Mayor Also Gives Good News about Police and Fire Departments
Chillicothe — Since the language on the ballot for the city street levy does not match what the city intended, in a letter to the public the city has committed to making an adjustment to it, if it passes. The spring election is in a week, and the replacement of the 0.2% earned income tax levy to fund street and alley maintenance is on the ballot for Chillicothe residents.
Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney addressed the issue in his briefing to council on April 27th, 2026. He invited council to join him, the council president, auditor, and law director to also sign the letter of intent.
Council and the administration has been concerned that their intended 10-year limitation on the tax could not be enforced on the ballot. They learned about that only recently, and the city was scrambling to get legal advice on the situation.
The original 2015 street and alley levy collected the tax on the “earned income” of those who live in or work in the city (which excludes retirement income). The city has said that the levy was limited to 10 years to force a review on it and allow voters to re-approve it.
After that expired in 2025, council followed legal procedure and passed a resolution to put the issue on the 2026 spring ballot, limiting it again to 10 years.
But in an April 16th public information meeting led by councilman Jeff Creed, he and council president Kevin Shoemaker said that state law no longer allows “temporary” tax levies, and that a decision was made at the local and state elections level to change the language to a permanent tax…and the city learned about that only a week before the meeting.
Creed led a second meeting on April 23rd, where fellow councilman Dan DeMint recorded an almost 20-minute video posted on his Facebook page.
In his briefing to council, Mayor Feeney said the city’s Law Director and Ross County Prosecutor worked hard to get clarification on the issue. He said the short answer was: there is no clarity. “The Secretary of State rules and the format that they use simply do not match the city’s ability to have home rule and put on an income tax.”
But Feeney said the city is committed to limit collection of the tax to 10 years like its predecessor, and so they have the letter stating that – as well as a draft of an ordinance to modify the levy, if it passes. He said this is a commitment to the community. See the letter and draft legislation below, from the Mayor’s Facebook page.
You can hear Feeney in his own words in the below video, as well as in council’s video on Facebook.
The Mayor also mentioned news from the city’s safety service department.
Feeney said a mower had flipped into pond, trapping the operator, but the fire department and police responded quickly, and the person survived. He said something like that happens every day, but is not always reported – and the first responders do not congratulate themselves.
Feeney also said that police chief John Meyers received the “Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton Crisis Intervention Team Champion” of the year.
Find the police department’s Facebook post on the award. “The award recognizes an individual that goes above and beyond in development and implementation of CIT core elements and advocating for empathetic care.”
The letter pledging that the city of Chillicothe will limit the street levy to 10 years:
The draft legislation that would limit the Chillicothe street levy to 10 years:
