The City of Ironton is only a few days away from adopting a resolution that would put a replacement flood levy on the November ballot. The proposed five-year 2-mill levy will replace the city’s current 1 mill levy and generate what city officials deem “much-needed” revenue for flood protection.

During a special meeting of Ironton City Council on Monday members voted to adopt resolution 14-29 requesting the county auditor to certify the estimated property tax revenue for the replacement levy and declare an emergency. It’s the next-to-last measure required to get the levy on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The current 1 mill levy brings in $140,000 a year and expires at the end of tax year 2015. The replacement levy is projected to generate $280,000.

“This is to re-certify how much (the levy) will generate to the county auditor’s office,” Kristen Martin, city finance director, said. “We have to have that first before (the county auditor) can prepare the resolution to present to the board of elections to put it on the ballot. So, this is what the auditor’s office advised the mayor to put on the agenda for this meeting.”

At this Thursday’s regular meeting the resolution can be adopted for placement on the ballot once the county auditor’s office certifies the replacement levy’s projected revenue.

Council President Kevin Waldo referenced a letter submitted by E.L. Robinson he said paints a “bleak” picture of the expenses the city will incur in order to keep its floodwall and levy system certified with the federal government.

“Nobody wants an increase in their taxes — period,” Waldo said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever talked to anybody who thinks (a tax increase) is a great idea. But through The Tribune or some method of communication we’ve got to convince people of how important it is to build the coffers up in this fund so we don’t lose certification from the federal government. If we do, it’s my understanding, and I hope I’m wrong, but if we don’t have that certification and they continue to monitor our floodwall they will consider our flood levy system and floodwall defunct and we’ll have to start getting flood insurance.”

Lawrence County Auditor Jason Stephens, who is co-owner of Stephens and Son Insurance Co., said flood insurance premiums could be thousands of dollars annually, which is determined by a house’s elevation within the flood plain.

“I think this is a no-brainer and a necessity,” Waldo said. “It’s not like we’re just trying to increase the coffers of the city; it’s a necessity.”

Council member Aaron Bollinger said he has gotten negative feedback about the levy from a lot of people even after explaining to them its importance.

“There’s a theory in Ironton where people think the locks and dams system prevents flooding,” Waldo said. “Those are for navigational purposes only. They do not have anything to do with flood control. There’s an enormous amount of people in our area who think that system is a flood control measure. It isn’t.”

If the federal government were to decertify Ironton’s floodwall system, Waldo said, and the owners of Ironton’s 4,000-plus homes had to apply for and receive flood insurance because of the decertification the result would be a cost of millions of dollars.

“I think we are all in favor of it,” Bob Cleary, council member, said. “We need to go ahead and pass it and we’ve got until November to get all the messages out we can.”

Deadline is Aug. 6 for the board of elections to act.

Council will meet in regular session at 6 p.m. on Thursday on the third floor of the city center.