Lowellville leaders vote to place 2.5% income tax question on 2025 primary ballot

At a Special Finance Meeting in Lowellville on Oct. 23, 2024, Chair Bob Coppola moved to place a proposal to raise the village income tax rate from 2% to 2.5% on the 2025 primary ballot; Joe Donatelli seconded the motion and it passed on a roll call vote.

The council also approved an immediate adjustment to the village’s income-tax revenue projection, increasing the estimate by $40,000 — from $525,000 to $565,000 — on a motion by Coppola seconded by Keith McCaughtry. Officials instructed the fiscal staff to send the revised projection to the county auditor.

Why it matters: Raising the rate to 2.5% would increase the village’s expected income-tax receipts and requires voter approval because the council chose to place the question on the primary ballot. The revenue projection adjustment will change the fiscal baseline used in budgeting.

Who voted: The transcript records a roll call that listed Keith McCaughtry, Ron Rotunno, Bob Coppola and Joe Donatelli as present; the meeting record indicates the motions passed on roll call. Coppola was the mover on both the ballot-placement motion and the revenue-projection motion; McCaughtry and Donatelli served as seconders on the two measures.

Next steps: The income-tax rate change will appear on the 2025 primary ballot as approved by the council for voter consideration. Staff will forward the revenue projection change to the county auditor for recording.

The meeting record does not include direct public comments on the tax question, exact vote tallies by name beyond the roll-call presence, nor a detailed fiscal impact analysis; council members asked staff to confer with the county auditor on technical recording and lien questions.