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Earned-income tax is tough sell for school board
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - February 10, 2010)
Earned-income tax is tough sell for school board
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
The Chardon Board of Education approved a 1 percent earned-income tax issue for the May 4 ballot last week, but not without debate.
The issue, approved by a 3-2 vote of the board, also will include a 1-mill rollback on a property-tax issue approved by voters in 2000. If approved by voters, the earned-income tax issue is projected to generate $4.5 million annually for the district.
The tax issue would take effect in January 2011.
District Treasurer Stephanie Swain said a 4.78-mill levy approved by voters in March 2000 will be reduced by 1 mill in the first full year of collection of the earned-income tax.
While the board gave the nod to the new form of taxation for the district, some members questioned whether the amount might be more than what taxpayers now can afford.
"I have never felt so unsure of any issue passing as I am with this issue or any issue," said board member Lawrence Reiter, who voted against the tax issue.
While the school district needs the money, Mr. Reiter said, the earned-income-tax issue would be the equivalent of 7.2 mills, a figure many may not be able to afford, even if they still hold jobs.
The issue had been presented as the fairest way to tax those living in the district, because only those with jobs would be taxed. Seniors citizens' pensions and Social Security would be exempt.
But Mr. Reiter said, just because some have been fortunate to keep their jobs in these trying economic times does not mean they will be able to afford it. He said many of the employed are now "living on the edge." He said he believes that many of the unemployment figures do not tell how bad it really is.
Mr. Reiter also said he fears that targeting a select group to support the schools now may work against it in the future. "Public education is fundamental and too important for us to limit our tax base," he said. "Once you target a select group to support anything, you're on a slippery slope to decline."
He said state legislators have been told four times by the Ohio Supreme Court to fix the funding issue for schools, but each time there is a "hue and cry" for public education, legislators only come up with another "scheme" to put the burden on taxpayers.
Board member Paul Stefanko, who a week earlier said he supported the 1 percent solution, said he found that amount beyond the reach of many. He cast the second dissenting vote on the issue.
He said he called surrounding counties and found each is seeing a drop in tax collections. He said every person he knows has either seen a wage freeze, a pay reduction or layoff because of the economy.
Mr. Stefanko said the earned-income tax, as proposed, will allow the district's budget to grow by 3.2 percent annually. He said the district should be in a "get-by-with" mode, rather than one of growth. He said he could support a 0.5 percent tax issue, but not the 1 percent.
Board member Cynthia Sague said she's well aware of people losing their jobs and homes, but the district is doing all it can to manage its money well, including making additional cuts. Without the dollars, the district will begin to see the loss of some programs that make it one of the best districts around, he said. If the issue loses, she said, it could spell the end for sports, languages, art and music.
"I'm willing to give 1 percent of my income to keep these schools going," she said. "I want the value of my home to stay where it is because I'll retire some day."
Board member Blake Rear said the board sat down two weeks ago, saying it would not go to the ballot without an issue that would provide the money needed to get by for the next five years. He said it did not make sense to go with an issue that would cause the district to be in the red in two years and have to return to voters for more money.
He said it is not the board's job to figure out what the voters will approve, only to make sure the district has the dollars needed to operate.
Prior to the board's discussion, audience members spoke.
Munson resident Truman Parkinson repeated his support for an earned-income tax, saying retirees are living on fixed incomes, which are being whittled away by increasing costs. He also repeated that retirees make up one-fifth to one-quarter of district voters.
"I believe, especially in the current economic situation, that a wage tax -- on earned income -- is the least objectionable option to the voters as a whole in an upcoming election."
Chardon Township resident Marlene Renick said she has been supporting the district for 52 years. But she said she is struggling now to survive. "I'm barely living," she said.
With her taxes around $1,700 a year and an income of under $900 a month, she said, she could no longer afford more taxes. "I've had it, I've completely had it with the taxes," she said.
She pledged to run for the school board in 2011 to give seniors representation on the board. "I am going to promise the people I can say N-O," she said.
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