Council approves admission tax on tickets for Chevy Centre events

The tax is estimated to turn a profit of about $100,000 each year.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — A 9.5 percent admission tax that takes effect Oct. 1 on nearly all tickets at the Chevrolet Centre will permit the city to use the proceeds in a number of ways, including capital improvements at the facility and paying the cost of police presence there.

City council unanimously approved an ordinance Wednesday to replace parking and facility fees included on most tickets to events at the city-owned building with the admission tax.

Most tickets for center events include parking and facility fees, which are $1.50 to $1.75 each.

The tax would mean those buying tickets for most events that cost up to $35 would save money. Those paying more than that would, in most cases, see a modest increase.

What it will do

The tax will reduce the overall cost of family-friendly events and allow families to use the center more, said city Finance Director David Bozanich.

USA Parking, a Cleveland company, receives $210,000 annually to provide parking at its downtown decks and surface lots for those attending events at the center.

Bozanich anticipates the tax would more than cover that cost, and would provide the city with an estimated annual profit of about $100,000.

The tax could be used to pay for:

UCapital improvements and maintenance at the center.

UMaintenance and other costs related to parking.

UBuilding and other capital improvements in the city’s entertainment and central business districts, which are largely in the downtown area.

USpecial events.

UCosts associated with increasing police presence, including traffic control, related to the center’s operations.

“There is pretty broad discretion on how the money is spent,” Bozanich said.

Financial benefits decision

Also Wednesday, council approved legislation with tougher language requiring employees who accept other jobs not compatible with their city employment to immediately resign. Council agreed to another ordinance requiring those who leave active city employment to receive their owed financial benefits in a lump sum and be off the payroll immediately.

Police officers since at least the 1960s have routinely remained active employees by using vacation and accumulated time even though they no longer worked for the department. That allowed them to accumulate additional financial benefits.

These two ordinances put an official end to that practice.

Travel money approved

Council also approved requests from three of its members to transfer a combined amount of $7,115.31 from their discretionary funds to their travel funds so they can attend the National League of Cities’ annual convention in mid-November in New Orleans.

The three members — Artis Gillam Sr., D-1st, Rufus Hudson, D-2nd, and Richard Atkinson, R-3rd — didn’t have enough money in their travel budgets, $3,125 each annually, to pay for the convention.

The three, along with Carol Rimedio-Righetti, D-4th, Paul D. Pancoe, D-6th, and Mark Memmer, D-7th, are attending the event. Except for Rimedio-Righetti, the others will no longer serve on council effective Jan. 1, 2008, about six weeks after the New Orleans conference ends.

The five lame-duck councilmen will spend $12,709.50 in city money to attend the event.

skolnick@vindy.com