Oak Harbor village council members approved an ordinance at the latest regular meeting on March 2 authorizing an annexation agreement with Salem Township.
Mayor Quinton Babcock said there’s multiple reasons for wanting to annex the land, which involves several properties not officially part of the village.
One is a jurisdictional issue. If the police show up to one of these properties, which they will because they’re going to be the closest, they don’t have jurisdiction. Another is an equity argument, where the owners of the properties are in the village, using all the village services, and receiving the benefits of those services, but they aren’t paying taxes like their neighbors are…