Police Levy Information
September, 2023
Police Levy Information
The Perry Township Trustees have placed a Police Levy on the upcoming November 7th election ballot. This article contains information about the levy and the reasons that the Trustees placed this levy on the November 7, 2023 ballot. This Police Levy will be a 3.25 mill levy that is scheduled to raise $673,000 per year for five (5) years. The levy will cost township residents $114 per year per $100,000 of valuation per year and will fund a contract with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department to provide Perry Township nearly 24/7/365 coverage.
This is the exact amount of monies needed to fund the policing contract with the same level of staffing we have currently. Our current policing has been funded 100% by a combination of Federal Rescue Act Funds and the County’s matching COPS grant. That arrangement is set to expire at the end of 2023. The Lake County Commissioner as part of the County matching COPS grant make it a condition for receiving those funds that the Township has to place a levy in front of the voters to determine their desire to continue to fund policing locally, when the matching funds run out. Painesville Township and Concord Township have the same situations and they also will have a police levy on their ballots. Those communities have significantly larger populations than Perry Township and will be looking to raise substantially more money, but at a lower millage, due to their larger tax bases.
Over the past two years, ongoing reports from Perry Township’s policing activities have demonstrated the need for this police protection. For example, traffic stops designed for courtesy warnings, have frequently led to the discovery of more serious offenses including alcohol and drug activity. In a recent month, police were able to quickly apprehend a resident with an automatic weapon and nearly 200 rounds of ammunition, who had walked onto a very busy establishment on US RT20. Police reports often include a significant number of domestic disputes.
Studies have shown that a safe and secure community will lead to higher home valuations and salability factors. For the record, if this levy does not pass in November, then the local police patrols will terminate effective January 1, 2024.
Perry Township Trustees
Rick Amos
Bob Dawson
Nancy Steele