PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT CITY OF MEDINA

In a City of Medina, Ohio interview on October 9, 2026, City Council President John Coin and Council-at-Large member Ed Isabella discussed a proposed November ballot amendment to allow the city’s existing restricted 0.25% income-tax fund to pay for sidewalk construction, maintenance, repair, and improvements. They said the change would not increase taxes; voters are being asked whether to add “sidewalks” to the fund’s permitted uses, which currently include streets, stormwater, and utilities. The fund reportedly brings in about $4.3 million, and council had approved placing the amendment on the ballot. Sidewalk work would compete with other eligible projects for annual allocations; officials discussed an initial target of about $100,000 per year, subject to future budgets and needs.

The city has begun surveying sidewalks in Ward 1. City employees plan to grind down elevation differences of an inch or less, while more extensive repairs would be grouped into a bid package for contractors; officials anticipated bidding and beginning repairs in spring, including work on roughly 500 identified sidewalk panels. The city also purchased a sidewalk grinder, with no cost stated. The broader program would proceed over multiple years across approximately 200 miles of sidewalks, with priorities and spending determined year by year.