Lordstown income tax is doubled
GM and the UAW should have more respect for the village, a lawmaker says.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- Village council has increased the village income tax from 0.5 percent to 1 percent to generate more money for capital improvements.
Despite some opposition from residents and Jim Graham, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112 at the General Motors Corp.'s complex here, council voted unanimously for the increase.
The added tax will take effect July 1 and generate about $2.7 million annually.
"What they are doing is wrong," Graham, of Warren, told the audience that filled council chambers Monday, noting the issue should go before voters rather than being imposed by council.
Graham said that he supported a similar tax increase in Warren because there was a possibility Warren would lose its safety forces because of financial problems.
He asserted that Lordstown "is not being a good neighbor" because the increased tax will decrease revenue to those communities in which GM workers live.
He said the village is trying to get money from those being forced to retire at GM, a charge that was dismissed by Councilman Richard Biggs, chairman of council's finance committee.
Resident Paul Chaney also spoke against the tax increase, because the tax would double for village residents, too. He suggested the increase be temporary -- until capital improvements are made.
Council stands firm
All council members spoke in favor of the issue.
Councilman William Dray said GM has continued to receive tax abatements that have taken revenue away from the school district and village.
Dray said he didn't oppose the abatements because they meant GM jobs remaining in the community.
He called on the UAW not to threaten the village with boycotts of the school and businesses.
Councilwoman Mary Jane Wilson pointed out that the money will be used for capital improvements, such as maintaining roads and bridges and expanding the sanitary sewer system.
"We're trying to work with what [revenue] we have, but it's not enough," she said, adding that she believes GM and the UAW should show more respect for the village.
MetroParks
In other business, council agreed to sponsor Mill Creek MetroParks application for a $1.6 million state grant to help it buy 168 acres in Boardman at the southern end of Mill Creek Park.
Susan Dickens, MetroParks executive director, has said the park districts can't sponsor themselves for grant applications, so they require sponsorship from a local government.
yovich@vindy.com