Martins Ferry council advances 2% income tax, pool ordinances
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MARTINS FERRY -- Martins Ferry City Council is moving forward with a renewed effort to increase the city's income tax to 2% while also advancing proposed regulations for residential swimming pools.
Council gave a second reading Wednesday to an ordinance amending Sections 193.03 and 193.04 of the city's Administrative Code to impose an annual income tax rate of 2% beginning Jan. 1, 2028.
The ordinance is a revised version of a proposal council considered earlier this year but abandoned after officials missed the deadline to place the measure on the November ballot.
The original proposal called for the increase from the current 1% rate to take effect Jan. 1, 2027. Council tabled that ordinance in August after learning it could not complete the required three readings before the deadline to certify issues for the November election.
City Law Director Paul Stecker was directed to prepare a new ordinance with updated dates, allowing council to restart the process for a future election.
The proposed tax increase is intended to provide additional revenue as the city faces mounting infrastructure and building needs. Mayor John Davies and other city officials have pointed to deteriorating streets, aging utilities and city-owned buildings as areas requiring attention.
Among the city's concerns is the more-than-century-old Martins Ferry Municipal Building at 35 S. Fifth St., which houses city offices and the police department. Officials have estimated roof repairs alone could cost as much as $1 million.
The condition of the building has been the subject of recent discussions among council members and city administrators, who have weighed the cost of repairs against the city's existing debt and the possibility that additional problems could be uncovered once work begins. Officials also have discussed the possibility of replacing the municipal building entirely.
The building has experienced ongoing deterioration, including leaks that recently required repairs in the police department and council chambers.
Council also advanced an ordinance establishing maintenance requirements and penalties for failing to maintain residential swimming pools.
The ordinance was introduced after Davies raised concerns in July about several neglected pools in the city that he said had become stagnant, smelly and potential mosquito-breeding areas.
"We have six or probably eight pools in town that have just laid dormant," Davies said at the time. "They are mosquito breeding and they stink."
Davies said the city needed more specific regulations because its existing nuisance ordinance did not provide a clear way to address neglected pools.
Stecker agreed with the mayor's assessment.
"I agree that we do have a general nuisance ordinance that we can go under, but this is a specific issue that we can draw a bright line on," Stecker said. "I would recommend doing a new ordinance."
When the pool ordinance was introduced last month, council voted to suspend the rules, with Councilmen Gus Harris, Rev. Rick Agnew, Craig Schramm, Bob Hunker and Eric Echemann voting in favor. Councilmen Kevin Smay and Robert Robey voted against the motion.
The pool ordinance received its second reading Wednesday.
Both ordinances now will go to a third reading at council's next meeting, where council could potentially vote to pass them.
If approved by council, the income tax ordinance also will require the city to complete the necessary steps to place the issue before voters.