St. C. Tax
Dear Editor,
Let me first say that I am appalled, but not surprised, at the St. Clairsville City Council’s decision to impose an income tax on its citizens, despite the roughly 70 percent of them who voted against it. This incident reminds me of my high school days, of how our teachers wanted us to believe that they put our needs before anything else, when all they really cared about was their health care plans. But their gross lack of character and moral fiber is another matter entirely. I only wish to use them as an illustration.
Mayor Vincenzo, in response to the failure of the proposal, was quoted in the Nov. 5 edition of The Times Leader as saying he “was shaken by the terrific opposition.” My first thought upon reading this was that it must terrify our mayor to know that the citizens of St. Clairsville disagree with what he thinks is best for the community. God forbid the citizens be trusted with their own welfare. It’s not like we have rights or anything.
I was thrilled that the proposal was shot down. We shouldn’t have to pay for our local government’s inability to balance a checkbook. However, in the Nov. 9 edition of The Times Leader, after the income tax was forcibly imposed upon our city, Councilman Jim Weisgerber was quoted as saying “Where else are we going to make up the money?” I say let’s start with cutting his salary and work from there. In fact, why not cut the salaries of all four of the council members who slapped the people in the face with this tax? Another idea I’m quite fond of would be for the city to tax only the 30-some percent of the people who were actually okay with it, and leave the rest of us alone. I always hear about how we don’t uphold the rights of the minority. This is the perfect opportunity to do just that! Call it irony.
Ohio Revised Code or not, forcing an income tax upon a citizenry who vastly refuses it is wrong. I’ll say it again. It’s wrong. The men who voted against it in the 4-3 decision should be commended. I applaud you for doing the right thing by standing by the citizens. I’ll be voting for you come re-elections. Guess whom I won’t be voting for
This city will be run with honesty, integrity, character, and honor. I am calling for honorable men and women to be elected to our city’s offices, who will submit to the will of the people. Competent statesmen who care about making this city the best it can be- men and women who won’t run the city into the ground with dirty politics.
Sincerely,
JD Mihopulos
St. Clairsville
St. C. Tax
Taxpayers in the city of St. Clairsville voted overwhelmingly last week against a proposed 1-percent income tax, but the issue certainly didn’t die at the polls.
Soon afterwards, city leaders made a tough decision to go ahead with the process of implementing a smaller income tax of .75 percent. It was a split vote among council members that was received with mixed responses.
Employees of the city and a number of residents were happy to see council take action on the measure, as the recent decrease in city revenues brought the threat of certain cuts to the city.
The proposed 1-percent income tax would have generated about $1 million annually for St. Clairsville, which is looking at a budget deficit of around $1.7 million next year if the city continued to operate as it has in the past and move forward with planned projects that have been on the drawing board.
The city didn’t have to put this proposed 1-percent income tax up for a vote. Council could have simply implemented it. However, they chose to hear from the taxpayers. We commended the city leaders for taking the high road in this regard.
Now that the votes have been cast, there appears to be no high road left to take. Something had to be done to make sure services continue in the city.
This has made a good many St. Clairsville residents upset. The implementation of the tax in the wake of the landslide vote against it appears to be a slap in the face of the taxpayers.
What folks need to remember is that St. Clairsville has been one of the only cities in Ohio that has not benefited from an income tax. Until now, the city has never needed one. Nearly all other cities in the state have this tax, and in most cases, even those that do tax income don’t provide the kind of services residents of St. Clairsville have enjoyed for years.
There’s reasons St. Clairsville has been known as “Paradise on the Hilltop.” It is a nice community and a great place to work and live.
Had council not taken action to implement the money-generating tax – one that is smaller than the original proposal and one that will certainly not drain the wallets of the taxpayers in St. C. – a much louder cry of outrage would have eventually followed when residents felt the results of the looming cuts to their city services.