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Residents of Mingo Junction have faced a lot of issues during the last several months.
Officials have had to contend with issues surrounding their safety forces, the reality that they have to pay $351,278.06 in delinquent property taxes dating back five decades and the discovery that they had been collecting income tax payments on a levy that the village failed to seek renewal for in 2021 and was allowed to expire in 2022.
It's against that backdrop that the village is asking voters to approve two issues on the Nov. 5 ballot -- a 1 percent, five-year additional income tax that will benefit several funds that provide numerous services, and the renewal of a 6-mill, five-year levy that will pay for the collection and disposal of garbage and refuse.
While it would be understandable if some village residents were wary about making those choices, they should vote yes on both issues.
Revenue generated from the income tax is spread among 10 different village funds, including the general fund, garbage, street improvement, capital improvement, recreation, senior citizens, fire equipment, police equipment, drug enforcement and community development.
Village officials have big plans for money generated from the tax, including major street renovation work, park upgrades and service department equipment purchases.
Sadly, the village also must repay about $1.5 million to taxpayers from whom the expired tax was wrongly collected.
If passed, Mayor Judy Ruckman has said, village finances will be tight, but they will be OK -- if the income fails, the community will not be OK, she added.
The garbage and refuse levy works out to about $193 for each $100,000 of assessed value for property owners, which means the village will collect about $252,000 a year. Money generated by the levy allows the village to pay for municipal garbage collection and cover landfill costs, service department employee wages and monthly rubbish collections.
Failure to renew the levy would, among other things, lead the village to discontinue these services, which would create staffing cuts and force the village to turn to a private collection service.
Both issues are critical if the village is to maintain the current level of services residents have come to expect, but, given what has been learned, residents are right to be asking questions. While Ruckman, who took office in January, has pledged that an oversight such as what occurred on the income tax renewal "will never happen again as long as I am in office," village officials have not yet publicly said how the situation was allowed to develop in the first place -- and the names of the official, or officials, who allowed it to happen -- as well as what procedures -- if any -- have been instituted that will help ensure proper steps are followed going forward.
There has yet to be any public accountability for the cascading set of circumstances that have resulted in the village being left in a situation where it will have to refund improperly collected income tax money and find a way to pay delinquent property taxes.
That said, failure to approve the income tax and the garbage and refuse levy would do nothing to improve the current situation and would, in fact, make things worse for everyone who lives in or does business in the village.
These ballot issues are important if Mingo Junction is to continue to move forward, and residents should do the right thing by approving them both.