TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson has a plan she says could fix a lot of bad city roads, but it will cost you more money.
Right now city roads are uneven, cracked and torn up, giving drivers a very bumpy ride. But that could all change if Issue 2 is passed on the March 15 primary ballot.
"We've always had to try and fix our potholes as it happened," said Councilman Larry Sykes. "I think with the new money that the mayor is asking for, we can do a better job and get ahead of the curve in fixing the major streets."
If approved, Issue 2 would take effect July 1 and generate an additional $16.6 million per year through 2020, costing just a little more than $7 more per month for a person making $35,000 a year.
While residents agree the roads are uneven and torn up, they say they want a guarantee to know that additional tax money goes directly to getting them fixed.
"I want the guarantee that it is going very, very specifically to the roads/street repair and not into a general fund that can be swept up and put somewhere else," said Toledo resident Catherine Schrein.
Hicks-Hudson says Issue 2 will prohibit the money intended for these road repairs from being transferred and used elsewhere. And she says it will also help generate more business coming to Toledo.
"We'll fix the structural deficit that we've had for so long, where there's been a shortfall from the monies that we've had. And we're going to be continually fiscally responsible with the dollars that we have," she said.
