I attended a meeting with State Senator Scott Oelslager yesterday at City Hall. We were discussing another body blow that the legislature in Columbus is getting ready to inflict on cities. You will recall that they have already eliminated estate taxes and sliced Local Government funds which were a lifeline for urban areas and which made it possible to keep city taxes low. These funds also supported the hiring of police and fire forces, which, of course, make our neighborhood safe. The city of Canton is $6 million short without these important sources of revenue. Oelslager said that the state of Ohio now has a $1.9 BILLION rainy day fund, which he claimed was necessary to protect the state budget ! The new scheme is to unify the tax policy so its fair to business. The proposals are very arcane but suffice it to say that millions more will be siphoned from city revenues. Listening to Oeslager, I was struck by how removed he was from the people he was elected to represent and how far the Legislature has moved toward Tea Party heaven. While our cities crumble, the legislature looks for more ways to line the pockets of the rich. Its a disgrace. One legislator has frankly stated : If the cities want more revenue, then raise your taxes. Gee, thanks !
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 13:16:48 +0000
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