At a special City Council meeting July 30, the council passed Resolution 52-2025 to amend prior Resolution 46-2025 and change how the renewal of an existing 5.07 tax levy will appear on the ballot.

Director Gudetti told the council the change responds to recent guidance from the Ohio Secretary of State and related legal interpretations, saying the state office “recommended that some of the ballot language be changed … expressed in terms of dollars per $100,000.” The council held the special meeting because the Secretary of State filing deadline is 4 p.m. on Aug. 6, and there is no regular meeting before that deadline.

The nut graf: The revision is procedural, not fiscal. Council members said the amendment alters only how the levy is described on the ballot to conform with state guidance and a contested reading of an Ohio Supreme Court case; it does not change the levy’s amount or intended use.

Council discussion focused on timing and legal risk. Director Gudetti advised adopting the amended wording “out of an abundance of caution” because county prosecutors and election officials are likely to follow the Secretary of State’s guidance and some attorneys interpret an Ohio Supreme Court decision to require the final form of ballot language by the filing deadline. A council member said the change “makes it a little bit more clear for the voters to understand,” and the mayor emphasized, “These dollars are going directly to support our safety forces.”

Council members clarified that the amendment does not alter the levy rate or the levy’s longstanding status: speakers said the levy has been renewed since the 1960s and that the change is a wording adjustment only. The council also noted the practical reason for the special meeting: the next regular meeting is roughly two weeks away and would come after the Aug. 6 filing deadline.

Formal action and outcome: A motion was made and seconded to pass and post Resolution 52-2025 according to law; the motion carried and the resolution was adopted. The transcript records voice votes of “Aye” and “Nay” at points during readings, but it does not provide a roll-call tally of individual votes in the record provided.

What this means next: The amended resolution directs staff to proceed with the ballot language changes and to file with the board of elections to place the levy renewal on the ballot before the Aug. 6, 4 p.m. deadline. The council did not adopt any changes to levy amounts, funding uses, or implementation schedules during the meeting.

No additional public comment or separate amendments to the levy’s substance were recorded during the special meeting.