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Xenia City Council Preparing To Put New Levy On November Ballot

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Xenia City Council is preparing to put a new 3 to 4 mill operating levy on November’s ballot. They're trying to avoid a $1 million deficit.

Xenia City Manager Brent Merriman says they need the money to compensate for state budget cuts and falling income tax revenue.

“We have been trying to consolidate services, trying to cut costs, trying to do whatever we can to minimize expenses," said Merriman. "But the reality is it’s not an expense problem. It’s not a spending problem.”

If the proposed levy is rejected by the voters, about a dozen police officers and firefighters will be laid off. Merriman says that’s because those services take out the biggest chunk of their budget.

“You know I think folks in our community will say ‘well, you know every time there’s a shortfall you go right after fire and police...’ Well that’s not the case," said Merriman. "The reality is those are our most expensive operations because they’re our most labor intensive operations.”  

Xenia City Council is set to vote on a resolution on the levy in June. Similar levies have been defeated in past years.

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