Village Council passed an emergency ordinance earlier this summer to impose the 1 percent income tax beginning in January 2017, South Vienna Mayor Toni Keller said.
“Nobody wants to pay a tax, but we have to do it if we’re going to be fiscally responsible,” she said.
The amount of money that will be generated from the tax has not been determined yet, Keller said.
South Vienna is working with the Regional Income Tax Agency, which will collect the money, the mayor said, and should have more information on logistics by the end of the year.
But collections of the tax will support the village’s general fund, which the mayor described as in desperate need of money.
“We have tried to put (a tax) off, but now we just can’t anymore,” she said of the village’s finances.
The general fund covers anything from wages for South Vienna police officers to road repairs, emergency snow removal and upkeep of the village parks, Keller said.
Some village residents, like Kim Moone, said they had not heard about the council’s decision to impose the tax, even months after it was passed.
“I’m surprised,” Moone said.
Municipal governments don’t have to put a tax increase to the ballot if the tax is 1 percent or lower, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
“If it’s going to help our community, I’m all for it,” Moone said.
Village council read the ordinance once at a council meeting and voted on the “emergency” at that same meeting, Keller said.
The local government normally handles fiscal situations with such “emergency” measures, she said. Other than people who attend the village council meetings, residents might not have heard about the new tax, she admitted.
“We don’t’ have a lot of people show up to (village council) meetings,” Keller said.
But some who will be affected by the new tax, like South Vienna business owner Arlend Sammons, said village government should have made more of an effort to spread the word.
“I’m surprised they can just pass a tax without letting anyone know,” Sammons said.
The tax is OK, Sammons said, as long as the local government uses the money responsibly.
“Big places waste a lot of taxpayer money,” he said.
After years of keeping service charges for water and sewer low, Keller said, the city needs to generate income through a new tax.
“We offer a lot of free services that most towns don’t give out for free,” the mayor said.
Many cities and villages across Ohio have lost revenue that was once funneled down from the state budget, said Kent Scarrett, executive director of the Ohio Municipal League that lobbies for villages like South Vienna.
Since those cuts, Scarrett said, many municipalities have added taxes to help supplement loses. But voters can challenge the tax if they want, he added.
“Citizens have an opportunity to initiate a referendum petition and put it on the ballot to repeal the tax,” Scarrett said.
About the Author