Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

JEDDs are failing

It is interesting that Mr. Fix appears to have the same memory problems as David Shaver.

Mr. Fix also claims I have a plan that will produce zero tax dollars. I don?‘t think I have put together a plan other than to work to make the city financially stronger and to not rely on the township for anything.

Let?’s first debunk the Jeff Fix / Gary Weltlich myth that the MEDA would have resulted in generating and giving to Pickerington 50% of the income taxes after expenses. To fully understand the development potential for Pickerington and our school district we should refer to the McGory report of June 2006. Clearly Jeff presented John and his report to the Finance committee in June of 2006 and it was clearly out of the scope of his retainer. So if John donated his time to the city THANK YOU JOHN!!!

When Brian Wisniewski?’s web site was still up he outlined the different districts down along us 33. Apparently Brian Wisniewski and I were the only two on council to read that McGory report. Clearly Mr. Fix never read it and if he did his comprehension is poor.

It basically said that there were TWO parcels near US 33 that are in our school district that would likely develop over the next 25 years. The first parcel was around 127 acres and it is currently owned by the Snider family and they have applied to annex to Canal Winchester. The second parcel was the Davis property with 92 acres. Ironically this parcel in now rezoned and they are advertising ?“NO INCOME TAXES?” so they are very unlikely to have ever joined a JEDD. The new owners are John McGory and his partners.

So in Mr. Fix?’s MEDA plan all land that developed in Violet Township down along US 33 would come from a JEDD agreement. Clearly out of the range of the City of Pickerington to annex. As we also see (man I must be psychic) these JEDDs are voluntary. So of the two parcels above that held the most potential to develop all had water and sewer and good roads to support that development. So what incentive do these potential owners have to join a JEDD and pay the 2% income tax? NONE

So the township and Jeff Fix were trying to make the case that what Pickerington had to give up was equal to what the township was giving up. It wasn?’t.

Those properties along the borders of Pickerington would be annexed into the city of Pickerington in exchange for utilities, road access and/or other city services (that by the way are not provided by the township) in exchange for the annexation and the paying of the income taxes.

I believe one of the reasons you see the big push to get these JEDD agreement approved by Jeff Fix and Gary Weltlich is that they are failing apart in front of everyone?’s eyes. Clearly Mr. Fix forced his way into the negotiations in January of 2006 to negotiate an inclusion of Pickerington into the Canal Winchester/Violet Twp CEDA. He clearly failed just like his predecessor Craig Maxey. Jeff Fix came to the Pickerington Finance committee in the late spring of 2006 and said that Pickerington would not be included in the CEDA. He made that decision on his own without ever consulting with any other member of the Pickerington City Council.

Fix said he supported tax hike

In early 2006, I talked to Jeff about the disadvantage we have here in Pickerington competing with Canal Winchester because they have the 2 % income tax. The only reason we must accommodate Canal in the talks and share with them the JEDD areas is they have the 2 % income tax. Clearly that was mentioned numerous times by the trustees. Later in the spring of 2006, Mayor Shaver assigned tasks to each of us and mine was to work on the sewer plant (I completed my task). Keith Smith and Jeff Fix?’s task was to work on the income tax proposal.

I wanted to hire a consultant to help us develop what we placed on the ballot and the consultant?’s cost would have been $25,000. Most of his costs would have been to conduct a survey to find out where the voters stood and what they would support. Both Keith Smith and Jeff Fix rejected the idea before I was ever finished explaining it. In fact they were so confident that they could pass a tax increase that Keith Smith, said it was a ?“slam dunk?“ and that he and Jeff could write the campaign literature and the citizens would buy into that.

It should also be noted that Keith Smith and Jeff Fix have been members of the city?’s Finance Committee since they were elected. The Finance Director regularly provides the debt schedule and copies of the expenses that the city is facing to that committee on a monthly basis. Clearly in 2006, Mr. Fix was complaining that we couldn?’t pave our streets and pay the principal on our loans. So Mr. Fix then believes we can give away the secure revenues we could receive along our borders from annexations and trade that for questionable revenues that may never come out in the township to solve the budget crisis the city has.


It is my position that we should give the taxpayers the option of what they want in the way of services. I felt that way in 2006 and I feel that way today. Clearly we must raise revenues or do drastic cuts in the services the city provides. Yes raising revenues means raising taxes. Where Mr. Smith and Mr. Fix have failed is that they have procrastinated and they lack the political courage to face the real problems the city is facing. They don?’t want to be associated with raising taxes. They must get over that notion and address the crisis we all face. If you know him or have heard him talk he says in business he never likes to get the balance sheet balanced by cutting, but rather to be aggressive and increase revenues. At least that is what he said when he was working in the Betty Montgomery campaign.

Sometimes it takes years to get the voters to understand the financial dilemma their government is in and the decision they must make as voters and as taxpayers. If the city council had acted in 2006, then by now we would all know what we face. It took Canal Winchester voters 4 times to get their incomes taxes increased to the 2% level and we are only giving ourselves one shot at it. If we had run the issue before the voters in 2006 then this year they could fully see that the council tried but the taxpayers disagreed with them.
If the tax increase issue in November fails then there will be drastic cuts in 2009 and our roads will look like Columbus?’ roads when it snows. Our council has failed because they bought into the Fix doctrine.

Facts for Fix

This is a quote from Fix's previous posting.

''I did participate in Mrs. Sanders materials as I was her campaign manager.''

Jeff, you are the secretery of the Fairfield County Republican Party, are you not?

Mrs. Sanders is a Democrat, is she not?

You were, or might still be, an officer of the Republican Club of Northwest Fairfield County.

In the Club's Constitution, Article III, regarding officers, Section V, item D states ''Officers CANNOT publicly endorse non-republican candidates.''

The fact that city races are non-partisan doesn't trump the FACT a CURRENT OFFICER in the county REPUBLICAN party was a DEMOCRAT campaign manager.

I fear retribution.

I will not sign my name.

These are facts.


By Your hard to believe, Jeff

Scary facts

Folks we can?’t make this up no matter how hard we try: ?“these FACTS SCARE THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME.?” Jeff Fix December 5th 2006


Here is a statement Jeff Fix made to council on December 5th 2006. After one year on council he had not solved any of the city?’s problems. Clearly here is double speak at its best. After another year on council he is ready to cut more general fund money and that means the police department that last year he complained was six officers short.

To see the entire message refer to the left in our pages:

?“What you won?’t see in this budget is six more police officers. We are able to fund one additional officer this year but Chief Taylor will tell you as he told us in a budget hearing that the appropriate number for a city our size is approximately six more than we have. We don?‘t have the money so we just run short. Our police force is outstanding. They do a great job and are provided great leadership. Shouldn?’t we provide them with the manpower they need to keep our street safe? We don?’t have the money.

Without belaboring the point this budget will show that the city currently carries $27 million dollars in debt and in 2007 plans to pay down that debt by only 6% - paying no principal on several of those laons, leaving us with nearly $25 and half million dollars in debt at the end of the year. 39% of the payments we make this year will be in interest. That?’s too high but we don?’t have the money to pay down the principal.

The common theme in all of this is that we don?’t have the money to do what we as a city need to do. We can?’t pave our roads, we guess about location of our pipes, we can?’t build a pool much less a community center, we?’re short on police officers and we can?’t pay down our debt. No one is at fault, these are just the facts, and these FACTS SCARE THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME.?”


Jeff, man I feel for you man. I am scare of snakes. Never know where they are at and then you roll over and there the damn thing is.