Shaker Historical Museum asks council to place 0.3‑mill levy on November ballot to stabilize operations

Shaker Heights City Council heard a request on April 14 from the Shaker Historical Museum and affiliated nonprofit groups to place a proposed 0.3‑mill municipal property tax levy on the November 2025 ballot.

Hazel Smith, representing the Friends of the Shaker Historical Museum, told council, “we're proposing a very modest, municipal property tax levy at 0.3 mills.” She said the levy would be renewable every five years and that the museum modeled the levy to raise about $300,000 a year, which museum leaders say would stabilize operations and allow expanded programming and collection care.

The museum’s presentation said a 0.3‑mill levy translates to roughly $10.50 per $100,000 of assessed value and would cost the average Shaker Heights homeowner — with a median home value the presenters used of about $323,000 — about $34 annually (about $3 per month). The nonprofit’s financial overview showed average annual revenue of about $123,000, average expenses near $240,000 and an annual deficit of about $117,000; presenters said the museum has drawn from an accessible investment account (about $330,000 in quarter two 2025) but expects that reserve to be largely depleted by mid‑2028 if current trends continue.

The presentation explained the levy would make…