GOSHEN TOWNSHIP — Mahoning County Engineer Pat Ginnetti discussed the pending renewal of the county’s .25% sales tax for road and bridge improvements during the board of trustees March meeting.

Ginnetti gave a presentation urging township voters to support the upcoming renewal of Mahoning County’s 0.25% sales tax for road and bridge improvements. Ginnetti said the budget at the County’ Engineer’s Office has remained largely static since 2003 when it had an annual revenue of $11,320,951.92, which has increased by $2,474,747.82 or 21.85% for an average annual increase of 1.09% annually over the course of 20 years to $13,795,699.77 in 2023. The same has not been true for the costs of highway construction which he said has increased 278.6% nationwide during the same 20-year period, and in Mahoning County the cost of asphalt has increased 265.7% and the cost of Tack Coat has risen 500% over the last 20 years. Ginnetti said the inflation of material costs isn’t slowing either, with recent estimates showing a 68% increase between 2021 and August 2025.

Ginnetti said without the revenue from the sales tax to help make up the gap between revenue and rising costs of material, that infrastructure repairs throughout the county would “be drastically reduced.” Those reductions would take the form of road projects being “postponed, downsized, or canceled altogether” which Ginnetti said would have ripple effects beyond just deteriorating roadway conditions with increased safety risks, and “economic inefficiencies due to delayed transportation improvements.” He also stressed that in northeast Ohio the useful service life of a road surface is seven-to-10 years –asphalt resurfacing is necessary to keep pavement in safe condition and pavement naturally deteriorates over time, meaning work happens on a continual basis and will always be needed.

Ginnetti argued by dedicating the revenue from the sales tax to road and bridge improvement Mahoning County has been able to address maintenance backlogs, improving safety and extending the lifespan of roadways across the county. He said if renewed by voters, the sales tax would generate more than $50 million earmarked for road improvements over the next five years and that 35-40% of the sales tax generated in the county comes from out of county residents. He also stressed that the sales tax was a renewal and not a new tax –meaning that residents wouldn’t be paying any more than they already are.

Trustee Shawn Mesler said Goshen Township had been able to use money from the sales tax to pay for the township’s portion of its recent Ohio Public Works Commission projects, and it would not have been able to pave some roads without it. He also echoed that 35-40% of the county’s sales tax revenue each year comes from non-county residents. The trustees voted unanimously to enter a memorandum of understanding with the Mahoning County Commissioners and the County Engineer’s Office to use money from the sales tax to resurface Diagonal Road.

Other financial matters included the approval of the township’s 2026 budget which anticipates an annual income of $2,518,051 and total appropriations of $2,657,210.28, and the acceptance of NOPEC 2026 Energized Community Grant which will be used to cover a portion of the cost of the road garage insulation project which is estimated to cost $7,500-8,000.

The Trustees also approved a motion to permit the Sebring-West Branch Hot Stove League to sue the baseball field behind the township administration building for its 2026 season.

The board of trustees will meet next at 6 p.m. on April 14.