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The fate of a proposed Athens income tax increase is uncertain for now because of provisional ballots
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The city of Athens’ proposed income tax increase appears to have passed by a slim margin in Tuesday’s election, but that could change.
As of Tuesday night when the votes were counted, the proposed two-tenths of a percent increase was ahead by eight votes.
However, there are 46 provisional city ballots remaining, some or all of which could be counted. The county board of elections will meet next Wednesday to decide which ones to count. And then it will be the following Wednesday before those ballots are actually counted. That’s how the process works.
Ballots are deemed provisional when there is some kind of issue that prevents them from being counted on Election Day.
For example, someone may have moved and did not update their address on their voter registration, so when they went to vote there was an address mismatch. Or they may have changed their name, perhaps because of a marriage or divorce, and did not update their registration.
These ballots get set aside and the elections board reviews the reason why for each ballot and makes its decision. The board members do not see the ballots, which remain sealed, so they don’t know how the person voted when they make their decisions, said Tony Brooks, director of the elections board.
It’s also possible, if the margin of victory or loss is small enough, there could be a recount. This is required when the margin is within one-half of 1% of the votes cast.
The eight-vote win so far for the income tax falls within that margin, so if there were no provisional ballots to count, there would for sure be a recount, which would happen June 1.
It remains to be seen whether a recount is required after any approved provisional ballots are counted.
The bottom line is it will be at least another two weeks before the final outcome of the tax vote is known.
Meanwhile, Mayor Steve Patterson said he was pleased to see so many people turn out to vote, however they voted.
Last May, 1,475 people cast votes on a proposed three-tenths of a percent increase in the city income tax, which was soundly defeated. This time, more than 1,900 voters weighed in on the tax.
Patterson and other city leaders have been pushing for an income tax increase as the city’s revenue lags behind expenses. One of the biggest cost drivers has been healthcare costs.
“Regardless of the outcome (of the tax vote), for the remainder of this year and into 2027, we will be holding fast to the soft hiring freeze, holding fast to continually finding ways we can reduce city expenses. We’re not letting up on that,” Patterson said.
If the tax increase has in fact passed, the city won’t start collecting the tax until next year, and so won’t realize the full benefit of the additional revenue until 2028.
If it ends up failing, Patterson said, “then we will continue to look at areas where we will continue to make cuts where we can make cuts.”