This tax is being placed on the ballot without a comprehensive plan.
This tax will collect approximately $2.7 million a year for the City to misappropriate and squander.
Get out and vote on May 5th.
Vote NO on the income tax increase.
From the desk of Larry Essman, CPA
Three false statements:
1. The amendment will require every purchase of $100,000 or more be approved by a vote of the citizens.
Truth: Major purchases may continue to be made from the Capital Improvement Fund [Number 301], the Water Works Capital Improvement Fund [Number 605], the Sanitation Capital Improvement Fund [Number 632], and any designated grant funds such as the Community Development Fund without approval of the voters. The city income tax provided over $1,400,000 in 2008 for capital improvements and major asset acquisitions. These funds were not used to purchase the new fire trucks (as they should have been), but instead additional taxes were imposed on the property owners to fund the fire truck purchases.
Questions to the City:
If additional capital money is needed, why was an increase in the city income tax not submitted to the voters for additional needed funds? How were monies provided in 2008 for major purchases?
2. The amendment will require a majority of the “registered” voters [electors] to approve the issuance of bonds.
Truth: The terms “voter” and “elector” are considered synonymous. A simple majority of those voting will approve the issuance of bonds. No court has held or would ever uphold that a majority of the registered voters would be necessary.
3. The amendment will impair the bond rating of the City.
Truth: Bonds are used to raise large amounts of funds. They are normally paid over 15-25 years. They impose taxes on future generations. Such major decisions should be made by approval of the citizens. Bonds are normally not used for short term financing such as the City used them (one year for a fire truck). Even the County Auditor questioned why the repayment issued to purchase the fire truck was not made over several years.
YES TO – NO Frivolous Spending:
YES – 582
NO – 572
6 Provisional’s and 1 Absentee ballot remaining to count
For more information:
CLICK: http://sites.google.com/site/sciotocountyboe/
CLICK: http://sites.google.com/site/sciotocountyboe/Home/election-results
With the passage of this Amendment some (a minority) say it will now require Special Elections to run the City; this is not true. Council needs to do what they were elected to do; run the City efficiently, effectively and with a plan. This Amendment requires City Council to live within a budget or plan for the future. It does not reduce current budgets. Simply the City Council no longer has access to a blank checkbook of up to ten (10) mils annually, from the property owners, to pay off arbitrary debt created from a lack of planning.
The majority of spontaneous spending by Council is for frivolous expenditures at a cost to the taxpayers (property owners). Most of their negligent spending is by suspending the rules and passing the ordinance with no emergency prerequisite. These ordinances are passed with no input from the public; I don’t know about the rest of you but I believe in controlling my checkbook and feel Council should show me the same respect for my money. Currently, to mention just a couple items, Council took improperly collected property taxes to bailout a defunct department store (The Marting Building) for $2 million dollars. They also acquired property on Washington Street (the Adelphia property) from an out-of-state landlord and client of current 1st Ward Councilman Michael Mearan by paying back taxes, and to make possible for the landlord to claim a deduction on his taxes for the next 10 years; to me this appears to be a conflict of interest by Michael Mearan, since this landlord was his client. These types of actions by Council, using the 401 Dept Retirement Fund as a revolving checking account for the whims of Council, now will be stopped with passage of this amendment!!
Most other communities; municipalities; various states and state agencies; and even our Federal Government are taking measures to manage spending by looking at future revenues, but not here in Portsmouth, Ohio.
One last thing, the City of Portsmouth currently has (2) Councilmen Bob Mollette and Rich Noel who are concerned about the community and the people who live there. This year for Portsmouth will be a big election year. We will have the opportunity to go to the polls and bring accountability to our Government. On Election Day we need to show individuals like our Mayor Jim Kalb, our 1st Ward Council member Mike Mearan and our 5th Ward Council member John Haas we want better for Portsmouth. We want change. We demand Accountability! We demand Democracy!
Citizens everywhere, we need to hold our government accountable. We need to stop misspending by a few. We need accountability. We need Democracy.
Get involved Today – It’s never too late!!
Teresa
There may be, and are, good arguments for voting yes or no on next week’s proposed charter amendment election question to require voter approval of city property tax increases.
One of the issues, however, is NOT one of “majority of electors” as is featured prominently in the Portsmouth Daily Times editorial or Mr. Trent Williams’ opinion piece.
Even as far back as 1909, “It was held in Green v. State Canvassers Board, 5 Idaho, 130, 95 Am. St. Rep. 169, 47 Pac. 259, that a majority of the votes cast at a general election, on the question of adopting a constitutional amendment, satisfied a requirement that such an amendment should be submitted “to the electors of the state at the next general election (and should be ratified by) a majority of the electors.” The court said this conclusion is impliedly recognized by another constitutional provision that the calling of a constitutional convention must be by the affirmative vote of “a majority of all the electors voting at” a general election…”
This court decision, and others since, have recognized that the term “majority of electors” is to be read as “a majority of all the electors voting at” — with one exception.
I’ll not divulge the exception herein… this is a civics quiz.
I am, however, disappointed that the Portsmouth Daily Times would take the word of an elected official concerning the legal ramifications of a charter amendment’s verbiage. Mr. Williams is, once again, in my opinion, dead wrong.
Kevin Johnson
VOTE YES ON CHARTER CHANGE!!!!!!!!!
Click image for larger view:
WHY AMEND THE CHARTER TO LIMIT TAXING AUTHORITY?
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board [GASB], which was established in 1984 to set accounting and reporting standards for state and local governments, states in its Concepts Statement Number 1, The Objectives of Financial Reporting:
“Accountability requires governments to answer to the citizenry–to justify the raising of public resources and the purpose for which they are used. Governmental accountability is based on the belief that the citizenry have the right to know, a right to receive openly declared facts that may lead to public debate by the citizens and their elected representatives….”
Government accounting systems are designed to hold elected officials accountable for the proper use of resources entrusted to them by the citizenry. These resources are obtained from the citizenry by the various taxes and fees imposed upon them by the elected officials. To accomplish this objective government accounting requires the use of a “fund”. A “fund” may be viewed as money collected for a specific purpose. The basic governmental fund is called the General Fund. Paul Copley, Ph.D.,CPA, Director of the School of Accounting at James Madison University and author of The Essentials of Accounting for Governmental and Not-For-Profit Organizations states, “The General Fund accounts for most of the basic services provided by the government”. Basic services include wages and other ordinary costs paid for administration, health, public safety, parks, recreation, street maintenance, repairs, sanitation, etc. Most basic services are financed through the collection of property taxes, fees, licenses, fines, income taxes, etc. Property taxes are usually the most important source of financing for the General Fund (basic) services.
Another major type of government fund is call a Capital Improvement Fund or Capital Project(s) Fund. Dr. Copley describes a Capital Project(s) Fund as one that “accounts for financial resources to be used for acquisition or construction of major capital facilities…”. Major asset acquisitions are usually financed by revenues collected specifically for such acquisitions. The Portsmouth City Charter currently designates a portion of the City’s income tax to be used for such acquisitions through the Capital Improvement Fund. Approximately, $ 1.4 million was collected through the city income tax for this purpose in 2008. Bonds may also be issued to acquire major capital assets, but the collection of the money to repay such bonds would generally be made through the General Fund. While major asset acquisitions may be made using General Fund monies, it seems to circumvent the intent of the Concepts Statement of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, quoted above.
The city has made major asset acquisitions through the General Fund in the past year that should have been made using capital money that was provided by the income taxes. The acquiring of these major assets through the General Fund causes an increase in the current property taxes that the citizens must pay. Higher property taxes impact the poor, elderly, and those on fixed income most severely. This is especially true in difficult economic times when the effect of property taxes is magnified since they must be paid irrespective of the income of the taxpayer. If additional capital acquisition monies are needed, a supplemental income tax should be submitted to the citizens for their approval. This would require the city officials provide a “rationale” to the citizenry for the additional tax needed to finance the acquisition of the equipment, vehicles, buildings, or improvements. Past experience has demonstrated that citizens are usually very generous in providing necessary resources for government programs when the need is adequately justified. Such was the case for the school levies that have been approved for the construction of the Portsmouth City Schools and, more recently, the New Boston Village School.
The proposed Charter Amendment will provide the citizens a stronger voice in the use of their tax dollars. Major assets may still be acquired though the Capital Improvement Fund, the Water Works Capital Improvement Fund, and the Sanitation Capital Improvement Fund without any change in procedures. The amendment will only affect the acquisition of assets acquired through the General Fund, which should be restricted to smaller items, less than $100,000 in total during the year. Hopefully, the Charter Amendment will make city officials more effective stewards of the resources the citizens have entrusted to them. Major acquisitions of equipment, vehicles, buildings, etc., should be more effectively planned and provided for with the capital money collected through the city income tax. Ordinary maintenance of currently owned equipment, vehicles, buildings, etc. should be improved to extend the lives and usefulness of the assets.
Adoption of the Charter Amendment will also give the citizens a voice in the incurrence of long-term debt (bonds) which will have to be repaid in the future from increased real estate taxes which would be collected within the General Fund while the proceeds from the sale of the bonds should be accounted for in the applicable capital improvement fund as an “Other Financing Source” according to the Government Accounting Standards Board. The portion of the taxes collected for the repayment of such long-term debt and the interest become a part of the property tax base for many years. Thus, such debt imposes a future cost that must be collected from the property owners for an extended period of time.
GASB Concepts Statement Number 1 further states, “…Financial reporting plays a major role in fulfilling government’s duty to be publicly accountable in a democratic society”. The charter amendment will help achieve this objective by allowing more citizen participation and input into major expenditure of the tax dollars that they have entrusted to their elected officials.
