MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon annexed a little more than 14 acres of property from Clinton Township to help improve response times for city services during its last meeting of 2021 on Dec. 27.
These islands of Clinton Township on the west end of Mount Vernon were where homeless people were living who had created issues for city residents, Mayor Matt Starr said.
“Part of the problem was that the citizens, when they had a problem, they didn't know, ‘Well, am I supposed to call the city police or am I supposed to call the county sheriff?’ because it's Clinton Township, and the sheriff has jurisdiction over the township,” he told the Mount Vernon News a few days after the meeting.
With few deputies covering all of Knox County outside the city, and villages with their own police departments, response time could be slow.
Starr said in discussions with the property owner, Mark Ramser, Councilman John Francis and others, they suggested the city annex the parcels.
The annexation was a Type 2 annexation, a voluntary annexation of the property by the owner to the city.
“If somebody wants to voluntarily annex into the city, they petition the neighbors, the neighbors have to say yea or nay. And everybody said yes. And then Mr. Ramser took it to the county commissioners to petition them. And they gave their blessing,” Starr said.
Law Director Rob Broeren told council under Ohio Revised Code the city had to respond within 20 days of the Knox County Board of Commissioners sending the annexation request to Mount Vernon. The Dec. 27 meeting was the only council meeting within that 20-day window.
Property owners in Type II annexations have a “dual citizenship” with both the township and the city if they live on the property, Mount Vernon Auditor Terry Scott told the Mount Vernon News. They are able to vote in the township and they are able to vote in the city.
“The real estate monies on those parcels stay with the township. The city does not receive any real estate taxes under a Type II annexation. It stays with the township where they initially started from,” he said.
As residents of the city, they would be subject to income tax if they have income. Townships are not allowed to have income taxes in the state of Ohio.
The city also has some inside millage real estate taxes, Scott said.
If the owner opens a business on the annexed property, it would be subject to income tax on its profits, he said.
Mount Vernon Fire and EMS already covered those properties. The parcels remain private property.
For the homeless people who have lived on those parcels and other property inside and outside the city, Mount Vernon is not giving up on providing social services, Starr said. One of the priorities of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) study group was to earmark some of that funding for services.
“We're hoping that it's not just a Mount Vernon issue. We're hoping that the other townships will help, again to help support those efforts and getting people the services that they need to come back and be fruitful and engaged citizens in our community,” he said.
