RAVENNA − Mayor Frank Seman said the city is in a good place as it enters 2026, although he’s less optimistic about the city’s future than he was in years past.
In his March 23 State of the City address, Seman said that while Ravenna remains in a strong financial position and is continuing its economic recovery, he worries that a recession could make finances tight, or that taking away property taxes could impact both the city and local schools.
“We are situated in a good position,” he said. “We don’t have problems we can’t solve.”
The address was delivered the March 23 meeting of City Council’s Committee of the Whole. A livestream version of the speech was posted to the city’s YouTube channel the following day.
Safety forces seek facilities
Ravenna city voters will face Issue 7, an income tax that would support new facilities for the city government and safety forces, on the May 5 primary ballot. The 0.25% income tax would provide funds for a new police station, fire station and city hall at the former Ravenna High School property at East Main Street and Clinton Avenue.
Ravenna voters approved a 0.25% income tax for roads in 2015 and an identical hike for safety forces the following year. The increase under consideration would bring Ravenna’s municipal tax rate to 2.75%.
Council members previously said the income tax would not affect senior citizens. Also, most of the city’s income tax is paid by non-residents. Residents will pay the increase if they work in a city whose income tax is lower than Ravenna’s.
If Ravenna voters approve the tax, the city’s tax rate would be the same as Youngstown, but lower than the 3% paid in Bedford and Parma, according to RITA’s tax rate chart.
In his address, the mayor said the facility would replace three facilities “which have outlived their usefulness.”
The police station is more than 100 years old, he said. Its limitations include a lack of space to store evidence, antiquated wiring, mold and other environmental hazards, and a deficiency in existing electrical systems. The newest part of the building is 20 years old, and upkeep costs continue to rise. The docking area for prisoner transfer is insufficient and provides security risks.
The city recently agreed to hire three new firefighters, but doesn’t have enough space for them to sleep. The fire station also doesn’t have separate facilities for women.
“Although the city has not, and will never, decline to hire a firefighter on the basis of gender, this lack of adequate facilities for the most basic of bodily functions is a deterrent to recruiting an already underrepresented demographic,” he said.
The cramped space also means that turnout gear needs to be stored near diesel engines, and if they lift weights as part of their required strength-training regime, they need to do that near the equipment.
City Hall, a former grocery store, was built in the 1930s. It has outdated electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, and is grossly inefficient in design and functionality.
Other city departments
Seman’s address included updates on various other city departments, including engineering, streets, finances, water and sewer, economic development and parks and recreation.
He noted that Economic Development Director Dennis West recently met with the Korean ambassador and a representative of U.S. Rep. David Joyce to discuss the impact of tariffs on the city’s business community. LG Chem America, one of the city’s largest developments, is headquartered in Korea.
Factories, he said, are moving away from manufacturing toward research, with better-educated workers commanding higher wages.
Seman said council pushed for the purchase of Sunbeau Valley Farm. Although the city paid more than $1 million for the land, most of the funds came from the parks capital improvement funds. Although the city did put some general fund dollars toward the purchase, he noted that the fund was repaid when Ravenna received $440,000 in tax dollars from adult cannabis sales from the city’s marijuana dispensary.
“This property has terrific potential,” he said of Sunbeau.
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna mayor frets over future despite city’s current successes
Reporting by Diane Smith, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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