Chillicothe — Should the street levy go for another 10 years, or be permanent? – Has the city learned enough over the decade to manage funds from the levy well? That was the question asked of council in their first session of 2026.
Facilities chair Jeff Creed told council to think about that, so they can discuss it in upcoming sessions before formally asking voters to renew it. The 0.2% levy that funded roadwork expired at the end of 2025, and council had failed to put its renewal in front of voters yet.
Mayor Luke Feeney explained the levy issue in a November 18th request for legislation that he sent to council:
“In 2015, Chillicothe voters approved a 0.2% income tax increase dedicated to paving and street repair. The levy was limited to ten years and collections will end December 31 of this year….
“I am requesting that this matter be assigned to the appropriate committee again for legislation authorizing a resolution to place this initiative on the May 5, 2026 ballot.”
I asked councilman Creed if he could explain more of his thoughts before council hears them. (Hear him in his own words below.) He said that the 10-year-limit of the levy was meant to force the city to assess it.
Creed said calculations show that the city now has $17.5M of paving work to do over nine years – plus, “other things will break” and other things will need to be done. He said the levy will never get the city into perfect shape, but it will get it into good shape.
So, he asked, should the city ask voters for another 10 years of the levy, or vote for a permanent levy?
A handout made available in council’s last session had streets graded by a consultant that the city recently contracted with. Instead of having city personnel inspect and grade all the pavement, Creed said this was a little better – and more impartial.
In their May 29th, 2025 report, “Pavement Management Group” of Heath, Ohio (near Newark) reported that Chillicothe has 107 “centerline” miles of streets with 241 “lane” miles of pavement, plus 27 miles of alleys.
Pavement Management Group took HD videos of each “section” of street and alley, and used their AI to determine distress types, severity levels, and quantities – for a 0 to 100 rating.
See two excerpts from the report, as well as the city’s report of expenses using the levy funds, below.
Council rules require that the first session of council be held at 6pm on the first day the Chillicothe Municipal Court resumes business after new year’s, which caused them to meet on Friday evening of January 2nd, 2026.
Council also passed the $26M 2026 budget in their first session.
