Middletown, Lebanon and Monroe residents Tuesday turned down earnings tax increases to pay for street repaving and other capital improvements and services.

The Lebanon tax and a five-year Trenton fire levy also would have paid for public safety departments.

"I'm really upset. This was their one opportunity to fix streets," said Middletown Mayor Bob Wells. By a 2-to-1 ratio, Middletown voters rejected raising the earnings tax from 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent to generate $3 million for street repairs.

Middletown - facing a $1.5 million budget cut for next year after job reductions and a bare-bones budget this year - can repave only a couple of roads each year, he said.

"There are 500 miles of streets in Middletown, and it's going to take years to get to all of them. How can you bring companies to a city that looks like the city doesn't care? And people have shown they don't care," Wells said.

Residents of Monroe, where the state auditor declared a fiscal emergency in August, voted down an earnings tax increase from 1 percent to 1.5 percent for the third time in a year.

It would have generated $1.5 million to restore the street paving program eliminated two years ago and fund expanded services for the growing city. Without additional revenue, council must make tough decisions about saving money for the fiscal recovery program or increasing any services, said City Manager Bill Brock.

A new eight-member Financial Planning and Review Committee working with the state auditor will make recommendations next year on erasing Monroe's $6.2 million deficit in 11 city accounts, he said.

In Warren County, 70 percent of Lebanon voters rejected a proposed income tax increase from 1 percent to 1.25 percent. It would have provided $1.3 million for police services and road improvements and to boost the city's reserves.

Council next week will discuss options, which could include rescinding the income tax credit residents get for taxes paid to other municipalities. Council had tabled the issue earlier this year with the earnings tax on the ballot. The earnings tax has not increased in 30 years.

"There is no more fat to cut," Councilman Norm Dreyer said. "We've eliminated numerous positions. Our general fund balance is down to, I think, emergency levels in reserves. Low priority items are going to have to be next."

In Trenton, 61 percent of the voters turned down renewing a fire levy that generated $213,000 annually. With the old levy expiring, council must find that amount in next year's general fund to maintain the city's service from 28 part-time firefighters, said Patrick Titterington, city manager. The city also needs to replace a 32-year-old fire truck, he said.

"We're going to have to look at (cutting) services, or new revenues for services we don't charge for, like doing background checks and fingerprinting," Titterington said.

E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.co and esolvig@enquirer.com