07-05-2025
Primary election: Mansfield voters approve pair of income tax renewal levies
Mansfield residents continued their support of a pair of 0.25% renewal levies in Tuesday's primary election.
They approved the so-called P.R.I.D.E. and pothole haters tax issues by comfortable margins. The pothole haters tax passed by a margin of 1,658 votes to 843, or 66.2% to 33.8%, in final, unofficial totals from the Richland County Board of Elections.
As for the P.R.I.D.E. tax, it collected 1,555 "yes" votes to 922 "no" votes, a winning margin of 62.8% to 37.2%.
Each levy will generate $4.8 million during each of the four years. The pothole haters tax has been renewed each time since it was first put on the ballot in the late 1980s.
Jodie Perry
"I'm very thankful that voters decided to give us another four years to work in both of these areas," Mayor Jodie Perry said. "That's a sign they're satisfied with the things they're seeing."
The pothole haters tax funds 100% of the city's resurfacing each year. Perry previously said the city does anywhere from $4 million to $6 million in resurfacing annually.
P.R.I.D.E. stands for parks, recreation, illumination, demolitions and emergency services. Half of the money goes to the safety services, 22% for parks, 20% for demolitions and 8% for street lights.
"This will help us get staffing numbers up in the police department and keep the fire department fully staffed as well," Perry said.
The levy covers 100% of the parks budget and provides the only funding for demolitions.
"The demolition money is very unique and has helped us clean up a lot of blight," Perry said. "We'll continue getting things cleaned up, so we can build for the future."
Parks have been another focus of Perry's administration.
"We've made some great strides in the last 15 months," the mayor said.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield voters give thumbs-up to pair of renewal levies
