Waynesville income tax on Nov. 3 ballot

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By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer 4:43 PM Thursday, October 15, 2009

Waynesville voters will have to decide if the village will have an income tax when they step into the ballot box on Nov. 3.

The proposed levy would enact a 1 percent income tax on wages, salaries and other compensation from employment inside the village.

A person making $50,000 a year would pay $500. However, the income tax would carry a credit of up to 100 percent for Waynesville residents who pay other municipality taxes where they work. For example, a resident of Waynesville who works in Lebanon and pays that city’s 1 percent income tax would receive a full credit from Waynesville.

“The income tax is designed primary for people who work in Waynesville but do not live here,” said village manager Bruce Snell. He said the tax “makes (those) who work here, but don’t live here, shoulder the burden along with the residents.”

Social security and retirement benefits would not be taxable. However, those who live and work in Waynesville would have to pay the full 1 percent.

Waynesville was placed under a state of fiscal emergency in 2008. As of July 31, officials reported the village had a deficit of $341,850, with the majority of the red ink in the village police fund and street maintenance and repair. If the levy passes, the village council resolved that at least 80 percent of income tax revenues would be used to eliminate those deficits.

In June 2010, the village will be required to cover the state’s Financial Planning and Supervision Commission costs that come from being in a state of fiscal emergency. Snell said it’s an additional $3,000 to $15,000 annually.

A police levy was passed in 2008, but Snell said additional funding from the income tax would also be necessary to get the village’s police fund out of deficit.

“I do not want to scare people, but if we remain in fiscal emergency, public services will be drastically effected,” Snell said.

Snell said he has not thought about layoffs or other cutbacks if the levy does not pass.

“For now, we remain optimistic,” he said. He added that most residents he talked to seemed in favor of the levy.

Waynesville Mayor Earl Isaacs supports the levy and has tried to explain to voters that not passing it will mean a decrease in services and could ultimately cost the village.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.

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Waynesville you just passed a police levy and now they tell you that you need more money. Can they change this income tax at any time to tax your social security? It looks like they just want to tax the workers at Quaker Heights...what a rip

STOP THE MADNESS
11:29 PM, 10/16/2009

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Get the cops busy patroling our streets rather than sitting on route 42 runnning radar 24/7 or sleeping which ever they are doing. We must have to many cops if this is all they have to do. Mabe the force could use a cut back in man power to help with their funding problems. We have all had to cut back due to loos of jobs and pay cuts.

taxhater
7:25 AM, 10/16/2009

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