, we rely on a municipal structure built for a different era, which forces an unsustainable competition for basic resources between our parks, our safety forces, and our roads.”
Day said the park levy would be 5 years and 2.4 mills.
He says it would cost 84 dollars per year per 100-thousand dollars of home value, or 14 dollars per month for the owner of a 200-thousand-dollar home.
It would generate 1.3 million dollars per year.
“By removing the parks department’s $1.2 million annual budget from the general fund, existing capital is unlocked to flow to the needs of other departments. We move from budget battles to stability.”
The four Council members in attendance at a special meeting Monday agreed with the mayor and added it to their legislative agenda.
Day said they will likely vote to put the issue on the November ballot at their meeting on July 27th.
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