How much more residents should pay to keep a city's roads from crumbling, and how much cost-cutting should happen at city hall before that request is made, was at the center of a public meeting in Avon Lake, Ohio.
The proposal targets a road repair problem city officials estimate at about $48 million, with leaders asking voters to address it through a temporary increase in the local income tax.
Here's what to know
If voters approve the measure on the November ballot, Avon Lake's income tax rate would increase from 1.50% to 1.90% beginning Jan. 1, and stay there through Dec. 31, 2032. The ballot issue, known as Issue 16, would add 0.40% for six years.
According to Cleveland 19 News, city officials estimate the increase would bring in roughly $6.6 million a year, and at least 70% would be required by law to go toward road repairs and resurfacing.
Mayor Mark Spaetzel said Avon Lake has gone years without a dedicated infrastructure fund.
"Our backlog of work dates back multiple administrations, multiple councils," Spaetzel said. "And while they try to keep up with that, we've never had a dedicated infrastructure fund, so we've had to pull money out of the General Fund to do that and that's less effective than having a dedicated fund and so over time, that just builds. It gets worse and it gets worse and it gets worse. "
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"But we're to the point now where this backlog and we don't expect our tax increase to take care of this backlog completely, but it'll help and it will keep us at a place where we can maintain the roads better."
Residents also weighed in on what the proposal would mean for their own finances. Spaetzel estimated the increase would add about $400 a year for a household earning $100,000.
To offset some of that burden, the city says it would eliminate an existing $1.5 million property tax and reverse an income tax credit reduction that City Council approved.
Not all residents were convinced taxpayers should be asked for more before the city cuts spending elsewhere. During public comment, one resident said Avon Lake should examine staffing and consider contracting out more services, saying, "Just to compare the costs, we had 27.5 city employees compared to 150 in Avon Lake. The salaries every year that were paid out for Wildwood (Missouri) were approximately $3.6 million. For the city of Avon Lake, little under 16 million."
More background
Voters rejected a similar request for road funding in the May primary, Cleveland 19 News reported.
Spaetzel warned that if the levy fails, the city would have to make tougher decisions within the overall budget.
"We will not be able to address the infrastructure unless we pull additional money out of the General Fund," Spaetzel said. "If we pull additional money out of the General Fund, that means other services have to be cut, and that could be programming, it could be personnel, it just depends on how much we have to pull out."
Up to 30% of the tax revenue could also go toward storm sewers, drainage work, traffic signals, and capital equipment.
The town hall also grew more pointed when local CPA and tax attorney Gerald Phillips questioned why road allocations had dropped so sharply.
Spaetzel pushed back on the idea that the funding gap resulted from poor management.
"It's not mismanagement. It's a lack of revenue," he said.
As Spaetzel put it, "You want your police officers to show up, you want your firefighters to show up, you want your streets cleared of ice and snow, you want your leaves picked up. That all comes at a cost. So, we funded those costs. Revenues did not go up so what takes a hit, unfortunately, in the past has been infrastructure improvements."
What's being done?
Avon Lake plans to put a time-limited tax request before voters alongside changes officials say would lessen the impact on households.
Spaetzel also rejected suggestions that the city privatize more of its work, saying Avon Lake's seven collective bargaining agreements leave little room for that approach.
"We have seven collective bargaining agreements in the city of Avon Lake," Spaetzel responded. "Collective bargaining agreements are very particular about who's going to do the work. We would be violating our collective bargaining agreements if we laid off people and contracted the services and almost guaranteed we would lose that argument in court."
Residents who missed the meeting can watch a recorded livestream of the presentation on the city's website and YouTube channel.
Where can I learn more?
Questions about how to pay for roads and other public needs aren't unique to Avon Lake. Across the country, residents are pushing back on local assessments, transportation spending decisions, and new tax proposals.
• In Houston, residents say something needs to change after maps exposed miles of broken sidewalks.
• In Florida, residents are outraged as a $10 billion highway expansion moves forward.
• In Colorado, neighbors near I-70 say they want the roads fixed before widening begins.
• In one HOA, homeowners balked at a proposed $30,000 assessment for neighborhood repairs.
• In Berkeley, California, officials proposed a tax on large buildings to fund climate work.
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