Butler voters pass two levies, reject another

Two local levies were passed by voters during the May 5 primary election in unofficial results which support the Milford Fire Department and services for individuals with disabilities in Butler County.

Another local levy, which supported the Hanover Fire District, was voted down for the second time in unofficial results since the November 2025 general election.

The Butler County Board of Elections will meet to certify the results of the primary on May 21.

Statewide, Amy Acton and David Pepper won the nominations for the Ohio Democratic Party governor and lieutenant governor candidates after running unopposed and will move onto the general election ballot on Nov. 4. Vivek Ramaswamy and running mate Robert A. McColley secured their nominations as Republican candidates in unofficial results and are also expected to move onto the Nov. 4 ballot.

Don Kissick and running mate James L. Mills are also expected to move onto the Nov. 4 ballot to represent the Libertarian Party.

The complete unofficial results of all races can be found on the Butler County Board of Elections website.

In Butler County, 53,258 ballots were counted in unofficial results, bringing turnout to 21.7% of registered voters. 

According to Eric Corbin, deputy director of the Butler County Board of Elections, 19% of those who voted were early voters, either in-person at the board or by absentee ballot.

Overall, Director Nicole Unzicker said more people voted at their polling locations on Election Day this year than in previous years compared to those who voted early. Compared to the last gubernatorial primary election four years ago, Unzicker said overall voter turnout was also higher in Butler County this year.

Residents may register to vote by picking up a form at the Butler County Board of Elections and vote early in the days leading up to the election. A statewide voting calendar is available at ohiosos.gov.

Ohio voters can only change their party affiliation by voting for their party of choice during the next primary election in 2028.

Although Unzicker said the board did not run short on poll workers for this election, anyone who is registered to vote and active in Butler County may apply to be a poll worker for the next election in November by visiting the Butler County Board of Elections website. 

Issue 3

Butler County voters passed the third issue on the primary election ballot by 2,639 votes – or nearly 5% – in unofficial results. This was an additional levy to continue the operation of community programs and services at the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

The levy will collect at a rate of 2 mills, or $2 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value continually, amounting to $70 for each $100,000 of the Butler County Auditor’s market value of a property.

Altogether, this levy is expected to generate an estimated $26,081,455 annually for the board, which will protect existing supports, according to Public Relations Coordinator Patricia Dawson.

Dawson told the Oxford Free Press prior to the election the board’s revenues have stayed stagnant over the year, while its financial obligations have significantly increased. On election night, she said the issue passing was critical for the board, as it had entered a fiscal emergency and recently laid off around 25% of its staff.

Overall, the board had to take cost-saving measures totaling over $8 million, Dawson said, including reducing work hours, turning the building over to the Butler County Commissioners, freezing promotions and increases and cutting some services to clients who don’t receive Medicaid-funded supports.

“Without this passing, we absolutely would have been cutting services,” Dawson said. “The point of this levy, and what voters agreed to, is that this preserves the services that exist and allows us to continue moving forward providing supports to so many people in Butler County.”

While Dawson said the levy passing is a “relief,” as it constitutes 49% of the board’s revenue collections next year, the board’s financial situation will not change until the first collection next year. While none of the laid-off positions are likely to be recalled, Dawson said some of the other changes or lost supports may return or come back in another version.

Issue 6

Voters living within Hanover Township voted down the sixth issue on the primary election ballot, which was an additional levy to support the Hanover Township Fire District, by 181 votes – or less than 11% – in unofficial results.

The levy would have collected $1,639,327 annually for the fire district, which Hanover Township Administrator Bruce Henry said would have gone toward providing and maintaining fire equipment and buildings and paying for volunteer and part-time firefighters and communications and emergency medical service personnel among other resources.

According to Henry, this levy would have supported the overwhelming majority of the Hanover Township Fire Department budget.

“We’ve taken steps to ensure through the end of the year the fire department can run at a quality level serving the residents,” Henry said. “However, the (Hanover Township) Board of Trustees is going to have to take a look at this and decide if they want to run another levy in November."

Henry said while there’s no one clear reason why the levy failed, he speculated residents may be unhappy with increases in property valuations which have raised everyone’s taxes, while some people may be on fixed incomes and the economic situation continues to change.

Henry said it’s not clear yet what the new ballot measure could look like, but the fire district’s current levy – its primary revenue source – will run out at the end of this year. If nothing is done, he said there will need to be a cut-back in operations.

“It’s clear that this is such an essential service, and we don’t have other means of funding it,” Henry said. “We can transfer money in, but not nearly enough to run the whole department at the level it’s running now.”

Issue 7

Voters living within Milford Township passed the seventh issue on the ballot, which was an additional levy to maintain the Milford Township Fire Department, by 26 votes – or more than 4% – in unofficial results.

The levy will be collected at a rate of 2 mills, amounting to about $70 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value. 

The levy will collect an estimated $284,957 annually for a continuing period of time and will be used for equipment and paying volunteers.

Milford Township Fiscal Officer Mollie Hansel told the Oxford Free Press prior to the election the department’s current 5-year levy, which amounts to around $172,000 per year, expires at the end of this year. She said the new levy will not only help uphold the fire department’s budget, but it will also be used to replace aging equipment, including a new fire truck.

On Election Day, Hansel said if the levy hadn’t passed, the fire department would be operating at a significant shortfall, as she estimated it would make up between 75-80% of its budget next year. 

“That pays the salaries, it pays upkeep of equipment, not even to mention replacing old equipment, this is just repairing and keeping recruitment in top shape, paying our volunteers, buying supplies that they need to run the department,” Hansel said about the operating budget. “It would have crippled us had (the levy) not passed.”

“We certainly appreciate the support of the community, without a doubt,” Hansel said.