By Steve Kemme
Enquirer staff writer

NORWOOD - The passage of Norwood's 14-mill levy in the Aug. 3 special election would enable the city to do a lot more than stay solvent - although that's the main reason for it.

City Council has pledged to devote specific portions of the money to repaving streets and replacing curbs, picking up trash, upgrading the city's emergency communications system and buying a new ambulance and new police cruisers.

"We needed to make a commitment to setting aside so much money for those specific programs so that people know what they're voting for," said Councilman Joe Sanker, chairman of the finance committee.

The 14-mill five-year levy would generate $5.2 million a year. The revenue would offset a projected deficit of $25 million over the next five years. The owner of a $100,000 house would pay $418 more a year in taxes.

Norwood Treasurer Tim Molony said the taxes of most homeowners in Norwood wouldn't reach that level because many of the homes have a market value below $100,000. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the median value of single-family, owner-occupied homes in Norwood is $86,500. So the levy would raise the annual taxes of most Norwood home owners less than $400.

Regardless, city officials acknowledge that it will take a lot of work to win voter approval for a levy of this size.

They believe a critical step in convincing people to vote for the levy is to commit to improvements.

"We've spent almost no money on streets or fixed assets in the past two years," Molony said. "Who wants to live in a city where they can't make necessary street repairs and buy needed equipment?"

Of the 14 mills, the city has pledged to spend:

• 1 mill to 1.5 mills - Street improvements. One mill generates about $370,000 in tax revenue.

• 3 mills - Trash pickup. Norwood charges no trash pickup fees.

• 1 mill - Fixed assets. These include buying a new ambulance and two police cruisers and improving the 911 system by buying new computers for police dispatchers and better radios for police cruisers.

• 8.5 to 9 mills - Maintain the city's current level of services and personnel.

If this levy passes, Norwood will not try to renew a 12-year-old 8-mill emergency levy that's due to expire in 2007. That levy produces $1.9 million a year in tax revenue.

"Part of the 14-mill levy will be replacing that 8-mill levy," Molony said.

Part of the reason for the city's strapped finances is that previous administrations and councils spent money based on overly optimistic revenue estimates. They didn't anticipate long delays in certain planned commercial developments, such as the Rookwood Exchange, which hasn't been built yet.

"We made sure we had reasonable estimates," Molony said.

Even if the levy passes in August, Norwood will need to borrow money to make it through the end of the year. The city will run out of money in August or September, and the revenue stream from the 14-mill levy wouldn't start until next year. As a result, state law would allow Norwood to borrow up to $2.6 million from Hamilton County against next year's new tax revenue.

That would be enough to wipe out this year's projected $2.5 million deficit, Molony said.

E-mail skemme@enquirer.com