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North Canton council weighs 0.5% income-tax swap to replace three levies and fund consolidated fire/EMS station
Summary
Council discussed replacing three renewing property-tax levies with a 0.5 percentage-point local income-tax increase that staff models show would save many households money while funding a consolidated fire/EMS station; no vote was taken, and staff will provide refined projections before readings begin.
Council members on Monday discussed a proposal to replace three renewing property-tax levies with a 0.5 percentage-point increase in the city income tax as a way to fund a consolidated fire and EMS station and ongoing services.
Deputy Director Ben Young presented a model showing the revenue and household impacts of the swap, including five representative household scenarios. Young said a median household (annual income $69,000, home value $220,000) would pay about $345 under the income-tax option versus $562 under a 7.3-mill property levy, a $217 annual saving in the model.
“Most households in the city would actually save money and get more for that money because they get to the fire station,” Young said while walking members through the calculation sheet. He also urged careful timing to avoid collecting both taxes in an overlap year and explained that the income tax could take effect Jan. 1, 2026, with collections starting in 2027 while levies would be released to prevent double collection.
Several council members urged caution and asked for updated projections. One council member noted the city is currently operating with an underfunded combined fire and EMS levy and said, “I don’t want to underfund our entire operation by not getting the correct numbers or the future numbers.” Another cautioned that five-year property levies collect fixed dollars while construction and maintenance costs—particularly asphalt and roadwork—have risen substantially in recent years.
Public commenter Matt Rohrbaugh urged the council not to return immediately to voters after three recent levy defeats, saying, “The people told you 3 times no,” and recommended a cooling-off period if the council pursues another ballot measure. Supporters and staff said the income-tax option could be marketed as tax relief for many households and could make funding for safety services more stable than five-year levies.
Council and staff discussed the logistics and timeline. Young said the city could introduce readings as soon as the next meeting and noted Board of Elections filing dates (a Feb. 10 deadline for one filing referenced by staff). Council agreed to ask staff for refreshed projections—using updated cost and valuation data—before authorizing formal readings or placing a measure on the ballot.
No formal vote was taken at Monday’s meeting. Council members asked staff to return with more precise numbers, outreach tools (including a household-specific calculator), and options for timing the levy releases so residents would not be subject to simultaneous collections. The council set its next regular meeting for Dec. 16, when the matter may return to the agenda.
