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Month: June 2016
Last week in City Council-6/13-6/17
As I said in my preview of City Council items for last week, I guessed it would be an interesting week. I was not wrong. Here is a quick recap of the three important committee meetings from last week, as well as council itself.
Finance Committee
The hottest topic in local politics continues to be the potential tax increase. The efforts to get the tax increase on the ballot were stalled last week because, according Finance Committee Chairman Mark McKay, Mayor John Stanforth and Council President Randy Riley wanted to send the resolution and related ordinance to experts on tax legislation in Columbus to assure that both documents were solid. Ultimately, this seems like the right thing to do, as long as Council proceeds with the vote on July 7th as they are intending (it seems like this will not be an issue). Having the voters approve the new tax and then somebody issuing a legal challenge is something the City cannot afford. This needs to be a lesson for Law Director Brett Rudduck-this should have been done weeks ago. The resolution and ordinance that were originally presented were riddled with errors, but tax legislation is very complicated. Hopefully, this will prove to be a minor hiccup and Council will be back on track with the ordinance and resolution on July 7th.
Judiciary Committee
After the relatively calm Finance Committee meeting, Judiciary started off with a discussion about Wilmington’s feral cat issue. Both the Wilmington Area Humane Society (WAHS) and the Clinton County Humane Society (CCHS) had representatives there to help answer questions about their Trap-Neuter-Release programs (WAHS’s program is currently on hold until they get their new building). This was an informative, but long, discussion, and it ended with the Committee deciding that there was very little they could do about it.
After the discussion on feral cats, discussion began on the changes to how the money the city receives from the hotel lodging tax is distributed. As anticipated, this discussion got fairly heated, and unfortunately nothing was settled. However, one thing is very clear-the Convention and Visitors Bureau does not want to have to be accountable to council at large or the Finance Committee. The proposal on the table is to cut the funds automatically given to the CVB from the tax money from 90% to 50%, with almost all of the other money going back to the general fund to be distributed to organizations trying to promote tourism in the city. The CVB would be allowed to apply for any of the money not automatically allocated towards them.
Members of the CVB board, along with Executive Director Debbie Stamper, were on hand to express their displeasure. Treasurer Bob Heyob was the most vocal, spouting off questionable numbers about the effect that this would have on the CVB, including that it would cost city tourism around $2 million. When I pushed him to elaborate on it, he declined, but I believe that he was indicating that the CVB is the only reason there is any tourism in Wilmington. This is a bold and ridiculous claim. Council Member and CVB representative for the City Joe Spicer was also on hand to say that there is an “agenda” and that the money would go to pet projects. What these were, he did not say, but he seemed to be fine pursuing a conspiracy theory angle instead of actually participating in discussion. He also called past council members “dumb” for not fixing this legislation previously. The Judiciary Committee needs to be firm with the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. For far too long, they have been able to give questionable research and numbers in relation to their impact on the county, and they have had a variety of expenditures that many non-profits would scoff at. Council needs to put their foot down and protect General Fund money, and the CVB needs to stop acting like their funds are unlimited and start acting as a protector for the limited tax dollars in our community.
Solid Waste Committee
Solid Waste Committee had a very productive and informative meeting about the future of our automated trash retrieval system. Sanitation Superintendent Braden Dunham was on hand to explain to the Committee, as well as those in attendance, some of the intricacies of the program. A few questions I have gotten about the program that Mr. Dunham answered:
- There will not be an increased cost to those living in the city who only use one of the new trash bins (which will be provided at no cost to residents)
- Residents that use more than one of the automated bins will be required to pay extra. For example, if it is $15 for trash pick-up per month for the first bin, it would be $7.50 for the second. I don’t know if these numbers have been finalized exactly, but these were the numbers discussed at Committee.
- Residents will not have to pay for their own bins. The City will provide 95-gallon or 65-gallon bins, depending on the resident’s preference. The thought process is that many residents who do not have children at home may want the smaller, easier-to-handle bins.
The program will hopefully start in early September, with the goal roll-out date being September 1st. Soon, residents will receive more information in the mail about the program. I have also invited Mr. Dunham to talk for an interview for the blog and the podcast to help residents of Wilmington understand more about how this is going to work. If you have additional questions about the program, please email me at thewilmingtonbulletin@gmail.com.
I left the Solid Waste Commitee meeting impressed with these new advancements, especially Mr. Dunham’s efforts in saving the city money on the bins by working through multiple vendors. I look forward to the City pursuing more efforts like this to improve productivity and efficiency.
City Council
Surprisingly, City Council was not very exciting this week. Council is currently in a holding pattern for the tax increase issue, and no discussion was had regarding it. There was no discussion on the lodging tax or feral cats, but Mayor Stanforth did talk about the happenings of Solid Waste Committee in his section. The undeniable highlight of Council was when Alice Davidson, recent graduate of Laurel Oaks and Wilmington High School, was given a commendation and Key to the City by the Mayor as well as representatives of the Police and Fire Departments for her heroism in working to save a stranger’s life who had overdosed. It was a special moment for everyone at Council, and Ms. Davidson was very humble in accepting those praises.
The next Council meeting is July 7th at 7:30 pm. Hopefully, it will feature a 3rd Reading on the ordinance and resolution pertaining to the municipal income tax increase proposal. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be continuing to follow up on those issues, as well as providing an update on county politics. If you have questions for me or stories you are interested in, please email me at thewilmingtonbulletin@gmail.com
On the Donald Trump Problem and Local Civic Engagement
In June of 2015, one year ago tomorrow, Donald J. Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States at a press conference at Trump Tower. There, the bloviating real estate mogul said that the American dream was dead, and that he would fix it, apparently by building walls inexpensively (which he said he was the best at). Few people then would have guessed that he would be the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party just one year later.
So how have we gotten here? How has somebody who speaks in such an incoherent, hateful, and chest-beating way become the standard-bearer from the Grand Old Party? This is an interesting story that many will write about, I am sure. However, I wanted to talk about the consequences of the campaign, drawing on my past experiences.
When I first heard that Donald Trump was running, I was still employed at a rural/suburban high school in southern Arizona. The biggest point that stood out for me was his insistence that America build this great wall to keep out all of these terrible people that were coming over to the United States from Mexico. As somebody who worked in a school where roughly half of the students were Latino, including many from Mexico, I couldn’t help but wonder-how out of touch is Donald Trump with America that I knew and loved? A place where I had seen students who were born in Mexico, or whose parents were, work as hard to achieve their dreams and be a part of causes for the greater good than any other students I have worked with? I wrote him off as a fringe candidate, someone who had no business being the standard bearer of a major party (even one who has, in the past few years, become less friendly to persons who are not well-off, white males). Obviously, I was wrong.
Here we are, one year later, and Mr. Trump has won the Republican primary. Tens of millions of voters have voiced their opinion that this man-this egotistical, racist, sexist, horrific man-was the person who they wanted to be the next POTUS. His speeches, over time, have become more offensive and less rational. His love for conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones and his comments on Muslims and Mexicans have made him arguably the most concerning public figure in recent memory for many Americans. He has shown his true colors-and so have many of his supporters. Trump has encouraged a world where being offensive and violent is not only allowed, but downright encouraged.
My concern for this, due to my work, is the lesson that this teaches young people. How can I expect my students to understand the value of diverse opinions and the value of each and every person? For students who have become interested in Trump because he “tells it like it is,” is that really the path we want to pursue as a society? One where young people are encouraged to be horrible to one another because the most important value their President teaches is that you “tell it like it is?” I, for one, would dread Trump becoming president because it would turn schools from a safe place where all ideas are heard and valued into a place where violence and intolerance towards minorities is accepted. The POTUS should and will be a role model to millions of young people out there, and if they see their parents supporting a man who says such evil things about other people, and who has at times supported the idea of more adults having guns in schools, there is no doubt in my mind that there are many who will buy into this rhetoric.
As a society, we cannot let this happen. We cannot be a people whose lives run only on fear and hatred of those who are different than us. There are so many good people who would suffer under the policies of Mr. Trump, and I believe the most important of these are young people in minority groups. These students deserve the best life we can give them, and we should be doing everything that we can to encourage their active participation in civic life in our communities. Under a Trump regime, my fear is that their voices will be silenced by the angry and the fearful, instead of lifted up by those people who believe in a better future for all people.
One thing that I hope will result from the campaign of Donald Trump is an increase in engagement in both local politics and nonprofits. This is a time where we must realize that we can have a great effect on our local government. We need more citizens to get involved, to show up at local city council and county commissioners meetings, and have your voices be heard. Mr. Trump wishes to silence many of those voices, but we must remind our local politicians that we want to be heard. If you have ever thought about joining or supporting a nonprofit, especially one that is designed to help the underprivileged and underserved, now is the time. There may never be a point in our future that those populations are at their most vulnerable. The hate and venom that spews from a major presidential candidate has created an environment where many feel like they are less than, when in fact they have so much to offer to our society.
So get out, engage in local government, engage in local nonprofits. Make sure that your voice is heard, and that you allow the voices of those most vulnerable to be heard. Together, let’s drown out the hateful, vengeful, racist voices of many of Mr. Trump’s supporters. There is no better time but the present.
On an important week of City Council
Finance Committee
Finance Committee has done much of the legwork for the Municipal Income Tax increase proposal, which will have its third reading on Thursday (this, of course, is just to put it on the ballot in November). The next step for Finance is to continue to work with Mayor John Stanforth and his administration on spending and budget plans for next year. The administration will likely take the lead on this, but Finance Committee should be prepared to work on this with the administration, as there will need to be two spending plans created for the next year. Planning for the tax increase passing and failing in November is vital. It is important for voters to see what they will get out of the .5% income tax increase as we move towards November.
Judiciary Committee
On the Judiciary Committee agenda is the hotel lodging tax ordinance review and the employee pay scale review (as well as the feral cat issue-for more info on that, see the News Journal coverage). Both of these items are important as potential cost-saving measures for the General fund. The hotel lodging tax issue is in regards to funding towards the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. As it stands right now, there is a push from many council members for the CVB to defend their budget and expenditures, something they have not done in the past to City Council. This movement may make them more like a division of the City Government, where their budget will be reviewed with all other departments. Judiciary is currently looking at the ordinance that is on the books for how this money is to be used, but my guess is that this will end up being a call made by Finance Committee.
In regards to the employee pay scale, this is an issue that focuses on so-called “step raises,” a system where employees are given raises based on service time. This is a complicated issue that was brought up by Council Member Lonnie Stuckert as a potential cost saving measure. Judiciary will need to review how much this will actually save in the long run if the choose to eliminate or significantly alter these increases. Moving to a performance-based system can create HR issues due to performance reviews, etc., but an advantage of having Randi Milburn as the head of Judiciary is that this is where her expertise lies. Council should not move quickly on this without looking at the impact of all of the issues surrounding raises is investigated.
Solid Waste Committee
I have not written about Solid Waste Committee in this space yet, but there is one specific item that has piqued my interest. In their meeting this Thursday (June 16th), the Solid Waste Committee will discuss the final plans for automation of the garbage trucks. This will be a change that Wilmington residents will notice, because automated garbage trucks normally require special trash bins. Part of the rollout is going to include citizen education. This is something that may point to the city pursuing more innovative and progressive solutions to productivity. I look forward to hearing the Committee’s plans on how this will work.
City Council Meeting
As I said previously, the main item on Council’s agenda will be the 3rd reading on the resolution to place the .5% municipal income tax increase on the ballot in November. This will trigger the beginning of a campaign to pass the tax, as well as some potential campaigning against. The most important point for Council, as well as Law Director Brett Rudduck, is that they come better prepared for this meeting than the 2nd reading. At this point, Council can afford zero hiccups in their efforts to move this forward.
I will recap this week in City Council on Friday, including an update on the campaign to pass the tax moving forward. Until then, attend one of these meetings if you have time! If you have questions or have an idea for a story, email me at thewilmingtonbulletin@gmail.com.
Episode 4 of the Wilmington Bulletin Podcast
Here is my newest podcast episode, featuring Mark Rembert of Energize Clinton County (and formerly the Wilmington-Clinton County Chamber of Commerce). It was a great discussion about local economic data that he has presented to Wilmington City Council. Click the link below for the slides that we refer to when we are talking.
Let’s Chat About Two Important Points on Local Taxes
During the regular Wilmington City Council meeting on June 2nd, it became clear very quickly that we have a problem. No, I am not referring to feral cats. I am referring to the dearth of understanding of the Municipal Income Tax for the State of Ohio by our local leaders. Here are some very important points…
Let’s stop calling it an earnings tax…
I get it. I have been guilty of it (see my last podcast). But we have to stop this. The language in the resolution and ordinance provided for a great deal of confusion last night, and it unfortunately it was never cleared up by our Law Director or any other city officials. In the resolution to place the tax on the ballot, it is called an Earnings Tax. Everywhere else, including in our current ordinance, it is called an income tax. This is what the State of Ohio calls it, specifying that municipalities can only tax earned income. The confusion comes from wanting to specify that cities only tax earnings. It is important for Council and other local leaders to understand and communicate this fully to the public, lest there be more confusion.
Residents are taxed!
Residents of the city and non-residents are currently taxed at 1%. If you live in Wilmington and work in Cincinnati, for example, you will have to pay the income tax in Cincinnati because it is higher (2.1%). The City of Wilmington will give you a 1% credit, so you will not owe any taxes to the city. However, you must file with the City of Wilmington, as well as Cincinnati. Otherwise, you might get to pay some penalties. Additionally, if you live in the city but work in a place without a local income tax, you will have to pay that 1% to Wilmington.
I hope this clears up a few confusing points that I believe hindered the discussion last night.
The Wilmington Bulletin 