9/6/2012 - West Side Leader
     

PENINSULA — Village voters will be asked for the third time in three years to approve a proposal to raise the income tax from 1 percent to 2 percent in the Nov. 6 General Election.

The issue has not yet been assigned a number by the Summit County Board of Elections.

In the 2011 General Election, 57 percent of voters were in favor of the proposed increase, while 61 percent voted against it in the 2010 General Election.

Peninsula Village Fiscal Officer John Steigel said the difference this time will be in the details.

“We’ll have better data,” Steigel said. “We’ve contacted CCA [Central Collection Agency], who does our income tax collection, and we have better data to present to residents showing that most people will not pay anything additional.”

Currently the village receives about $295,000 a year in income tax. Should the tax rate be increased to 2 percent, the village would take in approximately an additional $200,000, Steigel said.

“Most of it would be paid by nonresidents who work in the village, and for a vast majority of people — because most other cities have 2 percent income tax — if a person lives in the village and works in a city, their income tax would not go up at all,” Steigel said.

The additional funds would go to support operating costs such as for the police and road departments, he added.

During the past few months, as Village Council discussed the income tax issue, there have been mentions of eliminating the current property tax levies for the police and road departments. Steigel said that could only happen after putting the removal of the levies before voters in a future election, and Council would consider that if the income tax issue passes.

The advantage of that would be that all property owners would see a reduction in their property taxes, Steigel said.

The police levy is 2.5 mills and the road levy is 2.15 mills, according to the Summit County Fiscal Office. The owner of property valued at $100,000 pays $79 for the police levy and $68 for the road levy annually, the Fiscal Office website shows.

Village officials plan to host some informational meetings for residents to explain the income tax proposal, Steigel said. They have not yet been scheduled.

Steigel said should the issue not pass, Council would need to determine whether to try again to pass the idea of raising income tax in the village.

Locally, Akron’s income tax is 2.25 percent. The rate is 2 percent in Fairlawn, Richfield, Norton and Cuyahoga Falls. Townships do not receive income taxes.

Steigel said residents with questions about the ballot issue can call him at 330-657-2714.

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