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Resident urges Madison Local to step up outreach for proposed 1.5% income tax levy
Summary
During visitor comments resident Miles Haim urged the board to actively promote a proposed 1.5% income tax levy that will appear on the November ballot, advising targeted outreach to retirees and door-to-door engagement to secure votes.
Miles Haim, a resident who identified himself and his Stewart Road address, urged the board to broaden outreach for a proposed 1.5% income tax levy that appears in the district’s online FAQs and is planned for the November ballot.
Haim said his experience working at election polls taught him that voters often reject items they did not expect at the polls. He advised the district to bring information directly to retirees and township residents — by handing out material and making face-to-face contact — because many in those groups do not read the district website. "If you want people to vote for something, you have to go to where they are," Haim said.
The superintendent replied that a levy committee is working on promotion strategies, including door-knocking, and confirmed the district plans to campaign for a November levy. Haim pressed the board to register voters and reach unregistered retirees while time remains before registration deadlines.
Why it matters: a 1.5% income tax levy would affect local taxpayers and provide district revenues; successful passage depends heavily on voter outreach and communication. The resident warned that failure to communicate the levy’s benefits to likely beneficiaries could reduce support.
Details
- Levy: resident referenced a proposed 1.5% income tax referenced in the district’s FAQs and said the levy is scheduled for the November election.
- Outreach advice: Haim recommended targeted, in-person outreach to retired and township residents, handing out materials, and assisting with voter registration.
- District response: superintendent and board members said a levy committee exists and intends to do door-to-door outreach and focus on voters likely to benefit from the levy.
Quotes
"If you want people to vote for something, you have to go to where they are," Miles Haim said. "People aren't looking at your website. Most of the people aren't."
What happens next
The board and superintendent said the levy committee will continue outreach; no formal board vote on levy placement was recorded in the meeting minutes provided.
