MINGO JUNCTION — Village Council took steps toward getting a new income tax levy onto the ballot during its regular session Tuesday.

Council scheduled a special meeting for 5:45 p.m. Monday, during which it plans to vote on approving a resolution of necessity for a proposed 1 percent income tax levy to be placed on the November general election ballot for Mingo Junction residents.

The resolution’s approval will enable the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office to complete a necessary Certificate of Estimated Property Tax Revenue, which will be submitted to the village, according to a letter from county Auditor E.J. Conn.

Upon receipt, the village will pass a resolution to proceed and submit the two resolutions, the certificate and a copy of the minutes reflecting where the governing authorized the proposed levy to the Jefferson County Board of Elections, which would authorize the levy to be placed on the ballot.

At Monday’s special meeting, council will also seek to approve a resolution of necessity for renewing the village’s 6-mill levy on each dollar of the tax valuation of the taxable property within the village for providing funds for garbage, refuse and waste collection and disposal for a five-year period within the village’s limits. If approved, the levy would take effect with the duplicate tax year 2024 and continue through tax duplicate year 2028.

Conn warned the village not to “wait until the last minute,” given that the deadline to have all levies certified by the board of elections is Aug. 7.

The new income tax levy comes after the village’s apparent discovery and subsequent announcement of its failure to submit an longstanding 1 percent income tax levy in 2021. Propping up multiple of the village’s funding arteries, the levy expired at the beginning of 2022, but the village continued to collect a 1 percent income tax from residents, gathering about $2.5 million over two-and-a-half years.

Mayor Judy Ruckman said the village will be cutting back on its budget to compensate as it offers refunds or a tax credit to those who paid the tax while it was expired.

A safety meeting will take place at 6 p.m., after Monday’s special meeting.

Separately, Ruckman said the village’s service department has been working hard to get the village’s pool ready for its opening, which is set for Saturday at noon. The pool has been filled, according to village Administrator Darrin Corrigan, and inspections were set for Wednesday, Ruckman said.

After opening, the pool will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for senior swim and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. for regular use. Senior swim passes will be purchasable at the pool from Monday until June 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Regular swim passes will be purchasable at the city building from Monday until June 7 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In addition, Ruckman said the village is going to start getting tough on residents who allow their pets to defecate in empty lots without picking up the waste afterward. She invited individuals who catch pet owners in the act to bring camera footage to the city building.

“Let it be known that we are going to start cracking down on whatever we can do to stop people from doing that,” Ruckman said.

In other business:

• Council approved correcting the May 14 meeting minutes, which incorrectly stated that residents are not to place trash out for pickup in bags only. Minutes were corrected to reflect that there is no ordinance mandating trash not be placed in bags only, but there are rules specifying that trash, if only in bags, must be placed on the sidewalk the day of trash pickup and no earlier.

• Police Chief Willie McKenzie III reported that he spoke with a Jefferson County Court probation officer about the possibility of organizing a community service initiative in the village. McKenzie said he and the mayor have identified several areas “that could greatly benefit from attention” from such an initiative.

• Judy Keenan said the village is set this week to receive the first portion of Ohio Department of Aging Healthy Aging Grant funds, awarded to it by the Jefferson County health department for upgrades to the Mingo Junction Senior Center. Purchasing of materials may begin by next week, she added.

• Councilwoman Patti Mannarino said she has been in contact with the Ohio Environmental Proetction Agency and Jefferson County General Health District regarding dust that she claimed is regularly kicked up by work at the state Route 7 hillside remediation project site. The dust has become a nuisance for nearby residents who have to repeatedly clean their outdoor belongings, Mannarino claimed, adding that water trucks that were present at the site Tuesday will hopefully provide relief.

• Ruckman thanked all those who contributed to make the village’s Memorial Day service possible. Fred Pernick, director of the Mingo Junction Senior Center, thanked utilities clerk Denise Bennington and her two daughters for helping at the senior center’s portion of the event, as they have done for years.

• Ruckman reported that the Argo building is still slated for demolition by the Jefferson County Land Bank in July or August at the earliest, she is pursuing grant funds to address issues or needs at the village’s water and wastewater facilities and village employees have attended training for a Badger Meter water meter system, which employees have used to remotely read about 1,100 meters over a half-hour period.

• Council members Jodilynn Fitzgerald and Jack Brettell were absent but excused.