Volo seeks to institute home rule

Voters in Volo will face a simple question when they enter polling places on Tuesday: Shall the village be a home rule government?

A "yes" vote would give leaders of the community, which has about 1,000 residents, the power to increase sales tax in town by 1 percentage point as a way to raise money for new turn lanes, traffic lights and other transportation projects.

Such improvements will be needed as more residents, businesses and shoppers come to Volo, officials said.

"Just about every intersection in Volo needs something done," Village Administrator Ken Buchardt said. "These things don't come cheap nowadays."

Non-transportation projects, such as the extension of water and sewer lines, could be funded by the proposed tax, too, Buchardt said.

Volo officials say they don't intend to use the proposed powers to increase property tax rates.

"That's the last thing we want to do," Trustee Bruce Buschick said.

Under state law, village boards or city councils in communities with at least 25,000 residents can pursue home-rule status on their own. Towns with smaller populations must ask voters for permission to become home rule.

Volo -- all 3.9 square miles of it -- definitely falls into the second group.

"We're never going to (have) 25,000 people," Buschick said. "We just don't have the geography. But we need to do things larger communities can do."

Volo's sales tax won't automatically increase if voters support the ballot request. That requires a separate vote by the village board.

The board could take such a vote in March, Buchardt said.

If voters approve the request and the board creates the new sales tax, goods would be taxed 7.5 percent, up from 6.5 percent.

That's expected to generate an extra $600,000 in revenue annually for the village, Buchardt said. The village collects about $600,000 in sales taxes every year now, he said.

One of the things Buschick likes about the sales-tax proposal is that it would apply to anyone who shops in town, whereas a property-tax increase would only hit residents' wallets.

"Those people who come and shop in Volo require a certain amount of Volo services, such as police or (paramedics)," Buschick said. "And they use our roads."

Although residents asked questions about the proposal at a recent board meeting, no opposition groups have formed to fight the plan, Buchardt said. A civilian promotional group hasn't formed, either.

Information about the plan is available on the village's Web site, www.villageofvolo.com.