In the thirty minutes before the polls closed Tuesday night Mansfield voters cast their final votes in favor of the City Pride Tax, which will increase City of Mansfield income tax by 2 percent. Meanwhile Mansfield City Council discussed the appropriation of a $1,112,760.00 surplus.
The windfall resulted from greater than anticipated estate tax receipts from July. In a 7-1 vote, council passed bill 13-317 on its first reading. Councilman Scott Hazen was the sole council member who voted against the bill.
The bill authorizes the “Safety Service Director to purchase, under the Ohio Cooperative Purchasing Program without competitive bidding, from Greve Auto Dealership, (2) 2014 Ford Interceptor Utility Vehicles,(2) 2014 Ford Interceptor Sedans and (2) 2014 Dodge Charger Standard Equipment Cruisers for the Police Department, and declaring an emergency.”
The budget for the purchase is $223,000. City finance director Linn Steward explained that the funding would come from an unanticipated receipt of over a million dollars in estate taxes. Due to state legislation, estate taxes ceased to be an ongoing source of revenue for the city officially at the end of 2012; however, estates that have taken a long time to finalize are still trickling in.
The levy that voters approved Tuesday will raise the income tax by a quarter percent and will generate $3 million a year, or $12 million over a four-year period.
Mansfield resident and neighborhood watch co-leader Deborah Mount expressed concerns about the surprise influx of cash and the haste to pass a spending bill without following standard council procedure.
The typical procedure is to hold caucus, two readings, and then a vote. When legislation follows that timetable it takes a total of four council meetings before the proposed legislation is passed. In this case the bill was slated for voting on December 3.
“My concern is that the city revealed, and is spending, a surplus on the same day they’re requesting a tax increase from voters. Either they’re broke, or they’re not,” said Mount.
Mount was referring to the City Pride Tax, which passed by a margin of 3 percent Tuesday night and is projected to generate $3 million per year in income tax revenue.
Councilman Mike Hill argued in favor of the legislation pointing to his record of supporting safety efforts and the police department in particular. Councilman Hazen questioned whether all the proposed expenditures were necessary. He also asked if the money could be better used in an effort to deal with the fiscal emergency. Furthermore, he felt it wasn’t necessary to expedite the bill, since following standard procedure would still result in a vote prior to the end of the year.
