2023_YSNElectionGuide_p01

VOTER’S H GUIDE A SPEC I AL PUBL I CAT ION of the YELLOW SPR I NGS NEWS ABOUT THIS GUIDE The 2023 Election Guide contains informa- tion about the local candidates and the local and county issues, including levies that will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot for Yellow Springs and Miami Township. Candidates running for local office were invited to participate by submitting biographical information and answering questions related to their contests. POLLING LOCATIONS All village voters living in precincts 440, 441, 442 and 443, and Miami Township residents living in precinct 456, will vote in Antioch University Midwest’s multipur- pose room. Antioch University Midwest is located at 900 Dayton St., Yellow Springs. Precinct 440 consists of most of the north side of town, and Precinct 441 includes the western part of Yellow Springs. Precinct 442 consists of much of the cen tral areas of the village and downtown. Precinct 443 includes the south end of Yellow Springs. Precinct 456 includes the western portion of Miami Township that surrounds Yellow Springs. Voters in Miami Township precinct 455, which includes the eastern part of the town- ship, will vote at Cedar Land Event Center, located at 200 Parkview Lane in Cedarville. Voting times and dates remain the same as in recent years. Polls will be open on Tues- day, Nov. 7, 6:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. 4 Visit ysnews.com for a precinct map. EARLY VOTING Early voting for the Nov. 7 election contin- ues weekdays at the Greene County Board of Elections. The office is open 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday, through Oct. 27; 7:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.Monday, Oct. 30; 7:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31; 7:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. Wednesday–Friday, Nov. 1–3; 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4; and 1–5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. For mail-in early voting, an absentee ballot request form must be completed and mailed to the Greene County Board of Elections; request forms are available online at bit.ly/3S1nJkT and must be received by the board of elections no later than Tuesday, Oct. 31. After receiving an absentee ballot in the mail, voters must return it by mail postmarked by Monday, Nov. 6, or return it to the Greene County Board of Elections in person. PLEASE NOTE: Mail-in absentee ballots returned to those who requested them early this month contained an error, which stated that voters select only two candi- dates for Village Council; there are three open seats to be filled. Corrected mail-in absentee ballots are set to be mailed out to Yellow Springs voters this week. For more information, contact the Greene County Board of Elections at 937-562-6170 or go to www.boe.ohio.gov/ greene. The board office is located at 551 Ledbetter Road, Xenia, OH 45385. 2023  RIDES AVAILABLE The Yellow Springs Senior Center, 227 Xenia Ave., will provide rides to polling locations for the elderly or disabled on a first-come, first-served basis. Rides may be requested for both early voting days and Election Day. To request a ride to Xenia for early voting, call the Senior Center at 937- 767-5751 three business days in advance. To request a ride on Election Day, call the Senior Center no later than Friday, Nov. 3. STATE ISSUES I SSUE 1 Constitutional amendment for reproductive rights This issue, a proposed constitutional amendment, would enable access to abor- tion, contraception, miscarriage care and fer- tility treatment in Ohio. If the issue is passed by simple majority vote, that access would be protected by the state’s constitution. The proposed amendment would allow lawmakers to restrict abortion using “the least restrictive means” after the point of fetal viability, and would grant physicians the authority to determine fetal viability on a case-by-case basis. Exempt from these restrictions would be cases where the life or health of the pregnant person is threatened. The issue’s ballot language includes enact- ing protections for both medical profession- als and patients with regard to abortion and other forms of reproductive care by includ- ing in the proposed constitutional amend- ment the acknowledgment of an “individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abor- tion” and added “legal protections for any person or entity that assists a person with receiving reproductive medical treatment.” Issue 1 is backed by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, which includes doc- tors and reproductive rights groups, such as Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, the ACLU of Ohio, the Abortion Fund of Ohio and Pro-Choice Ohio. I SSUE 2 Statute to legalize recreational marijuana This issue, a proposed statute, would legalize the recreational use of cannabis products by Ohio adults if passed by a simple majority. If approved by voters, the statute would allow adults ages 21 and older to purchase and possess cannabis products, and create additional legal protections for “individuals who engage in permitted adult use cannabis conduct.” The statute would create the Division of Cannabis Control within the Depart- ment of Commerce to tax and regulate cannabis production and sales. It would to suppor t Children’s Ser vices in the care, protection and placement of abused, neglected and dependent children in Greene County. The levy represents an annual tax cost of about $45 for each $100,000 of appraised property value. LOCAL ISSUES I SSUE 11 School district permanent improvement funding (renewal) This levy is a renewal of a five-year, 1.2- mill local property tax estimated to collect $152,000 annually for the Yellow Springs Exempted School District. If renewed, the levy will fund district permanent improve- ments, which include construction, reno- vations and additions to school facilities and providing equipment, furnishings and site improvements. The levy represents an annual tax cost of about $30 for each $100,000 of appraised property value. The levy was last renewed in 2018. I SSUE 12 School district facilities This levy is a combination of a 37-year bond issue of $26,630,000, funded by a 7.94-mill local property tax, and an ongo- ing annual 1% income tax. If passed, the levy will fund a combina- tion of renovation, demolition and new construction at both Mills Lawn Elemen- tary School and at the East Enon Road campus that houses both McKinney Middle School and Yellow Springs High School. The facilities plan will include shifting fifth and sixth grades to the East Enon Road campus and creating space at Mills Lawn for a potential preschool pro- gram. The estimated cost of the upgrades, not accounting for interest over the 37 years, is $55.3 million. Though not noted in ballot language, if the levy passes, the district has stated it will aim for a “phased-in” collection of the 7.9 property tax millage to coincide with the expiration of a 1.8-mill facilities bond issue passed in 2000. Rather than adding the 7.9 mills onto the current 1.8 mills for the 2000 bond issue, property taxes for local residents will instead increase to 7.9 mills, “phasing in” the new tax at 6.1 mills in combination with the current 1.8 mills. When the 2000 bond expires in 2027, the millage for the new facilities tax will increase to its full 7.9 mills rate, ef fec- tively keeping the tax rate increase for school district taxpayers level rate across the life of the bond. If the levy passes, the district will qualify for a 27% rebate on portions of the planned facilities renovations and construction — a rebate of an estimated $8.95 million. According to district offi- cials, the rebate funds would be received about a decade into the levy’s 37-year life, and would likely reduce the bond issue’s also create a cannabis social equity and jobs program and require the Division of Cannabis Control to certify applicants to the program based on social and economic disadvantage, which the proposed statute defines “to include membership in a racial or ethnic minority group, disability status, gender, or long-term residence in an area of high unemployment.” In addition, the statute would create a 10% sales tax on cannabis sales, in addition, to typical sales tax, with the funds collected by the tax to benefit a cannabis social equity and jobs program, a community cannabis facilities fund, a substance abuse and addiction fund and a Division of Can- nabis Control and Tax Commission fund. Voters should be aware that Issue 2 is proposed as a statute, not an amendment. Statutes do not carry the same legal pro- tection that amendments do, and lawmak- ers can either modify or repeal statutes after they are approved at the polls. COUNTY ISSUES I SSUE 18 Greene County Council on Aging (renewal) This levy is a renewal of a five-year, 1.4-mill Greene County proper ty tax estimated to collect $5,985,000 annually for services for senior citizens through the Greene County Council on Aging. Services funded through the levy would include emergency response systems, home delivered meals, in-home care, caregiver support and respite and adult day care. The levy represents an annual tax cost of about $42 for each $100,000 of appraised property value. The levy was last renewed in 2018. I SSUE 19 Community developmental disabilities services and programming (renewal) This levy is a renewal of a five-year, 3.5-mill Greene County proper ty tax estimated to collect $13,686,000 annually for community programs and ser vices related to developmental disabilities. Services funded through the levy include Four Oaks Early Intervention, residential services and adult day support. The levy represents an annual tax cost of about $94 for each $100,000 of appraised property value. The levy was last renewed in 2018. I SSUE 20 Children’s Services (renewal) This levy is a renewal of a 10-year, 1.5-mill Greene County proper ty tax estimated to collect $6,383,000 annually