TRUMBULL COUNTY Mayor proposes income-tax increase

The income-tax issue would be placed on the November ballot.
& lt;a href=mailto:yovich@vindy.com & gt;By TIM YOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HUBBARD -- Mayor Arthur U. Magee has a five-year plan that requires a half-percent increase in the income tax to help finance a new $1.1 million police station.
"There's nothing more important than the financial welfare of the city," the mayor told city council Monday night.
Magee proposed placing the issue on the November general election ballot and would increase the income tax from 1 percent to 1.5 percent.
If approved by voters, an additional $900,000 would be added to the $1 million generated now. This includes no credit for the half-percent paid by city residents who work outside the city.
Magee said residents will have to make some tough decisions if the city is going to be financially sound.
During the meeting, department heads gave lawmakers what they termed a "wish list" of millions of dollars in what they believe is needed to properly provide services in the long term.
But Magee said replacement of the aged police station is his highest priority.
About the building
Randall P. Baker, principal at Baker, Bednar & amp; Associates Inc., a Howland architectural firm, presented preliminary plans for what Magee termed a "safety building."
The 4,100-square-foot facility would be located behind the city administration building on West Liberty Street, with an access to School Street.
The one-story brick and block structure would include two holding cells and a 229,000-square-foot basement for storage.
Baker termed the building a "meat and potatoes" type of structure with room for expansion.
The $1.1 million cost includes the cost of razing the existing police station and purchasing the land for the new structure, Baker said.
Safety Director William Jugenheimer said an advantage of tearing down the current police station is it would provide room to expand the adjacent fire station near the city square.
The previous administration and lawmakers had talked about remodeling the present station, buying another building to remodel or adding onto the city administration building.
Baker pointed out that those options ranged in cost from $1.2 million to $1.6 million. He added that it isn't economically feasible to remodel the current headquarters.
& lt;a href=mailto:yovich@vindy.com & gt;yovich@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;