PRESS RELEASE 

July 30, 2020

For more information, contact:                                                                               

Township Administrator Vicky Earhart                                                  
7850 Five Mile Road  Cincinnati, Ohio 45230  Phone: (513) 688-8400  E-mail: vearhart@AndersonTownship.org 

Passage of Senate Bill 4 Enables Anderson Township to Avoid Levy Request This Fall

Delay of road levy until at least 2022 to provide savings to Anderson Township residents 

Some of Anderson Township’s road maintenance costs will soon be covered from a new source, thanks to a bill recently passed that allows townships to draw road funding from certain Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Funds.

Governor Mike DeWine recently signed Senate Bill 4 into law, which allows townships to temporarily use a portion of unencumbered TIF funds to cover costs associated with road repair and maintenance. This bill allows those expenses to be paid through mid-2022.

TIF funds, derived from new construction, are typically limited to capital improvement projects and cannot be used for operating and maintenance expenses, according to Fiscal Officer Ken Dietz.

“Anderson Township stretched its current road levy 22 years,” Anderson Township Administrator Vicky Earhart noted. “However, this levy only generates a portion of the funds it did in 1998, when adopted by the voters. At the same time, the township’s maintenance responsibilities have increased dramatically, so we anticipated needing to return to the voters this fall to renew this levy.”

The bill was championed by Township Trustee Chair Josh Gerth. “The Board of Trustees was faced with asking our constituents to consider a levy this fall, a measure we did not wish to take given the hardships many of our residents are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Gerth noted.

Gerth worked with the Ohio Legislature, State Representative Bill Seitz, as well as Chip Gerhart, an Anderson resident and lobbyist, in pursuing a creative approach to utilize its TIF funds to stretch the levy and meet growing township maintenance needs.

“Through strategic planning and sound fiscal management, we had amassed a healthy balance in our TIF budget, but yet these could not be used to address our road maintenance needs,” Gerth said. Townships have little opportunities, other than property tax, to generate funds for operations, he noted.

“Simply stated, this bill helps our community and will save our taxpayers money,” Gerth added. 

Had Anderson Township voters adopted an anticipated 2-mil levy that was being discussed this fall, a property owner’s tax bill would have increased by $70 a year per $100,000 valuation. Dietz estimated the passage of the Senate bill will save the owner of a home with a $250,000 auditor valuation a total of $700 for 2021 and 2022.

Gerth was also joined by Green Township Trustee Tony Rosiello who worked on the safety levy components of the bill.