ATHENS, Ohio — Voters across the county will decide numerous ballot issues in this year’s general election.
All Athens County voters will decide upon three issues. Township and village voters will vote on various levies and liquor options. Plus, Athens and Morgan counties voters will decide whether to adopt a levy to support the Trimble Local School District.
Early voting is currently underway. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Find more information on voting from the Athens County Board of Elections.
Athens County
Issue 1 is a proposed renewal of a 1.8 mill, five-year levy for the maintenance and operations of the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities. If passed, the levy would renew starting Jan. 1, 2026, at a cost of about $44 per year for every $100,000 in property value. It would provide an estimated $2 million per year.
Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities Assistant Superintendent Arian Smedley said this is the second time the board has sought to renew the levy, which was first passed in 2010.
The board serves more than 800 people who have developmental disabilities each year — a 46% increase from just 10 years ago, Smedley added.
Those programs include early intervention, Beacon School and preschool, transition services, case management, summer camp, “programs that support people finding and keeping jobs, programs that help family members, and others,” Smedley said in an email.
If the levy does not pass, the board would seek to put it up again the following spring, and evaluate its financial circumstances.
“We are fortunate that our current term levy expires at the end of 2025 – but we still collect on it through 2026,” Smedley stated. “So, if this levy would fail this fall, we would have until January 2027 before we would start to see the reduction in income that would impact our services/staffing.”
Issue 2 is a proposed continuation of a sales tax that supports Athens County 911. The sales tax would be effective for five years, starting next year.
Athens County 911 and Emergency Management Agency Director Teresa Fouts Imler said in an email that the sales tax represents 0.25% of one cent, or 2.5 cents per $10, or 25 cents per $100, on taxable purchases. The previous five-year levy successfully generated $10 million, she stated.
Revenue generated by the 911 sales tax levy has gone towards improving 911 facilities and services, Fouts Imler said. The county constructed and opened this year its “cutting-edge 911 facility that meets the [Federal Emergency Management Agency International Code Council] 500 critical infrastructure standards to support Athens County’s emergency communications infrastructure for the next 50+ years,” she added.
“It cost the county about $14 million to build its new 911-EMA facility that opened this year,” Fouts Imler said.
If the levy continuation passes, it is expected to generate $10.5 million over the next five years starting in 2026, Fouts Imler said. That would fund maintenance of communications equipment and address “outstanding building costs.”
“Construction costs for our facility reached $11.9 million, with an additional $2 million required for essential technology, including computers, radio equipment, and critical 911 infrastructure,” she said. Unfortunately, the current tax levy has not sufficiently covered these vital expenses.”
Fouts Imler said in an email that communication equipment has a lifespan of about five to seven years. The agency “must secure this levy to effectively upgrade and maintain our technological assets,” she said.
Funds from the sales tax will also support Athens County’s emergency responders’ transition to Multi-Agency Radio Communication System, aka MARCS, radio systems. According to a November 2024 Ohio Auditor of State performance audit, MARCS is a radio system that allows multiple emergency responders to communicate through a secure radio network.
If the levy doesn’t pass, 911’s “ability to upgrade and maintain essential communication and emergency response equipment will be severely limited,” Fouts Imler said. “Systems such as computers and radios, which are critical to effective emergency responses, may become outdated or fail, potentially delaying response times.”
According to a flyer from Fouts Imler, Athens County 911 handles over 100,000 emergency calls per year.
Issue 3 is a replacement levy for Athens County Emergency Medical Services. The proposed replacement levy will increase the current tax from 1 mill by 0.5 mills, for a total tax of 1.5 mills. The levy would begin next year and last for five years.
Athens County EMS Chief Amber Pyle said in an email that the 1 mill levy brings in about $1.2 million per year. The half-mill increase would bring in an additional $750,000 per year, Pyle said.
The agency’s current operating budget is $7.6 million, she said. About 30% of those expenses are covered by billing, she said.
Pyle said that the levy is necessary to maintain current EMS operations, which encompasses five stations and six trucks running around the clock.
“We need people to vote for this levy to keep the EMS in the county running as it has been since 2011,” Pyle wrote in an email. “We handle 10,000 plus calls per year and that has only been increasing.”
“The cost of everything has gone up,” Pyle added, noting that revenues have been flat since 2015.
Passing the proposed replacement levy and 0.5 mill increase “will make sure that we can pay for all these things and keep the county with a level of EMS care that you don’t have in many other counties of Ohio,” Pyle wrote. “We are the second busiest EMS in the state of Ohio. Lawrence county is slightly above Athens in calls for service.”
Should the levy fail, Athens County EMS “would have no choice but to reduce staff and reduce the amount of stations in the County,” Pyle wrote. Most likely, that would affect stations in Coolville, Glouster, Albany and Nelsonville, she said.
Layoffs “would cause an increased wait time for an ambulance,” Pyle said in an email.
Trimble Local School District (Athens and Morgan counties)
Amid its fiscal emergency, the Trimble Local School District is seeking a five-year, 1% earned income tax effective Jan. 1, 2026. The tax would only apply to earned income; it would not affect Social Security benefits or pensions.
According to a pamphlet by Support Our Trimble Schools, the income tax would cost about $250 per year for every $25,000 in earnings.
If passed, the proposed earned income tax is projected to generate $655,000 each year for five years.
Christopher Wright, who serves on the state’s financial oversight commission for the district, said Trimble’s most recent financial forecast shows a $1.2 million deficit for the 2024–25 school year. The deficit for the 2025–26 school is projected at nearly $2 million.
Trimble Local School District Board of Education President Gary Arnold and Vice President Kevin Coey previously told the Independent they support the passage of the earned income tax levy.
Other issues
Albany
Village of Albany voters will decide upon a proposed replacement levy for village police protection services. The village said on its Facebook page that the proposal is a replacement for a levy that is about to expire. The levy would remain at 1.5 mills, or about $53 per $100,000 assessed property value, and estimated to generate $31,387 annually.
Buchtel
The Village of Buchtel seeks to renew a 2.5 mill, five-year levy for general operating expenses. The levy costs property owners about $58 per $100,000 assessed property value and would generate almost $11,000 per year.
Buchtel voters will also decide if Buchtel Food Mart 283, at 5220 SR 78, should have Sunday sales of wine and mixed beverages.
Nelsonville
Voters in Nelsonville will decide on a proposed five-year replacement levy of 3 mills for road maintenance. If passed, the levy would cost about $105 per $100,000 assessed property value and generate just over $186,000 per year.
Nelsonville voters in Precinct 1 also are asked to decide on a liquor option for Black Diamond Distillery, at 185 W. Canal St., for on-premise sales of wine, beer, mixed beverages and liquor.
Ames Township
Ames Township and Amesville residents will vote on a proposed five-year, 2.1 mill levy renewal for cemetery maintenance. If passed, the tax would cost about $57 per $100,000 assessed property value and generate an estimated $58,000 annually.
Ames Township voters outside of the village also will decide on a proposed five-year, 2-mill replacement levy for road maintenance. It would cost about $54 per $100,000 assessed property value, lasting for five years and generate an estimated $51,000 annually.
Bern Township
Bern Township seeks to renew a five-year, 1-mill levy for current expenses, which works out to $28 per $100,000 assessed property value. It would generate over $23,000 per year.
Canaan Township
Canaan Township is seeking a proposed replacement of a 2.5 mill, five-year levy for road maintenance. The levy works out to about $88 per $100,000 value and is estimated to generate around $218,000 per year.
Glouster
Glouster residents’ ballots will include six levy renewal proposals plus a gas aggregation issue:
- Renewal of a 3 mill levy for current expenses, lasting four years. Estimated cost is $78 per $100,000 assessed property value; the levy is estimated to collect around $35,300 annually.
- Renewal of a 4-year, 2.9 mill levy for fire protection at an estimated cost of $77 per $100,000 assessed property value. The levy would generate an estimated $35,000 annually.
- Renewal of a 1 mill levy for park maintenance and improvements for four years. The levy would cost $77 per $100,000 assessed property value and collect around $12,000 annually.
- Renewal of two levies for street maintenance, one at 1 mill and the other at 2 mills, both lasting for four years. The 1 mill levy is expected to generate around $12,000 annually and equals out to about $27 per $100,000 assessed property value. The 2 mill levy is estimated to generate about $24,000 annually and works out to about $52 per $100,000 assessed property value.
- Whether to allow the village to aggregate natural gas loads and enter into agreements to sell and purchase natural gas with residents automatically enrolled unless they opt out.
Lee Township
Voters in Lee Township, except the Village of Albany, will decide whether to renew a 1-mill road maintenance levy for five years. The levy would generate around $63,000 annually and works out to about $29 per $100,000 assessed property value.
Lodi Township
Voters in Lodi Township will decide whether to renew a 0.75 mill current expenses levy for five years. The levy is estimated to generate about $22,000 annually and works out to about $18 per $100,000 assessed property value.
Rome Township
Rome Township seeks renewal of a 4-mill levy for firefighting services for five years. The levy is estimated to cost $112 per $100,000 assessed property value and generate an estimated $99,000 annually
The township also seeks a 1.1 mill replacement levy for cemetery maintenance for five years, equating to around $33,000 in collections and $39 per $100,000 appraised value.
Trimble Village
Village of Trimble voters will decide on renewal of a 3.2 mill levy for road maintenance, lasting for five years. It would cost about $66 per $100,000 property value and generate an estimated $11,00 per year.
Troy Township
Voters in Troy Township, including the village of Coolville, will decide on a 2-mill replacement levy for fire services lasting five years. It would cost about $70 for each $100,000 in property value and collect an estimated $126,000 per year.
Voters in the township’s east precinct will decide on a liquor option for off-premise sales of wine and mixed beverages and Sunday sales at the Hockingport Food Mart, at 479 SR 124.
Waterloo Township
Waterloo Township residents face three replacement levies, all for five years:
- A 1-mill levy for cemetery maintenance levy costing $35 per $100,000 of assessed value and collecting around $53,000 per year.
- A 1-mill road maintenance levy, costing about $35 per $100,000 of assessed value and collecting around $53,000 per year.
- A 2-mill levy for fire protection estimated to cost $70 per $100,000 of assessed value and generate around $106,000 per year.
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