Levy talk of the night at city council

by Marissa Barnhart

While the Ravenna city council had a short list of ordinances to vote on Monday evening, the meeting took a turn when citizens asked about the upcoming levy.

The levy, if passed, will increase taxpayer dollars by one-fourth of a percent to fund the costs of maintaining firefighting, police and medical emergency services.

Jim Carrozzi, a retired lieutenant at the Portage County sheriff’s office, expressed his concern at comment police chief Timothy Adkins made in the Record-Courier, in which he said the department didn’t need the levy.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people, and they’re not for this levy,” Carrozzi said.

Mayor Frank Seman said he’s talked to the police chief and explained why the levy is necessary and where that money would go. He said the city has run out of reserves to fund services and have gradually made more cuts to the departments. If the levy fails, several layoffs will occur.

City council passed 14 ordinances. Mayor Seman can enter a contract with Signal Services to update traffic signals in Ravenna as part of the West Side Traffic Signal Project. Council passed a renewal of the juvenile community service program, which council member Amy Michael said has show to be helpful to the children involved.