PLAIN CITY: Income tax levy fails

By Fran Odyniec

For The Madison Press

Plain City residents sent the message to the village council in Tuesday’s election: They would not go for the proposed half-percent personal income tax levy.

Residents voted 821 against to 556 in favor of the levy. Had the levy passed, it would have generated $500,000 in revenue and would have been the first hike in personal income tax in Plain City since the tax was instituted in 1992.

“It’s disappointing,” Plain City Mayor Sandra Adkins said in a telephone interview Tuesday evening. “Did we need it? Absolutely.”

However, Adkins said that she understands the effect the economy has on residents.

“People are unsure about the future,” she said. “I totally understand people’s fear and concerns.”

Nevertheless, she said the village faces more cuts in addition to the $269,100 already cut from the 2013 budget, which still left a deficit of approximately $25,000.

“We have to consider everything,” she said.

Despite a door-to-door information campaign conducted by the income tax levy committee in the weeks leading up to Nov. 6, rejection of the proposed income tax hike will have major impact on key village services.

Among those services are elimination of: one full-time police officer ($70,000 in salary and benefits); two part-time officers; the administrative assistant in the village zoning department ($54,400 in salary and benefits); and all part-time workers including four in the public works department ($63,000). Village council had promised to rehire the officer if the levy passed.

Bob Walter, chairman of the levy committee, shared the mayor’s sentiments.

“I’m disappointed with the results,” Walter said in a telephone interview on Tuesday evening. “These were challenging issues to the village’s finances, but I understand there are similar challenges with family finances.”

Moving forward, he said that he is confident that village officials “will make good decisions within (the village’s) financial means.”

Council member Kevin Vaughn, chairman of the personnel and finance committee that came up with the $269,100 in budget cuts, was also contacted by telephone Tuesday evening.

“It saddens me that a village the size of Plain City can’t come together with what we have to do to keep up with the services that are required,” Vaughn said.

“I was really optimistic with the information that the levy committee put forward,” he said, citing the efforts of the committee that included Bob Walter, Tom Jaskiewicz, and Abbey Martini.

He said that the next personnel and finance committee on Monday, Nov. 19 will present more challenges.

“We will sit down and decide where we want to go,” he said. “In order to meet that $25,000 deficit, we have to look at making cuts.”

Vaughn praised village officials and staff for their willingness to make hard budget decisions, a process that began this past August.

“Somehow we’ll figure it out with their help,” he said of the work that lies ahead to balance the 2013 budget.

Walter, who also sits on the personnel and finance committee, added that he hopes village residents will demonstrate understanding as the committee targets additional budget cuts.