Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Fire Station #4 Closure
As a result of the cuts announced last night by Mayor Grace, including $900K in cuts to the Fire Department and reducing their minimum manning level to 11 per shift (down from 14, previously at 17 two years ago), Fire Station #4 on N. Abbe Road could become the second fire station closed in as many years.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
No Income Tax on the Ballot in May
There will be no income tax proposal on the May ballot. The City failed to meet the 90-day time requirement set forth in our City Charter by which to submit a tax proposal for the ballot. The Charter requires:
SECTION 20.04 VOTER APPROVAL OF INCOME TAX.
Any ordinance or resolution listed below in paragraphs (a) or (b) will not become effective, after passage thereof, until Council submits such ordinance or resolution to the electorate at a regular municipal or general election occurring more than ninety (90) days after the passage of the ordinance or resolution, and such ordinance or resolution is approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon in the city:
(a) One approving or providing for any increase, or the renewal or the extension of any increase in the municipal income tax rate charged upon any and all income taxable within the City of Elyria; or
(b) One approving or providing for any decrease, or the renewal or extension of any decrease in the municipal income tax credit allowable for any and all income taxable within the City of Elyria.
(Enacted 5-8-07)
Since both an increase in the municipal income tax and a decrease in the municipal income tax credit were proposed by the seven members of Council, this Charter section was invoked and it was necessary to pass the ordinance 90 days prior to the election. This was not done and there will be no income tax increase on the May ballot as a result.
I was a proponent of this Charter Amendment effort, which is the primary reason I became involved in Elyria politics, after City Council unilaterally reduced the tax credit by 50% without voter approval back in 2004. Voters ultimately rejected the imposition of the tax credit reduction and voted overwhelmingly to change the City Charter so that it could not be reduced again without first coming to the voters and obtaining approval. Through this effort, I began to attend City Council meetings, committee meetings and witnessed firsthand the way that decisions were made in this City with few questions and little discussion (to my great disappointment). I also met hundreds of residents who were not satisfied with their representation on Council in our ward and, as such, I chose to run for Ward 4 Council. I was recently elected to my first term, which commenced in January 2008.
It is important to note that the failure of the City to meet the time requirements to get this on the ballot does not affect the cuts that must be made immediately to the budget. We have not yet heard from Mayor Grace what these cuts will entail, although we know that he has already laid off three part-time workers in the Streets Department (none of whom are paid out of the General Fund) and has threatened to eliminate all programming in the Parks and Recreation Department (including the Ice Rink, which makes money and is in high demand while it is open over the winter months). We are still waiting to hear the sum and substance of other cuts, although it has been discussed that $500K can be cut from City Hall and there could be $600K in cuts to police and $600K in cuts to the fire department.
The only impact of having the proposed Scenario 2 on the ballot in May would be that, if passed, the cuts from the General Fund spending could be rolled back sooner as the funding was restored. There is no guarantee that any tax increase would pass and the City must cut immediately. The longer the administration waits to make cuts, the more it costs the City every day and the deeper the cuts will have to be when they are completed.
The 90-day time requirement was not the focus of the Charter Amendment effort. Rather, the focus was to submit for voter approval any income tax increase, including a tax credit reduction (imposing Elyria city income tax on those who work outside of the City and pay an equal or higher rate to the city where they work). It is also interesting to note that the original Charter Amendment, as drafted before it was revised and circulated, also included a provision for voter approval of utility rate increases and license plate fee increases. That provision had less support and was removed in the final version to keep the focus on the income tax credit.
Contrary to popular belief, although I was the leader of the effort to get the Charter Amendment on the ballot, I was not the original drafter of the proposed Charter Amendment language. It was drafted in 2005 by legal counsel retained by a local businessman who was determined at the time to recall Mayor Grace due to his stated belief that the Mayor was not properly managing the City. Although I refused to participate in the proposed recall effort of 2005, I was provided with the work product Charter Amendment language, which allowed me to propose the Charter Amendment to City Council. When City Council refused to consider the Charter Amendment, I placed the proposed language on a petition that was circulated by many residents to obtain the requisite number of voters and, ultimately, get it on the ballot and successfully change the City Charter.
At this point, however, the time requirement set forth in the Charter Amendment is not the problem. The real problem is the City's failure to check timelines required by the Charter and ensure that all necessary requirements were met, including the time requirements. This lack of attention to detail by the City is the direct cause of the failure to get the proposed tax increase before the residents on the May ballot.
We must now focus on other things that are within our control to raise revenues, such as considering the rollback of tax breaks in our community and determining ways in which to attract new jobs to this area, working with other regional leaders. We must look to public-private partnerships to provide funding, programs and services. We must continue to change the way we look at our City's problems and identify creative solutions in order to be successful.
SECTION 20.04 VOTER APPROVAL OF INCOME TAX.
Any ordinance or resolution listed below in paragraphs (a) or (b) will not become effective, after passage thereof, until Council submits such ordinance or resolution to the electorate at a regular municipal or general election occurring more than ninety (90) days after the passage of the ordinance or resolution, and such ordinance or resolution is approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon in the city:
(a) One approving or providing for any increase, or the renewal or the extension of any increase in the municipal income tax rate charged upon any and all income taxable within the City of Elyria; or
(b) One approving or providing for any decrease, or the renewal or extension of any decrease in the municipal income tax credit allowable for any and all income taxable within the City of Elyria.
(Enacted 5-8-07)
Since both an increase in the municipal income tax and a decrease in the municipal income tax credit were proposed by the seven members of Council, this Charter section was invoked and it was necessary to pass the ordinance 90 days prior to the election. This was not done and there will be no income tax increase on the May ballot as a result.
I was a proponent of this Charter Amendment effort, which is the primary reason I became involved in Elyria politics, after City Council unilaterally reduced the tax credit by 50% without voter approval back in 2004. Voters ultimately rejected the imposition of the tax credit reduction and voted overwhelmingly to change the City Charter so that it could not be reduced again without first coming to the voters and obtaining approval. Through this effort, I began to attend City Council meetings, committee meetings and witnessed firsthand the way that decisions were made in this City with few questions and little discussion (to my great disappointment). I also met hundreds of residents who were not satisfied with their representation on Council in our ward and, as such, I chose to run for Ward 4 Council. I was recently elected to my first term, which commenced in January 2008.
It is important to note that the failure of the City to meet the time requirements to get this on the ballot does not affect the cuts that must be made immediately to the budget. We have not yet heard from Mayor Grace what these cuts will entail, although we know that he has already laid off three part-time workers in the Streets Department (none of whom are paid out of the General Fund) and has threatened to eliminate all programming in the Parks and Recreation Department (including the Ice Rink, which makes money and is in high demand while it is open over the winter months). We are still waiting to hear the sum and substance of other cuts, although it has been discussed that $500K can be cut from City Hall and there could be $600K in cuts to police and $600K in cuts to the fire department.
The only impact of having the proposed Scenario 2 on the ballot in May would be that, if passed, the cuts from the General Fund spending could be rolled back sooner as the funding was restored. There is no guarantee that any tax increase would pass and the City must cut immediately. The longer the administration waits to make cuts, the more it costs the City every day and the deeper the cuts will have to be when they are completed.
The 90-day time requirement was not the focus of the Charter Amendment effort. Rather, the focus was to submit for voter approval any income tax increase, including a tax credit reduction (imposing Elyria city income tax on those who work outside of the City and pay an equal or higher rate to the city where they work). It is also interesting to note that the original Charter Amendment, as drafted before it was revised and circulated, also included a provision for voter approval of utility rate increases and license plate fee increases. That provision had less support and was removed in the final version to keep the focus on the income tax credit.
Contrary to popular belief, although I was the leader of the effort to get the Charter Amendment on the ballot, I was not the original drafter of the proposed Charter Amendment language. It was drafted in 2005 by legal counsel retained by a local businessman who was determined at the time to recall Mayor Grace due to his stated belief that the Mayor was not properly managing the City. Although I refused to participate in the proposed recall effort of 2005, I was provided with the work product Charter Amendment language, which allowed me to propose the Charter Amendment to City Council. When City Council refused to consider the Charter Amendment, I placed the proposed language on a petition that was circulated by many residents to obtain the requisite number of voters and, ultimately, get it on the ballot and successfully change the City Charter.
At this point, however, the time requirement set forth in the Charter Amendment is not the problem. The real problem is the City's failure to check timelines required by the Charter and ensure that all necessary requirements were met, including the time requirements. This lack of attention to detail by the City is the direct cause of the failure to get the proposed tax increase before the residents on the May ballot.
We must now focus on other things that are within our control to raise revenues, such as considering the rollback of tax breaks in our community and determining ways in which to attract new jobs to this area, working with other regional leaders. We must look to public-private partnerships to provide funding, programs and services. We must continue to change the way we look at our City's problems and identify creative solutions in order to be successful.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Spring Valley EPA Notice of Violation
Spring Valley received a Notice of Violation due to construction activities on-site that occurred without obtaining an Ohio EPA General Storm Water National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit, which is required whenever a common plan of development or sale disturbs one or more acres of land. In order to obtain the Permit, Spring Valley must also submit a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan, which identifies controls for runoff from construction areas for sediment and erosion controls.
A copy of the Notice of Violation is in the documents section.
A copy of the Notice of Violation is in the documents section.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Monday Feb 9: Strategic Planning Committee to Discuss Tax Increase (Immediately following Community Development and Finance, which start at 6 p.m.)
We received a great deal of information regarding the proposed tax increases at the last Strategic Planning meeting. Unfortunately, each of the three scenarios was designed to fund new spending as recommended by what's left of the 2015 Steering Committee. There was no plan set forth to address the $3.2 million shortfall we are currently experiencing in the budget. This alarmed many Council members and the administration's response is that we can use the 2015 money to recover initially, then use it for the 2015 designated purposes later. The scenarios and 2015 information will be posted under the Documents section later today.
What became immediately clear is that the scenarios offered were not the result of the 2015 Steering Committee. Rather, they were prepared by the administration, as noted by the presenter when he asked Mayor Grace to explain the scenarios because, the presenter said, that is who prepared them. As such, if there are any questions regarding the rationale for the scenarios, they should be addressed to City Hall.
The administration noted several areas where initial cuts could be made, including $500K at City Hall. Mayor Grace noted that Parks and Recreation would be the next area for layoffs, recognizing that many part-time employees work in the department to run the programs and that to do so will terminate most Parks and Recreation programs. However, all part-time personnel in the City must be laid off before any full-time personnel can be let go, with few exceptions such as the lifeguards for the pools and a few select others.
There is no doubt that we are in an unusually difficult economic time. In order to avoid deep and possibly undesirable cuts to services, including police and fire, there needs to be additional revenue. It is unlikely to come from job creation in this climate. As such, it needs to come from the residents in conjunction with cuts. My proposal for correcting the current budget deficit is to place a .25% regular tax increase on the ballot with specific language that it is only for one year and that it cannot be renewed. This will generate approximately $3 million. That, in addition to the $500K in cuts to City Hall, will make up the $3.2 million shortfall, preserving most jobs, services and programs throughout the City. It is time for leadership to take the first step and make the necessary sacrifices to preserve our level of services to the residents by taking the brunt of the cuts. This will preserve a $1 million carryover to allow the City to continue operating and provide a cushion for further economic hardships.
We would be forced to rely on Team Lorain County, the Lorain County Community Alliance and Lorain County Economic Development (port authority) for the City's continuing economic development efforts, which already should be coordinated to maximize use of those resources. We also need to continue to look at ways in which to cut spending in the City's budget to match the decline in revenues, jobs and population which should result in a reduction of services required to supply the City. Unfortunately, as pointed out at the County's Economic Development breakfast on Friday, City spending in Northeast Ohio continues to increase despite the fact that population and demand for services has remained relatively flat. That trend needs to be corrected and this economic turmoil provides us with an opportunity to "get our house in order" and ensure that we are providing services that are consistent with the needs of our residents, both individual and commercial.
Council is also asking for input from residents and businesses regarding ideas for moving forward, including specific cuts, alternate funding sources, revenue generation and alternate methods by which to provide services. One idea I received yesterday was to privatize the Ice Rink at North Rec center by leasing it to a private company that can continue to operate it. The Ice Rink is one of the few recreational cost centers that makes money and it makes sense to try to continue its operation. If you have ideas, thoughts, opinions or feedback on the situation, please contact me.
What became immediately clear is that the scenarios offered were not the result of the 2015 Steering Committee. Rather, they were prepared by the administration, as noted by the presenter when he asked Mayor Grace to explain the scenarios because, the presenter said, that is who prepared them. As such, if there are any questions regarding the rationale for the scenarios, they should be addressed to City Hall.
The administration noted several areas where initial cuts could be made, including $500K at City Hall. Mayor Grace noted that Parks and Recreation would be the next area for layoffs, recognizing that many part-time employees work in the department to run the programs and that to do so will terminate most Parks and Recreation programs. However, all part-time personnel in the City must be laid off before any full-time personnel can be let go, with few exceptions such as the lifeguards for the pools and a few select others.
There is no doubt that we are in an unusually difficult economic time. In order to avoid deep and possibly undesirable cuts to services, including police and fire, there needs to be additional revenue. It is unlikely to come from job creation in this climate. As such, it needs to come from the residents in conjunction with cuts. My proposal for correcting the current budget deficit is to place a .25% regular tax increase on the ballot with specific language that it is only for one year and that it cannot be renewed. This will generate approximately $3 million. That, in addition to the $500K in cuts to City Hall, will make up the $3.2 million shortfall, preserving most jobs, services and programs throughout the City. It is time for leadership to take the first step and make the necessary sacrifices to preserve our level of services to the residents by taking the brunt of the cuts. This will preserve a $1 million carryover to allow the City to continue operating and provide a cushion for further economic hardships.
We would be forced to rely on Team Lorain County, the Lorain County Community Alliance and Lorain County Economic Development (port authority) for the City's continuing economic development efforts, which already should be coordinated to maximize use of those resources. We also need to continue to look at ways in which to cut spending in the City's budget to match the decline in revenues, jobs and population which should result in a reduction of services required to supply the City. Unfortunately, as pointed out at the County's Economic Development breakfast on Friday, City spending in Northeast Ohio continues to increase despite the fact that population and demand for services has remained relatively flat. That trend needs to be corrected and this economic turmoil provides us with an opportunity to "get our house in order" and ensure that we are providing services that are consistent with the needs of our residents, both individual and commercial.
Council is also asking for input from residents and businesses regarding ideas for moving forward, including specific cuts, alternate funding sources, revenue generation and alternate methods by which to provide services. One idea I received yesterday was to privatize the Ice Rink at North Rec center by leasing it to a private company that can continue to operate it. The Ice Rink is one of the few recreational cost centers that makes money and it makes sense to try to continue its operation. If you have ideas, thoughts, opinions or feedback on the situation, please contact me.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
SPECIAL: Strategic Planning Meeting to discuss Tax Increase, February 5 at 6 p.m.
Full Council will meet for a Strategic Planning Committee meeting on Thursday, February 5 at 6 p.m. to consider a ballot initiative for an income tax increase (regular increase and/or income tax credit reduction). Also discussed will be results and recommendations from the 2015 meetings.
I welcome your thoughts about an increase to the Municipal Income Tax from its current 1.75% to 2.00% or a reduction of the income tax credit for those working outside of the City from a 100% credit to some lesser amount (which would result in payment of income tax to both Elyria and the city in which those people work).
I welcome your thoughts about an increase to the Municipal Income Tax from its current 1.75% to 2.00% or a reduction of the income tax credit for those working outside of the City from a 100% credit to some lesser amount (which would result in payment of income tax to both Elyria and the city in which those people work).
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