Sheffield Lake
By John Edwards
Sheffield Lake City Council?s Jan. 15 meetings were dominated by financial discussions, some aimed at increasing city revenues in the future and others aimed at devising ways to cope with current losses of revenue, in the form of some sort of tax increase. Possibilities included 1-mill property tax levies, an income tax increase or a decrease to the current 0.5-percent income tax credit provided to city residents who work outside the city.
In the Finance and Audit Committee meeting before council?s work session, finance Director Tammy Smith spelled out the drastic need for some new revenue to offset a total of $280,000 in revenue loss from the state of Ohio (including cuts to local government and library assistance that helped to balance the state?s budget, and the phased-out business personal property tax), which will be aggravated by reduced real estate tax revenue in the wake of last year?s lowering of property values by the Lorain County Auditor?s office.
Smith opined that the city?s smaller than normal budget appropriations could suffice ??if there were no need to pay any overtime wages to anyone and if the city could go an entire year without incurring the kind of expenses demanded to deal with such things as water main breaks, etc. In addition to that unlikely scenario, Smith said, was an immediate need to acquire three new police cruisers and at least one new ambulance, a new generator and other new equipment for the fire station.
?We could put 1-mill equipment levies for the safety departments on the ballot, but that could pose a hardship on our senior residents on fixed incomes,? Smith said. ?Or we could ask for a one-quarter of 1 percent income tax increase, or for a one-quarter of 1 percent reduction to our one-half of 1 percent income tax credit and reduce that to a quarter of 1 percent. We had 1-mill safety equipment levies in the past, but dropped them in 2003 when we asked the voters to raise the income tax a quarter-percent to help finance our street maintenance and improvement program. Either of those income tax changes could raise about $280,000. That would replace the state cuts ??and get us back to our 2009 level.?
Future revenue-raising possibilities discussed included the creation and implementation of a Community Investment Corporation (CIC) to attract new business to the city. Law Director David Graves said a CIC would have powers not available to the city itself. Like a port authority, a CIC would have the power to borrow or lend money to jump-start a new business and could even enter into contracts without advertising for bids. Westlake?s Crocker Park development, Graves added as an example, was financed with a loan from the Toledo Port Authority.
Graves said that council discussions of creating a CIC to attract investors to the Shoreway Shopping Center began in the summer of 2009, but it was never implemented. Graves said the structure of a CIC would include (in addition to the mayor and two other administration members) a five-member board of directors to be appointed from among city residents. The CIC was never implemented, mainly for the reason (as several members of council pointed out) that it could prove very difficult to find five qualified residents willing to volunteer their time and expertise.
Planning Commission member Edward Rinderknecht asked council to consider creating an ordinance to address the appearance of new commercial buildings proposed on Zone B-1 or B-2 commercial lots that are surrounded on three sides by R-1 residential zones.
?I know it would be too late to have any effect on the Dollar General project at Lake and Harris, but we need to consider future development,? Rinderknecht said as he distributed copies of a Lakewood ordinance that influenced the appearance of the Marathon gas station on Lake Road in Lakewood. ?That station now blends in beautifully with the residential neighborhood,? Rinderknecht said.
Council President Rick Rosso asked members to mull the possible tax issues and decide which way to go in time to put it into ordinance form before a Feb. 6 filing deadline, which must be met in order for the Lorain County Board of Elections to put a tax issue on the May primary ballot.
?If we?re going to do this, we?re going to have to put an ordinance together and approve it at our Jan. 23 regular meeting to meet the filing deadline,? Rosso said.
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