SYLVANIA TOWNSHIP (WTOL) - Joe Verkennes of the Meadows Subdivision in Sylvania Township says he faces a 350 percent increase in taxes if the city annexes his property.
"We're sending our kids to private schools, we have to save for that. And this is going to be a huge impact on us,” Verkennes said.
Around 100 neighbors of the Meadows, Parklands, Country Walk and other township subdivisions received letters in the middle of November asking them to sign a petition annexing their property into city limits.
A line from the letter reads, “The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the time has arrived when enough properties in the general area where yours is located have signed agreements in return for service so that an annexation petition can be prepared and filed with the Lucas County Commissioners.”
The letter is talking about water service agreements that some township neighbors have signed with the City of Sylvania. Those agreements request that residents cooperate with annexation if and when the city chooses to do so.
A city leader says the annexations are business as usual and those benefiting from city services like water should support the city with their tax dollars.
"It’s only fair to our residents that we expect those who are getting city services outside the city to come in and pay their fair share when they get here,” Sylvania City Councilman Douglas Haynam said.
If the properties were annexed, those homeowners would then pay real estate taxes to the city instead of the township.
Councilman Haynam says residents would see lower property taxes within city limits as they would no longer have to support township levies for police and fire protection. In Sylvania, the city’s general fund supports police and fire services.
City residents must also pay a 1.5 percent income tax if they are not already paying one to another municipality.
Joe Verkennes is one of those who currently works in a municipality that doesn’t charge an income tax. He says that whatever his family may save in property taxes would be overshadowed by the new income tax.
"We would go from paying about $800 a year in property taxes to the township to about $3,600 to the City of Sylvania in income taxes--which is a 350 percent increase. That’s huge,” Verkennes said.
Sylvania’s city leaders say living in the city limits comes with perks; leaf and trash removal, a voice in city elections, among other things. Yet Verkennes says he and many other township homeowners are happy with the Township’s services. The only service they don’t offer is trash removal, and Verkennes says he is happy with his private trash removal contractor.
Verkennes says he is working with around 30 other homeowners who feel the city has not been transparent with them. They did not know they could face annexation until they signed a water services agreement. By that time, they had already moved into their homes.
“We needed a larger home, so we bought in the township to avoid a 1.5 percent income tax. We knew that in the township, we would get the services we need and we could set that money aside for our kids’ Catholic school tuition and their future college,” Verkennes said.
Councilman Haynam says he anticipates reaching the necessary 50 percent of signatures to send the annexation petition to Lucas County Commissioners within the next couple of months. He expects township homeowners to follow through on the binding agreements they signed with the city for water services. If not, he says the city could pursue legal action.