Tag Archive for: Election 2026

Illustration: BOWLING GREEN | Parks and Rec Asks Voters for 2.95-Mill Levy on Nov. 3 After Three Years of Deficit Budgets

BOWLING GREEN | Parks and Rec Asks Voters for 2.95-Mill Levy on Nov. 3 After Three Years of Deficit Budgets

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Illustration: BOWLING GREEN | Parks and Rec Asks Voters for 2.95-Mill Levy on Nov. 3 After Three Years of Deficit Budgets

Author: FFP Ai Bot

BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to give the city’s parks and recreation department more money, as the department says it has been running deficit budgets for three years.

The issue is a renewal of the existing 2-mill park levy plus an additional 0.95 mills, for a total of 2.95 mills over five years, Parks and Recreation Director Kristin Otley told BG Independent News.

What it would cost

  • The current 2-mill levy raises about $1.197 million a year and costs the owner of a $250,000 home about $132 a year.
  • The 2.95-mill levy would raise about $1.869 million a year and cost the owner of a $250,000 home about $222 a year.
  • The levy would last five years.

The park levy has stayed at 2 mills for 10 years, and it pays for about 40% of what it costs to run the parks and programs, according to the department.

“It is a renewal with an increase. We don’t take that lightly,” Otley said. “We are very cognizant of the impact it has on property taxes.”

Why the department says it needs more

Otley said the department has cut expenses but still faces higher fuel prices, minimum wage increases, rising costs for materials and supplies, and growing maintenance bills, including upkeep on the 14-year-old pool and waterpark. Some jobs once handled by volunteers, such as coaching youth teams, now often have to be filled by paid part-time staff, she said.

“You can only tap into your reserves for so long,” Otley said.

Apart from pool rates, the department did not raise program or rental fees this year, Otley said, and the city plans to keep offering reduced rates to families in need through a “splash fund.”

What the levy supports

The department runs nine parks covering 393 acres, plus the community center and its new outdoor pickleball courts. The parks include trails, gardens, ball fields, youth nature camps, a pool and a dog park. The department says it works with nearly 50 nonprofit and community groups on programs, and local businesses donate more than $22,000 a year for special events and youth sports.

The levy committee is led by park board members Tom Ross, chairman, and Emily Keegan, vice chairman.

Ballot and polling information is available from the Wood County Board of Elections. City information is on the City of Bowling Green website. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

#BowlingGreen #WoodCounty #Election2026 #Levy #Parks

Sources

  • BG Independent News: BG Parks asks voters to help maintain nearly 400 acres of parkland and programs with 2.95-mill levy (Oct. 16, 2026) – https://bgindependentmedia.org/bg-parks-asks-voters-to-help-maintain-nearly-400-acres-of-parkland-and-programs-with-2-95-mill-levy/
  • Wood County Board of Elections – https://www.co.wood.oh.us/BOE/
  • City of Bowling Green, Ohio – https://www.bgohio.gov/
Fostoria News Fostoria school building with American flag and school bus in fall setting.

LAKE TOWNSHIP | Lake Local Schools Asks Voters for 1% Earned Income Tax; District Warns of $3.2 Million in Cuts and 132 Jobs if It Fails

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Illustration: LAKE TOWNSHIP | Lake Local Schools Asks Voters for 1% Earned Income Tax; District Warns of $3.2 Million in Cuts and 132 Jobs if It Fails

Author: FFP Ai Bot

LAKE TOWNSHIP — Voters in the Lake Local School District will decide Nov. 3 whether to approve a new 1% income tax on earned income, a measure the district says it needs to avoid deep cuts after years of shrinking state support.

Lake is one of only two school districts in Wood County without a school income tax, according to the district and reports by 13 Action News and the Sentinel-Tribune. The district serves Millbury, Walbridge and Lake Township.

What is on the ballot

According to the Wood County Board of Elections’ legal notice of the election, the board of education passed its resolution June 29, 2026. The ballot question asks whether the district should levy an annual 1% income tax on the earned income of people who live in the district, for a continuing period of time starting Jan. 1, 2027, to pay for current expenses. The issue also appears on the Ottawa County Board of Elections’ list of November issues as Issue 6, because part of the district lies in Ottawa County.

The tax would apply to wages, salaries, tips and net self-employment earnings. It would not apply to Social Security, pensions, 401(k) distributions or capital gains, district officials have said.

District Treasurer Maria Robinson told the school board this summer that the tax is projected to bring in about $2.99 million a year, based on Ohio Department of Taxation estimates, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. The district says the money is expected to keep it in the black through the 2029-30 school year.

Using the township’s 2024 average household income of about $72,800, Superintendent Marjoe Cooper has estimated that a typical household would pay about $728 a year, or about $2 a day. A household’s actual cost depends on its earned income.

Why the district says it needs the money

Cooper said state funding made up 47% of the district’s revenue in 2014-15 but only about 37% now. He told 13 Action News that the drop is worth roughly $2.3 million a year.

The district has not asked voters for new operating money since 2015, apart from a bond issue for a new elementary school, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. The district has already cut positions. Its savings plan, through retirements and attrition, job eliminations and lower maintenance and custodial spending, has saved more than $1.3 million, and those savings continue each year, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. The newspaper also reported that the state placed the district on a precautionary fiscal watch in April and required a corrective action plan.

If it fails

If the tax is rejected, the district projects it would have to cut about $3.2 million, roughly 15% of its budget, and that an estimated 132 people would lose their jobs, Cooper told 13 Action News on Friday, Oct. 16.

“You are talking about a 15% cut of our budget which is going to be catastrophic,” Cooper said. He also warned that class sizes would rise if teaching positions are cut.

Without new money, the treasurer’s forecast shows the district’s cash balance falling from about $1.44 million at the end of this fiscal year to a deficit of about $1.45 million in fiscal year 2028, according to the Sentinel-Tribune.

Early in-person and absentee voting is already under way in Ohio. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. More information about the district is available on the Lake Local Schools website.

#LakeTownship #Millbury #Walbridge #WoodCounty #SchoolLevy #Election2026

Sources

  • 13 Action News (WTVG): Lake Local Schools seeks 1% earned income tax for November ballot (Oct. 16, 2026, 7:11 p.m.) – https://www.13abc.com/2026/10/16/lake-local-schools-seeks-1-earned-income-tax-november-ballot/
  • Wood County Board of Elections: Notice of Election on Proposition, Lake Local School District income tax (legal notice published Oct. 7 and 14, 2026) – https://bowlinggreen.onlineads.advpubtech.com/showads/ad/view/menu_title/real-estate-for-rentsale/ad_id/17815095/title/notice-of-election-on-proposition-rc-350111g-
  • Ottawa County Board of Elections: November 2026 Issues – https://boe.ottawa.oh.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/November-2026-Issues.pdf
  • Sentinel-Tribune: Lake Schools finalizes income tax request (Aug. 3, 2026) – https://www.sent-trib.com/2026/08/03/lake-schools-finalizes-income-tax-request/
  • Sentinel-Tribune: Lake officials explain need for levy (Aug. 29, 2026) – https://www.sent-trib.com/2026/08/29/lake-officials-explain-need-for-levy/
  • Lake Local Schools – https://www.lakeschools.org/
Fostoria News Illustration of Eastwood School with voting banner for new 5-12 school.

PEMBERVILLE | Eastwood Schools Asks Voters to Fund New Grades 5-12 Building With Combined Income Tax and Bond Issue on Nov. 3

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Illustration: PEMBERVILLE | Eastwood Schools Asks Voters to Fund New Grades 5-12 Building With Combined Income Tax and Bond Issue on Nov. 3

Author: FFP Ai Bot

PEMBERVILLE — Voters in the Eastwood Local School District will decide a single combined issue on Nov. 3. It pairs a new earned income tax with a property tax bond issue to pay for a new school for grades 5 through 12 and a partial renovation of the current high school.

What is on the ballot

According to the Wood County Board of Elections’ legal notice, voters will be asked to approve both parts together:

  • a 0.5% annual income tax for current expenses, lasting 28 years and beginning Jan. 1, 2027
  • $54,965,000 in bonds, repaid over as long as 37 years, backed by a property tax that the county auditor estimates will average 6.49 mills

The two parts pass or fail together. The auditor puts the cost of the bond levy at about $227 a year for each $100,000 of a home’s market value.

The income tax would apply to district residents’ earned income: wages, salaries, tips, commissions and self-employment income. It would not apply to Social Security, pensions, retirement distributions or unemployment compensation, according to the district’s ballot-issue FAQ. The Sentinel-Tribune reported in July that the tax is expected to raise about $22 million over its 28 years. If it passes, the district’s total school income tax rate would rise to 1.5%, The Press reported.

What it would cost

The district’s FAQ puts the master facilities plan at about $95.3 million. Voters would cover about $77.65 million of that, and the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) would pay about $17.65 million. The state money depends on voters approving the local share. The Sentinel-Tribune, in a story published Friday, reported the total as $95.5 million and the local share as about $77.86 million, close to the $77.864 million figure the board used when it finalized the request in July.

The district has 16 months from July 27 to win voter approval, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. If that doesn’t happen, the state’s $17.65 million would be withdrawn and sent to other projects.

What would be built

The plan calls for a new school of about 100,111 square feet for grades 5-12, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. The current high school’s three academic classroom wings would come down, and the rest of the building would be renovated and reused, according to the district. Under the plan:

  • The cafeteria would become a community gathering space.
  • Board of Education offices would move into the building.
  • The existing high school competition gym would become the middle school’s gym.
  • The new school would have a 1,600-seat competition gym and four locker rooms.
  • The elementary school, renovated and reopened in 2017, would keep serving preschool through fourth grade.

“Our middle and high school buildings are more than 50 years old, and many of their major systems are past their expected life. We have to invest in these buildings either way. The question is how,” Superintendent Brian Hughes told the Sentinel-Tribune. The middle school was built in 1970, and the high school in 1961, with additions in 2000, the newspaper reported.

OFCC estimates showed that renovating the middle and high schools would cost more than $55 million and would add only about 25 years of use, according to the district. New buildings are typically designed to last 50 years or more. The district says it chose one building for grades 5-12 because OFCC typically recommends a single building for districts with fewer than 1,500 students. Eastwood projects about 1,423 students in preschool through 12th grade by the 2030-31 school year.

About $46.5 million of the local share would pay for “locally funded initiatives,” work the state program doesn’t cover, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. That includes:

  • about 59,966 square feet beyond what the state requires ($26 million)
  • keeping and updating the high school’s north wing ($10 million)
  • upgraded materials and technology ($2.6 million)

“If we built only the amount OFCC will co-fund, the new construction will be roughly 64,000 square feet smaller than our current facilities,” Hughes said.

If voters approve the issue, construction would start in late fall 2027 and the new school would open in fall 2029, the district says.

Community meeting Oct. 21

Eastwood will hold its fourth community meeting on facility planning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the high school auditorium, according to the district’s facilities page, which also has the FAQ, key facts and recordings of earlier meetings.

Early in-person and absentee voting is under way in Ohio. On Election Day, Nov. 3, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

#Pemberville #EastwoodSchools #WoodCounty #SchoolLevy #Election2026

Sources

  • Sentinel-Tribune: Eastwood asks for support for new facilities (Oct. 16, 2026, 8:13 p.m.) – https://www.sent-trib.com/2026/10/16/eastwood-asks-for-support-for-new-facilities/
  • Eastwood Local Schools: FAQ, Master Facilities Plan & November 3, 2026 Ballot Issue – https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1786390999/eastwoodschoolsorg/cdyewarqtfrlxjyrakqm/EastwoodFAQforNov2026BallotIssue_V3.pdf
  • Eastwood Local Schools: Facilities updates (Community Meeting #4, Oct. 21, 6 p.m.) – https://www.eastwoodschools.org/facilities-updates
  • Wood County Board of Elections: Notice of Election on Proposition, Eastwood Local School District (legal notice published Oct. 7 and 14, 2026) – https://bowlinggreen.onlineads.advpubtech.com/showads/ad/view/ad_id/17814149/title/bnotice-of-election-on-proposition-brc-350111g–notice
  • Sentinel-Tribune: Eastwood finalizes tax requests for new facilities (July 21, 2026) – https://www.sent-trib.com/2026/07/21/eastwood-finalizes-tax-requests-for-new-facilities/
  • The Press: Eastwood to place earned income tax levy on November ballot (July 2026) – https://www.presspublications.com/stories/eastwood-local-schools-to-place-earned-income-tax-levy-on-november-ballot,111873
  • Wood County Board of Elections – https://www.co.wood.oh.us/BOE/
Fostoria News Ohio poll results showing Democrat lead in Bowling Green State University survey.

OHIO | New BGSU Poll Has Acton Up 6 on Ramaswamy and Brown Up 6 on Husted, but Most Voters Still Expect Ramaswamy to Win

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Illustration: OHIO | New BGSU Poll Has Acton Up 6 on Ramaswamy and Brown Up 6 on Husted, but Most Voters Still Expect Ramaswamy to Win

Author: FFP Ai Bot

BOWLING GREEN — Democrats have widened their leads in Ohio’s races for governor and U.S. Senate, but both contests remain competitive, according to a new poll from Bowling Green State University.

The BGSU Poll, run with the national polling firm YouGov, surveyed 1,000 likely Ohio voters online from Sept. 29 to Oct. 9. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3.95 percentage points.

The top races

In the governor’s race, Democrat Amy Acton leads Republican Vivek Ramaswamy 50% to 44%, with Libertarian Don Kissick at 4%, according to the poll as reported by Political Wire. In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Sherrod Brown leads Republican Sen. Jon Husted 48% to 42%, with independent Greg Levy at 5% and Libertarian Bill Redpath at 3%.

Both Democratic leads grew from 3 points in BGSU’s September poll, when each race stood at 48% to 45%.

Asked who they think will win regardless of who they support, 55% of respondents picked Ramaswamy and 43% picked Acton. In the Senate race, respondents were split 48% to 48% between Husted and Brown. In September, most respondents expected both Republicans to win.

“Consistent with much of the public polling, we continue to find Democrats ahead in the state. While this will be welcome news to Democrats, a blue wave in Ohio is far from a sure thing,” said Robert Alexander, a BGSU political science professor. “Republicans have closed well in recent statewide elections, and I would be surprised if these races did not end up within the margin of error in either direction.”

Other findings

  • On the generic ballot for Congress, respondents favored Democrats 49% to 45%, up from a 1-point gap in September.
  • President Donald Trump’s job approval in Ohio stood at 39% approve and 58% disapprove. Among people who voted for Trump in 2024, 24% said they regret that vote to some degree.
  • The top concerns were the economy (39%), inflation (30%), government corruption (28%) and health care (28%).
  • Ramaswamy and Husted had net favorability ratings of minus 10 and minus 14. Acton and Brown were at minus 1 and minus 2.
  • Eighty percent said they have seen a great deal or quite a bit of campaign advertising, and 60% said the mostly negative ads make them tune out.
  • Librarians, public school teachers and medical experts had the highest net ratings of anything in the poll. Data centers (minus 45), Flock license-plate cameras (minus 40) and billionaires (minus 36) rated worst.

How it compares

Other recent polls also show Democrats ahead. A Marist University poll of 1,298 registered Ohio voters taken Sept. 24-27 had Brown up 8 points and Acton up 6, the Ohio Capital Journal reported. Polls are a snapshot of opinion when they were taken, not a prediction of the result.

Early in-person and mail-in voting are under way. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters can check their registration, sample ballot and early voting hours on the Ohio Secretary of State’s voter information page. The full poll results, including toplines and crosstabs, are posted on the BGSU Poll website.

#Ohio #BGSU #BowlingGreen #Election2026

Sources

  • Bowling Green State University, Democracy and Public Policy Network: October 2026 BGSU Poll expert analysis (page updated Oct. 16, 2026) – https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/democracy-and-public-policy-research-network/bgsu-poll.html
  • Political Wire: Democrats Lead in Ohio (Oct. 16, 2026) – https://politicalwire.com/2026/10/16/democrats-lead-in-ohio/
  • Ohio Capital Journal via Cleveland Scene: Poll: Sherrod Brown, Amy Acton Open Leads in Ohio Races (Oct. 6, 2026) – https://www.clevescene.com/news/ohio-news/poll-sherrod-brown-amy-acton-open-leads-in-ohio-races/
  • Ohio Secretary of State: Voting in Ohio – https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/
Illustration: NORTH BALTIMORE | Schools Ask Voters to Renew 1% Income Tax on Nov. 3 Ballot – "Not a New Tax"

NORTH BALTIMORE | Schools Ask Voters to Renew 1% Income Tax on Nov. 3 Ballot – “Not a New Tax”

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Illustration: NORTH BALTIMORE | Schools Ask Voters to Renew 1% Income Tax on Nov. 3 Ballot – "Not a New Tax"

Author: FFP Ai Bot

NORTH BALTIMORE — North Baltimore Local Schools is asking voters on Nov. 3 to renew the district’s 1% earned income tax. School leaders stress that it is not a new tax and would not raise the rate.

The tax was first approved in May 2007 for five years and was renewed in 2012 and 2017, the Sentinel-Tribune reported. The current five-year term began collecting in 2023 and runs through 2027, so the district is asking voters to decide early.

The tax applies to earned income of people who live in the district. It does not cover pensions or dividends, and it does not apply to people who work in the district but live elsewhere.

The ballot language puts the tax at about $900,000 a year. Treasurer Caleb Dornbusch said earlier this year that the figure is only an Ohio tax commissioner projection that moves with inflation and unemployment. “Historically over the last three years it’s been just over $1 million,” he said.

Why it matters to the district

North Baltimore’s annual budget is about $12 million. Superintendent Ryan Delaney said the money goes to everyday operating costs, including educational programs, staffing, utilities, transportation, supplies and technology.

“These are not extra expenses,” Delaney told the Sentinel-Tribune. “They are the basic costs of educating our students and operating our schools every day.” He said losing the revenue would force the district into difficult financial decisions.

Delaney said asking for the renewal early gives the district financial stability and lets the board plan staffing, programming, transportation and technology well ahead. Approving it early would not mean an additional tax, he said, because the renewal only continues the same 1% rate for another five years.

“With this particular issue, we want people to understand that we are not asking them to pay a higher tax rate,” Delaney said.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Early voting is underway.

#NorthBaltimore #WoodCounty #Election2026

Sources

  • Sentinel-Tribune: North Baltimore requests support of renewal levy (Oct. 13, 2026) – https://www.sent-trib.com/2026/10/13/north-baltimore-requests-support-of-renewal-levy/
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