By Kevin Bilkie
By now some of you have seen a flyer distributed by Citizens for Macedonia Fiscal Accountability or claims made on the Mac Civic Facebook page. We are writing this rebuttal to make them accountable for their lies and misleading statements.
All of their ‘smoke and mirrors’ routine is to try and trick you into voting no on some really important issue that will drive Macedonia forward. I hope you see past their unethical behavior and consider voting YES on Issues 18 & 19. The passage of these measures will vastly improve our city.
We are not here to tell you how to vote, but to vote with the accurate numbers that the city is facing.
The chart at the end of this statement has the actual amounts that voting YES on both Issues will cost the residents of Macedonia that are earning an income. The unemployed and residents living on a pension or social security will not see any increase.
The residents that work in a city that has an income tax rate at 2.25% or higher will also not see an increase in their income tax.
Let’s look at the flyer, labeled “The TRUTH about 18 & 19.”
Misleading Statement: The City has plenty of money, income tax revenues are $1.5 Million higher annually than the years prior to the recession.
The Truth: At the end of 2015, your city Council’s Financial chair for 2014 & 2015 estimated that there would be $2.5 million in unencumbered funds in the general fund at the start of 2016, meaning the city would start 2016 with $2.5 in the general fund bank.
The actual number was over $1 million less. The numbers were puffed up to include the $1 million rainy day fund and funds that cannot be included in the general fund. After two years of Council’s Financial chair running the city’s finances, (remember the city did not have a Financial Director for most of it) Macedonia was left with virtual no money in its coffers. That did not stop the Financial Chair from draining the city’s savings even further by paving millions dollars in roads in 2015 that it could not afford. The city’s general fund was drained by transferring $2.4 million to the capital improvement fund, a fund where money cannot be transferred back into the General Fund.
The claim that the revenues are up from the recession are very misleading. In the last three years, (since the recession was over) income tax revenues have been down, from $8.5 million in 2014, to $8.4 million in 2015, and they are tracking at $8.3 million this year. Those are also the years since the .25% increase ended on December 31, 2013.
Included in the lower 2016 numbers is all the extra tax revenue that has been brought by the ODOT projects on 82 and 271 over the last few years. Those project will be finished in 2016 and the income revenue gone for 2017.
The city’s revenue has grown, but so has its expenses! Ask yourself this? Have your cost of living expenses gone up from 2011? If so, you can see the bind that your local government is in. The cost of doing the same business in 2011 is not the same as in 2016 and beyond; it too has gone up. And, the State of Ohio has taken from the pool that local governments could drink from. Simply stated, the local Income and Profit tax is the only source of income that the city has to provide the services needed to its residents.
Lying Statement: City department operations spending across the board went up 14%. That is the same $1.5 million diverted from roads.
The Truth: First off, the budgets in 2014 & 2015 also saw increases in operations in the teens. Again, the cost of doing business has gone up.
But, the actual statement is a bold face lie. The city budget and year end actual numbers are two entirely different things. Ms. Hall, the city Financial Director, has been able to reduce that budget number over the first 10 months of the year and that 14% budgeted increase will be decreased by year’s end. To say operation costs has gone up 14% before the actual numbers are finalized is lying to you, they have no way of knowing what the actual cost will be.
At present time, operation cost to the city are tracking to be 10% lower than overall operation spending than 2015. Meaning, if $1 million was budgeted for operations, only $900,000 will be spent. Also, the entire city budget, after all transfers, is tracking to be $2.5 million less from than the actual spending in 2015. The truth is, the city has reduced spending!
How could the Council or Mayor spend money that was not there? It was already spent in 2015!
Did you know that city employees got raises in 2014 & 2015 too? It is pretty standard that city employees receive a small raise each year.
The city also added:
4 Part-time service employees
1 Police Officer to serve as Resource Officer for our schools
A Zoning Inspector – which replaced the retiring Asst. Building Commissioner.
Misleading Statement: $850,000 more funds will be freed up in 2017 Rec. Center and City Bonds are paid off in 2016.
The Truth: In actual numbers, by paying off the bonds on the Recreation Center and City Building, the city will expire $1 million in debt payments moving forward. But, what the flyer fails to say is, $600,000 of that debt each year was paid for by the expiring levy. Meaning, the general fund (the fund that road maintenance would draw from) will not see a windfall of $1 million, or $850,000 like the flyer boasts, it will be close to $400,000. That would be a good start to a road maintenance program, but unfortunately, when the city subtracts the other debt that it will be paying in 2017 and beyond, that number drops to around $200,000 extra going into the general fund.
That extra $200,000 is not near enough money to finance the $20 million worth of road work needed, or the preventative plans to make sure the city does not fall into this situation again.
Misleading Statement: $214,000 + new funds annually are already being received from a July Storm water Fee.
The Truth: None, we repeat none, of the money collected from NEORSD will go towards paving any of the neighborhood roads in Macedonia. The program that the NEORSD has put in place is not designed for the local governments to use on local road issues. It is designed to help fund major storm water projects, and local projects that have or will affect storm water issues across the region.
To say that the city can use this money for local road projects is irresponsible at best. It surely should not be a reason why anyone would vote against Issue 18. That money is collected by an entirely different entity, and the city will need to scratch and claw to make sure that Macedonia projects are being financed by NEORSD.
The attacks on Issue 19 are also a complete scare tactic and utter nonsense!
If Issue 19 passes, a feasibility study will be conducted before any ground is broken. The Outdoor Aquatic Center, Gymnasium, Community Center, and other amenities will be designed, studied, and built so that they will be successful.
You don’t buy insurance on your home before you secure the loan and buy it, why would the city waste money on a feasibility study before the election? Issue 19, if passed will secure an estimated $20 million. The plan is to design and build with $10 million and to use the other $10 million for operational and continual maintenance costs. What is to be built, and the size of those structures will be determined by the plan. The structures mentioned above do fit in our preliminary research. Those structures are displayed on social media, the City Building and at the Recreation Center for you to see. We have put in the work!
Do you really believe that Mayor Migliorini and the majority of Council wants to raise your taxes? That answer is absolutely NO! But, we will not hide behind misleading numbers and tell you that the city has extra money to pave and maintain roads on a consistent basis without this increased revenue; it does not!
Ms. Hanneken’s alternate plan got voted down 4-1 in Council because it simply does not work.
Her plan just puts off the eventual downfall of the city’s roads and Recreation Center. In a few short years, the city will not have enough money to fund and improve the Recreation Center and Parks. And the additional money that the city will need to spend on road improvements will be catastrophic down the line. The problem is getting worse, and her remedy is to put it off and hope income revenues magically increase. Her plan does not come close to providing the funding that a proper Roads Maintenance Plan will need for success.
The city engineer, Joe Gigliotti (Chagrin Valley Engineer) Service Director John Hnottavange and Finance Director Rhonda Hall would be happy to answer any of your questions. If the city does not start taking care of our roads now, the cost will continue to accumulate. If Issue 19 fails, so too will the Recreation Center. And, Angela Manley encourages you to contact her with any questions about the much needed improvements to the city parks and the Macedonia Family Recreation Center.
In conclusion: Again, we hope you vote YES on both Issues, but this was meant to rebut the misinformation, lies, and scare tactics that has been put out to trick you. We want you to be informed with actual numbers. Vote what you feel is in your best interest, but do it with the facts.
We are here to build our city, not tear it down road by road, building by building.
Joe Migliorini – Mayor (jmigliorini@macedonia.oh.us)
Kevin Bilkie – Council Member (kbilkie@macedonia.oh.us)
Nick Molnar – Council President (nmolnar@macedonia.oh.us)
Jan Tulley – Council Member (jtulley@macedonia.oh.us)
Rhonda Hall – Finance Director (rhall@macedonia.oh.us)
Joe Gigliotti – City Engineer (gigliotti@cvelimited.com)
John Hnottavange – Service Director (jhnottavange@macedonia.oh.us)
Angela Manley – Parks & Recreation Director (amanley@macedonia.oh.us
The .25% or 12.5% income tax increase will cost:
$25,000 Income $62.50/Annually $5.21/Monthly $2.40/Pay (bi-monthly)
$50,000 Income $125/Annually $10.41/Monthly $4.81/Pay (bi-monthly)
$75,000 Income $187.50/Annually $15.63/Monthly $7.21/Pay (bi-monthly)
$100,000 Income $250/Annually $20.83/Monthly $9.61/Pay (bi-monthly)
$125,000 Income $312.50/Annually $26.04/Monthly $12.01/Pay (bi-monthly)
$150,000 Income $375/Annually $31.25/Monthly $14.42/Pay (bi-monthly)
$175,000 Income $437.50/Annually $36.46/Monthly $16.83/Pay (bi-monthly)
$200,000 Income $500/Annually $41.67/Monthly $19.23/Pay (bi-monthly)
+$25,000 =$62.50/Annually =$5.21/Monthly =$2.40/Pay (bi-monthly)
