DARKE COUNTY — Darke County voters rejected a countywide levy for emergency communications Tuesday.
With all precincts reporting in, the final (unofficial) tally on Issue 3 was 6,255 votes against (57.3 percent) to 4,662 votes (42.7 percent) in favor, according to results provided by the Darke County Board of Elections.
If passed, the .45-mill levy would have funded communications equipment for law enforcement, fire and rescue agencies within the county, with the first assessment due on property owners beginning January 2018. The county had stated it will go ahead with plans to outfit the Darke County Sheriff’s Office and other county emergency agencies with MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System) radios by April 2018 despite the outcome of the vote. Municipalities within the county now will need to acquire funding on their own if they wish to purchase radio equipment compatible with that used by the county’s emergency agencies.
In Greenville, voters reelected incumbent Councilman Doug Schmidt (R) and elected newcomers Jeffrey Whitaker (R) and Douglas Wright (R) to fill three at-large city council seats. Democrat Sue House and Write-In candidate Danny L. Cross fell short.
Greenville Mayor Steve Willman, Council President John Burkett and City Treasurer Cindy Austen were all reelected after running unopposed. Darke County Municipal Court Judge Julie L. Monnin won unopposed in her reelection bid.
In the Greenville Township Trustee race, incumbent Justin Hines was reelected and Jeremy Edger elected in a three-way race for two seats.
In Wayne Lakes, voters elected R. Ellen Brown to serve the unexpired term of the late Mayor Gary Lee Young.
The Miami Valley Career Technology Center bond and levy issue was winning by a small margin, 51 to 49 percent, with 20 percent of precincts reporting in.
Statewide, Buckeye voters approved Issue 1 and rejected Issue 2.
Issue 1, a constitutional amendment which sought to grant crime victims more rights, won by a wide margin, with more than 80 percent giving their approval.
Issue 2, which would have required the State of Ohio to pay no more for prescription drugs than the price paid by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The issue was losing by a margin 80 percent according to Associated Press exit polling.
The vote in Darke County closely matched the statewide results.
Darke County Board of Elections Director Luke Burton said the county saw 32.39 percent turnout at the polls Tuesday.
“Because of state issues on the ballot, I expected around 50 percent turnout as in previous years with state issues,” he said.
Burton said everything went “smoothly” on election day.
“Board members, poll workers and staff did a great job to make election day a success in Darke County,” he said.
The election will be certified November 21.
For Tuesday’s unofficial results on these and other county races, go to the Darke County Board of Elections website at http://ow.ly/IAmy30gqImM and click on the “November 7, 2017 Cumulative Results” link.
