MANSFIELD — City council will vote on the proposed municipal $5 license tax earlier than originally anticipated.
As noted by assistant law director Chris Brown at the previous council meeting, the license tax legislation needs council’s approval by July 1 of this year in order for it to take effect Jan. 1, 2019.
The legislation was not requested as an emergency ordinance, meaning it will take 30 days for it go into effect (which would be past the July 1 deadline if it was voted on the original June 5 date). City engineer Bob Bianchi said Ohio Revised Code does not permit an emergency ordinance for a levy.
So instead of council voting on the legislation on June 5, members will vote on it at its meeting on Tuesday, May 15.
A few council members said they’ve heard from citizens – both for and against the legislation – though no one addressed council about the tax during council’s meeting on Tuesday, May 1.
The legislation was introduced to council at its previous meeting. Essentially the legislation would increase Mansfield’s motor vehicle license plate fee by $5. Residents whose address on their vehicle registration is listed as Mansfield would have to pay the additional $5 even if they went to a BMV in a different city or county.
There are two companion pieces of legislation — one allows the city to restrict funds in the general fund equal to the amount generated by the tax to be used solely for downtown improvement. The other piece would create the Downtown Improvement Advisory Board to guide strategic thinking and provide recommendations for how money generated by the license tax could be utilized for the revitalization of downtown Mansfield.
Third ward councilman Jon Van Harlingen said there’s some confusion as to what the downtown boundaries are that the legislation applies to.
Bianchi said typically the downtown is considered as Sixth Street to Adams Street to First Street to Bowman Street. Council voted to amend the legislation so that it includes these boundaries.
Fourth ward councilman Butch Jefferson said he’s indifferent about the legislation, adding, “I think at the same time we should go forward and try to be in a position to help the downtown.”
Bianchi previously said the $5-increase would generate roughly $220,000 a year.
Jefferson expressed concern about how those funds would be utilized.
“I don’t think I want to use public funds for enhancing an entrepreneur’s building, his storefront,” he said.
“We’re going to have to be really careful when this advisory board comes to us, suggesting where we want to spend monies at.”
The money would go into a separate fund that would be very easy to track, Van Harligen said.
“If there is a problem, and it’s brought to the attention of the Mansfield City Council during a budget cycle, we don’t have to appropriate any money into next year’s budget,” he said. “We can make the administration and/or committee or anybody else that has any ideas come to city council for every dollar they want to appropriate and spend.”
Mayor Tim Theaker said the city has been approached by various organizations and private individuals that want to invest in the improvement of the downtown area and have shared that they want to see the city “have some skin in the game,” he said.
“We didn’t want to burden the general fund to do the financial support because the general fund right now is barely breaking even,” Theaker said. “We want to make sure that we don’t burden that anymore than it is.
“The only other way that we thought we could do it would be to have this $5 license plate tax.”
Bianchi said the city will work to get matching grants.
“With the potential of leveraging millions of dollars in grant funds, we’re going to see some benefit from this for the downtown. No question,” he said previously.
Councilman-at-large Don Bryant said he’s not opposed to the legislation.
“I think it’s a good idea what we’re trying to do, but I’m getting an earful right now from my friends, from people out in the community, at church, at the bars, wherever I go,” he said.
“Let’s be more concrete and let’s try to better define what we want to do and do it soon before we vote on this.”
Van Harligen said he’s concerned about what the projects are going to be but believes that there is a vision.
“I really do believe that there is a vision, that if we can generate a little bit of money that there are options out there that we can do projects that just doesn’t benefit a few, but it can really have an impact on the future down the road,” he said.
He also said that it’ll be another year-a-half to two years before any money is generated by the tax (if the legislation were to pass).
“I don’t know how we could sit here and discuss projects at this time when we don’t even know, but I think we need a foundation,” he said.
He added, “I will support this tax even though I’ve been told, ‘I’ll never vote for you again.'”
Fifth ward councilman Jason Lawrence said Richland County Regional Planning Commission has gone on the record in favor of the legislation.
“I will support this if we put some boundaries that this money is for downtown,” Lawrence said.
Bryant said, “If we do pass this, I ask that we go to the people and we really explain to them what we’re doing with their tax dollars, that we show our appreciation to them for this.”
He encouraged citizens to voice their opinion of the legislation. The next meeting will be Tuesday, May 15 at 7 p.m. in council chambers of the municipal building.
