Dayton voters said yes to Issue 9 and voted to increase taxes on city residents to 2.5 percent. The levy will raise funds to cover a $5 million budget shortfall and provide funding for universal pre-K education and street maintenance.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley was pleased with the voters' decision and told WYSO News that the new funds were the focus of this morning’s city budget meeting.
“You’ll start seeing that investment in the first quarter of next year as we work to really increase the number of roads being paved, and to do monthly mowing of the vacant lots," she said. "And as far as high quality pre-K, we have a lot of work to do to make sure the structure is right, but you’ll see high quality pre-K next August.”
The 8 year levy raises about $11 million annually and is the first time Dayton residents have raised income taxes in 32 years.