For the first time anyone can remember, Morrow County had a tie vote on a levy in this November’s election.

The Village of Marengo put an additional 2.5 mill continuing levy for operating expenses on the ballot, which resulted in a 35/35 tie.

This is one case where every vote counts. O.R.C. 5705.26 states a majority vote is necessary for levies to pass. Without that majority, as in the case of a tie, the levy does not pass. This happened to the Ohio town of Arlington Heights (just north of Cincinnati) in 2013 in a 63/63 vote.

Marengo Mayor Mike Baker said it was encouraging to him that the levy was as well supported as it was this year. Attempts to pass an operating levy in the past have failed. Though the levy would not have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars, Baker said the sum still would have made a huge difference compared to the dollars they actually have to work with. But he still considers the vote a ‘positive thing’ as well as the passage of 28 of the 30 levies this fall.

“Evidently, people in the county are starting to realize if they wants things done, they have to be willing to put a little money out to get them,” he said.

As funds allow, Marengo has been working on infrastructure projects such as clearing sanitary sewer lines and septic tank inspections as well as road repair.

Morrow County Board of Elections Director Penny Porter said the final vote will come after the provisional ballots are tallied November 18.

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” said Baker.

Reach Randa Wagner at 419-946-3010, ext. 1803 or on Twitter@MorrCoSentinel.

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/11/web1_marengo-map.jpg

By Randa Wagner

[email protected]