Excerpt of Gloria Hardington’s Letter to the Editor, Westlife, published March 23, 2017
“To The Editor:
The real estate disaster of 2009 is finally over; buyers have come back because interest rates are holding at 3-4%. In Rocky River, prices did not plummet as they did in some other areas. Prices were flat for five years, but then in 2015 they came back with a vengeance. Now the inventory of houses for sale has been less than 50 houses [single-family homes, at any given time] for over a year. As soon as a correctly priced house comes on the market, it sells. That is great news for the sellers.
A major reason we see this kind of demand for homes in Rocky River is the reputation of the schools. They are consistently rated at the top of the list in both local and statewide assessments. The teachers in Rocky River know each child and they know their strengths and weaknesses. The community expects teh very best from the school and the personnel that run them. now they need money to keep schools at the top of the list. It has been five years since any money has been generated. They bond issue will be retired at the end of this year. The new levy is $4.9 million with the bond mileage dropping off in December. Therefore, the increase wouls be about $7.85/per $100,000 of value.
Nobody likes to pay taxes, but local taxes to preserve your investment are the most justifiable. Please vote for Issue 13 on May 2 to preserve our schools, our children’s futures and our real estate values.”