2026 Police Levy

In December, the Washington Township Board of Trustees approved a resolution to proceed with placing a 0.9-mill, continuous police levy on the May 5, 2026, ballot.

The funds generated by this levy would be used to keep pace with the increasing demand for police services provided by the Washington Township Substation of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO). The additional money will help the department keep up with rising costs and add more police services to meet the community’s growing needs.

According to the Montgomery County Auditor, the proposed levy would generate approximately $1.7 million per year to fund police services provided by the MCSO Washington Township Substation. This levy can only be used for police-related expenses.

Washington Township is one of the fastest growing communities in Ohio. This means there are more roads and neighborhoods to patrol and more cases to investigate. As you can see from the chart, the number of calls for police services is 20% more than pre-pandemic numbers. If this levy passes, the Township plans to add one detective and two road patrol deputies, plus purchase two more cruisers, to meet the community’s growing needs.

Police costs are rising faster than our revenue, so we are starting to spend our reserve funds. As you can see from the chart, those funds are expected to run out in 2028-2029. Without additional funding, the Township would have to reduce police services, leading to fewer deputies on patrol or investigating cases and slower response times.

Only voters in the unincorporated area of Washington Township will vote on this levy. Residents in the City of Centerville fund their own police department.

The proposed levy will be on the May 5, 2026, ballot. The voter registration deadline for this election is April 6, and early voting begins on April 8. You will be able to view your sample ballot on the Ohio Secretary of State website.

The proposed 0.9-mill, continuous police levy that will be on the May 5, 2026, is a new levy. The additional funds would be used to keep pace with the increasing demand for police services provided by the MCSO Washington Township Substation.

The proposed levy would cost property owners an additional $31.50 per year, for every $100,000 of property value, as determined by the county auditor.

There are two ways for property owners to figure out their estimated tax:

1. Go to the Montgomery County Auditor’s website and search for your property. Click on the owner’s name, then on the New Levies link on the left side of the page. Any proposed levies and the additional annual costs will be listed there.

2. If you prefer to do your own math, multiply the current appraised value of your property (found on the Auditor’s website) by 35% to get the property’s assessed value. Then, divide the assessed value by 1,000 and multiply the result by the millage amount (0.9).

Property taxpayers would see the new rate beginning in January 2027, and the Township would start collecting revenue from those taxes in 2027.

The MCSO Washington Township Substation serves the unincorporated area of the Township, which includes more than 37,000 residents, nine public and private schools, and hundreds of business locations. In 2025, the Township is averaging about 81 calls a day for police services.

As you can see in the chart, 95% of police funding in Washington Township comes from local property taxes. There are currently two levies that support police operations in the Township, with the latest one approved by voters in 2020. These taxes bring in about $5.3 million per year. Property owners pay $96.03 per year, for every $100,000 of property value, for police services.

Funding from the proposed levy would be used for police services in Washington Township, which includes our contract with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. You can see the breakdown of the Township’s police expenses in this chart.

Because of state law, if property values go up, voted levy rates go down. This means the money the Township gets from police levies stays about the same unless voters approve a new levy. This chart shows the revenue collected from police levies since 2015, with bigger increases seen after levies were passed in 2015 and 2020.

Goods and services get more expensive over time, and police expenses are no different. This chart show how much it costs to put a deputy and cruiser on patrol for a year, including salary and benefits, vehicle, gas and maintenance, equipment, weapons, and more. Because state law keeps funding from voted levies relatively flat, additional levies are necessary to keep up with rising costs or to add more services.

Washington Township’s partnership with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office keeps police costs lower than neighboring communities. The Township provides cruisers, equipment, office space, and office supplies for deputies at our substation. Our contract with MCSO provides staff and a variety of support services that smaller departments often cannot afford, such as dispatching, SWAT Team, traffic reconstruction, victim advocates, and more.

The MCSO Washington Township Substation has a staff of 36.5 people. That includes 1 captain, 1 administrative sergeant, 4.5 road patrol sergeants, 20 road patrol deputies, 3 school resource officers, 1 traffic services deputy, 3 detectives, 1 Community Oriented Policing deputy, 1 K9 deputy, and 1 secretary.

The most recent MCSO staff position, a K9 deputy, was added in 2021.

Over the past year, MCSO conducted a study to analyze how many calls for service they receive and how much time each call takes. The study found that the Washington Township Substation needs one more detective and two more road patrol deputies. They also need two more police cruisers for the new officers.

There is a group that wants to ask Ohio voters whether all property taxes should be abolished. This would change the Ohio Constitution, so there is a process to follow before it can be voted on. Ohio townships don't have their own authority to collect income or sales tax, so they mostly rely on property taxes to pay for services like police, fire, EMS, roads, and infrastructure. For example, 95% of police funding in Washington Township comes from local property taxes. If voters decided to get rid of all property taxes, it would cut almost all funding for these programs, which would mean a significant reduction or elimination of services for residents.

Please contact Sarah Swan, Communications & Administration Manager, at [email protected] for assistance in getting factual information.