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Shaker Heights council approves emergency amendment to place 0.3‑mill levy for historical museum on ballot
Summary
Council amended a prior resolution to correct a state-law calculation so a 0.3‑mill property tax levy intended to fund the Shaker Historical Society museum can be submitted to the Board of Elections; the amendment passed on a 6–1 roll call.
Shaker Heights City Council on Aug. 4 approved an emergency amendment to a prior resolution so an additional 0.3‑mill property tax levy to fund the Shaker Historical Society museum can be placed on the ballot.
The amendment, described by city staff as a technical correction required by a change in state law, passed on a 6–1 roll call after a motion to approve was moved by Councilmember Kauss and seconded by Councilmember Carmela Williams.
Mr. Gruber, a city staff member who took the lead on the item, said the change resulted from a state-law clarification on how the expected tax amount must be calculated. “There was a difference of $9 in how the amount that the tax is expected to provide in total amount to the museum,” Gruber said. He added the calculation must now be to the nearest dollar rather than the nearest $1,000, and that the amendment is needed so the item can reach the county Board of Elections in the next few days.
The resolution amendment references Ohio Revised Code Section 5705.19(AA) as the authority for proceeding to place a tax levy before voters to support a free public history museum in the city and includes language declaring an emergency to permit expedited submission to election officials.
Roll-call votes on the suspension and amendment were recorded as follows: Bixenstein — Aye; Claytor — Aye; Kauss — Aye; Malone — Nay; Moore — Aye; Ann Williams — Aye; Carmela Williams — Aye. After the tally the council clerk announced, “Motion carries.”
City staff said the change does not alter the levy rate (0.3 mills) but adjusts the method of calculating the estimated revenue to comply with the board of elections’ requirement. The council did not discuss any changes to where or how levy proceeds would be spent beyond the existing language that the levy would support maintenance and operation of the Shaker Historical Society’s museum.
The amendment will be transmitted to the county fiscal office and the Board of Elections for placement on the ballot according to the timetable described by staff.
