Niles mayor sticks with in-house tax collections for another year

NILES

Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia says he is not ready to outsource the city income-tax department to the Regional Income Tax Agency despite pressure on him to do so.

The mayor on Wednesday told his fellow members of the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission that he plans to give the department “another chance” for one year to improve collections and eliminate delinquencies.

“If they fall short, we will go with RITA,” Scarnecchia said. “They’ll be under a magnifying glass.”

Ohio Auditor Dave Yost, who had strongly criticized the mayor’s refusal to outsource in an interview last month with The Vindicator, attended the meeting but left before the mayor’s announcement.

Auditors say the move to RITA could save the city thousands of dollars.

Scarnecchia noted the short-staffed department has increased its collections by more than $600,000 above this same time period last year.

Quentin Potter, commission chairman, however, appeared skeptical.

Read more about the situation in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.