POLAND — Township officials plan to place the five-year, 0.98-mill police levy that was defeated in the Nov. 7 election back on the ballot in March — and to adopt a different approach for trying to get it passed.

“We need to explain it better, and that it means no new taxes,” Eric Ungaro, township trustee chairman, said after Wednesday’s regular board of trustees meeting.

Ungaro noted that an inherent challenge in getting voters to better understand the levy before voting on it lay in its language, which included the words “new” and “additional,” leading many people to believe falsely it would mean added taxes for them. Despite the word choice, the measure really was an effort to replace two older such levies, each of which was enacted in 1978 and 1981.

The 1978 measure will be eliminated at the end of this year, which likely will cause the township to lose about $230,000 next year, Ungaro explained. In addition, township officials will be following the advice of the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s office to get rid of the 1981 measure, he added.

“It’s a wash; it’s basically house cleaning,” Ungaro said, referring to the current levy.

“We’re removing two levies — one voluntarily and one not voluntarily, and we’re creating one renewable five-year levy, or 0.98 mills. It’s the same exact millage,” police Chief Greg Wilson said late last month.

To more effectively educate voters about the measure before March — and do so in a more simplified, clear manner –a new grassroots citizens committee has been formed to go door to door, post yard signs and produce literature about the levy, Ungaro continued.

Wilson blamed himself for the 0.98-mill levy’s defeat earlier this month and said he supports such a committee.

“My job was to get the word out there to convey our message to our residents that we were putting on a levy,” Wilson said, adding, “The feedback we were getting is that my job was not good enough.”

The chief noted that new efforts to get the levy passed in four months will include the committee receiving donations via fundraisers for yard signs, as well as T-shirt sales. Perhaps in late February or early March, before Election Day, a Blue Bulb fundraiser will take place to have such lighting on residents’ front porches to display their support for the police department, he explained.

Wilson, who began with the department in the early 1990s and became chief in March, expressed gratitude toward the community, and said it’s vital to speak to residents one on one about the levy to ensure they understand it before they cast their votes.

“The support we have received from our community has been overwhelming,” Wilson said.

If it passes, the levy will generate about $358,000 annually — money that would allow the department “to keep doing what we’re doing,” and not be used to buy new equipment or hire additional officers, he added.

Within the past year, the department has installed a community-policing initiative, neighborhood watch groups and other programs, all of which require greater man hours and money. The levy also would allow residents to pay the same amount of taxes and the department to provide the same needed services, Wilson said.

The 21-square-mile township has roughly 15,000 residents.

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