Group mobilizes to block Salem income-tax increase

By D.A. WILKINSON

wilkinson@vindy.com

SALEM

City council on Friday voted to eliminate a tax break for people, and on Sunday a referendum was launched to block the action.

David Johnson, the chairman of the Columbiana County Republican Party, said Monday that he and others are gathering signatures to put the issue on the November ballot.

Council on Friday gave the third and final reading to an ordinance that will bring more money into the city’s coffers. The final vote allows city officials to collect a 1-percent income tax from city residents who work in other towns and pay income taxes there. In the past, the city did not collect from residents who were paying income taxes where they work.

Collections will begin Aug. 1, bringing in an estimated $350,000 a year.

On Sunday, Johnson and other people decided to start an effort to block the proposed change.

He is working with Cynthia Baronzzi, Shawn M. Theiss, Paul Rice, Charles A. Presley, and John F. Reid.

Johnson said that normally, Sunday, a day for families and rest, would not be the day to start the effort.

But Johnson said that the people involved in the drive have little time to get it on the ballot. Some 417 valid signatures are needed to get the measure before voters.

Johnson questioned the need for the increase.

“Revenues in Salem are up over 4 percent,” he said.

But council has also placed a half-percent income tax on the November ballot.

The city started this year with an approximate $350,000 decline in its annual income tax.