One of Bluffton's most important decisions of the decade will be decided on March 6. Bluffton voters will decide the fate of a proposed one-quarter percent income tax.

The Icon supports this issue and urges voters who need more information to attend one of two public meetings planned for the next two Thursdays to learn more about this issue.

The meetings are both at 7:30 p.m., with one on Thursday, Feb. 23, and the second on Thursday, March 1, in the third floor of the town hall, according to Jamie Mehaffie, village administrator.

Mehaffie provided the following background about the levy for the Icon:

In November 2005, the citizens of Bluffton voted to enact a 1/4 % income tax for 10 years to pay for the renovations of the town hall. This 1/4 % income tax generated $342,000 in revenue in 2011. The project will be paid for by Dec. 31, 2012, and the 1/4 % income tax will be removed nearly four years earlier than expected.

Mehaffie said that if approved by the voters, this will result in Village of Bluffton taxpayers paying the same income tax rate in 2013 as 2012 on the same type of taxable income. Unearned and retirement income will continue to be exempt from taxation.

The Bluffton water system was constructed in 1896 with three miles of water mains. While records are insufficient to determine exact dates of line installations and replacements over the years, the cast iron lines now in service are well beyond their expected life of 40 to 50 years.

As is evidenced by sections of water main recently removed in repair of waterline leaks, over time iron deposits accumulated in the lines and over-coated with mineral deposits from the villages old well water.

The new water from Ottawa does not have the high mineral content that our old water had and the mineral deposits have been dissolved, leaving behind the iron deposits to produce rusty water in the system.
Water customers on the newer plastic water lines do not have rusty water unless it is coming through the system from older lines. The solution is to replace the old cast iron waterlines with new plastic water lines.

The estimated cost to replace the most affected areas of the village is $1.5 million. These areas have experienced the most pronounced discoloring of water since the water system change.

If the 1/4 % income tax is passed March 6, 2012 the village will have a dedicated revenue source to support the borrowing of the cost to replace this aging infrastructure.

The initial projects include the replacement of water mains in the Jackson Street-Grove Street-Lawn Avenue area, the Mound-Cherry Street areas, and the looping of the water main serving Sunset Drive.

These projects could be completed in 2012. After the effects of the new lines are analyzed, other areas may need attention.

Other water and sewer concerns are the continued work on maintaining and upgrading the sanitary sewer system. The sewer plant and collection system were constructed in the early1950s and the sewer plant was reconstructed in 2003.

The cost of replacement for the aging sanitary sewer collection system will be substantial. The 1/4 % income tax would help with these projects in the future.

Given that state funding, which formerly contributed $350,000 annually to village revenues, is rapidly being eliminated, it is not feasible for the Village of Bluffton to continue to subsidize water and sewer infrastructure projects with General Fund revenue.

Ballot language

"Shall the ordinance proposing a 1/4 % levy on income for the purpose of water and sewer capital improvements only (replacing the existing 1/4 % income tax for town hall improvements), commencing January 1,2013, for a period of years not to exceed 15, be approved."