Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
There wasn’t a lot on the agenda at the June 4 village council meeting in Walbridge, but it included some important items.
The village currently has a 1.5 percent tax rate, which isn’t changing. However, mayor Ed Kolanko said for at least the past 30 years, there has been a one percent tax credit, or reciprocity, for those working outside the village.
With its third reading on June 4, that credit will change to 0.5 percent beginning with the 2026 tax year, so it won’t truly affect residents who work outside the village until they file their taxes by the April 2027 deadline.
Kolanko said it’s a moving number, but the village’s best estimation for revenue generation with the adjustment will be approximately $30,000 per year. It also brings Walbridge more in line with the rate of other local communities, such as Millbury.
“Millbury has a 1.5% tax rate, and I think their reciprocity is 0.5 percent,” Kolanko said. “Most places have a one-percent kind of net effective tax rate. So, with us being at 1.5 with a half percent (credit), we're a net one percent.”
Kolanko added that the new money generated will be put back into the community for much needed improvements, and it will help with grant applications.
“We need to do more infrastructure,” he said. “We need to do more road improvements. Nothing's getting cheaper. It's definitely a revenue that we're going to put back into the community.”
SUPPORTING THE POLICE
The village is sponsoring a campaign to support the police department with yard signs that can be requested for free. The effort is in coordination with National Police Week, which took place in May.
“It's a way for people to visually show that they support police officers,” Kolanko said. “As the mayor and having our own police department, it's very important, the job that they do. It's also important that they recognize and feel that what they do out there is important.
“Driving by and seeing somebody that has a yard sign, it's uplifting. It's like, ‘Hey, these people appreciate us.’ I think that that goes a long way in a small community.”
Kolanko said they have already had approximately 15 signs picked up with at least another 10 requests put in. Should a resident like a sign to display, they can send an email to dkohlhofer@walbridgeohio.org.
“We’re trying to foster a sense of pride with our police department and with our community, and what better way to do it.”
STORMWATER FUND
Highlighting new business was the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the creation of the stormwater utility fund for the village. Discussed in the May 26 edition of The Press, the idea was something brought up at the last meeting as a fund that would specifically be earmarked for storm sewer repairs and maintenance, and Kolanko said then that a lot of other communities have this type of fund in place already. If approved after subsequent readings, it would appear on the water bills of each tax-paying resident.
PLAYGROUND UPDATE
Kolanko said the playground renovations and updates at Railway Park are “getting there.” He said they should know by early the week of Monday, June 9 when they can officially have it open.
The zip line and swings are almost done, and the maintenance team has been moving dirt and prepping for the mulch, of which there are five semi-loads coming in by the weekend.
“That’s the last thing that goes in,” he said. “That’s a lot of mulch. There’s a lot of positive activity. Once we get a ribbon cutting set, we’ll let everyone know.”
TWO MEETINGS CANCELED
Pursuant to a past ordinance put in place, council voted to use its ability to cancel two meetings on July 2 and Aug. 6.
“Some years ago, council changed our ordinance that allows us to cancel two meetings if there's really not anything legislatively moving,” Kolanko said. “It's pretty, pretty quiet in the summer and usually one always falls around the July 4th kind of time frame. Honestly the two meetings during the summer are substantial enough to actually move anything we need to do.”
NEW SIGNAGE UPDATE
In the May 21 council meeting, signage for the area entering Walbridge from I-280, along with Loop Park, Railway Park and the front of the administration building, was approved. Kolanko said those signs should be in place within a few months.
