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Residents attend town hall hearing on Canfield half-percent income tax on Aug. 4 ballot
By ROBERT CONNELLY
CANFIELD
More than a dozen people attended the last scheduled town hall meeting on the half-percent income tax that will be on the Aug. 4 ballot.
That was at least double than any previous town hall meeting the city hosted on the issue since it decided to pursue the increase in April.
The city is asking for a half-percent income-tax increase, which would offset state cuts in the city’s budget. The city’s 1 percent income tax was enacted in 1972.
City Manager Joe Warino has cited money lost from local government funds, both from the state and county, and the loss of the estate tax. Those three combined brought in $525,191 in 2010 compared with $248,482 in 2014.
Joe LoCicero attended an earlier town hall meeting and thought “here we go again.” But since first hearing of the half-percent income tax, his mind has changed after hearing from city officials.
“Ohio’s latest budget, while benefiting many Ohioans, will hurt Canfield. Canfield will get less state money. This reduction and other recent changes, will cut the city revenue by 17 percent. That amounts to about a $1 million reduction in a $6 million budget,” LoCicero said at Wednesday’s meeting.
LoCicero is one of several city residents who have joined a committee to get word out into the community of the election and why the city is asking for the funds.
There is now a Facebook page that launched July 1 called Canfield Citizen’s Initiative, which is the social media branch of the committee supporting the tax increase to maintain city services as they are.
Some residents questioned the awareness in the community about the August ballot, including resident Frank Micchia, who did not say whether he supported the increase.
“You might be surprised how many people don’t know” about the election, Micchia told city officials Wednesday night.
Mayor Bernie Kosar Sr. said the half-percent income-tax increase is to “maintain what we’re doing today.”