TOLEDO, Ohio — You may remember last year, the city of Toledo tried to pass an issue with a handful of items lumped together. Voters ultimately turned it down.
But in this election, two of those ideas are separated for voters to decide.
One is a charter amendment for the roads and the other is an advisory question about the Bay View Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said Issue 24 would correct an injustice in Toledo that's been around since the 1960s.
"The city of Toledo has been prevented by the charter from spending capital money fixing unimproved roads which used to be in Adams and Washington Townships," he said.
To him, the wording in the charter is basically government red tape. If approved, that would change.
He estimates 60 to 70 thousand people live on these roads, but are unable to get them fixed.
"It's fundamentally unfair, in my judgment, that the Toledoans who live on these streets don't have the ability to have city tax dollars improve their streets," he said.
The Mayor said there's no money involved for Issue 24.
Voters will also decide on Issue 25.
It asks taxpayers how they feel about spending money in the future to upgrade the Bay View Wastewater Treatment Plant.
There's no cost here either. At least, not yet.
"At the end of the day, there doesn't involve a tax, there's no fee, no property tax that's going up, no cost that's annunciated on the ballot," the mayor said.
He said the building is old and repairs aren't cutting it anymore.
"It's basically a 100-year-old facility, that with only a few upgrades in the early 80s and another small upgrade about 20 years ago, but it really hasn't been upgraded much at all," he said.
If voters approve the measure, he said that starts the process. One that would take about 20 years and cost about $800 to $900 million to renovate.
But no money is being decided on just yet.
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