Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Stupid is as stupid gets

Posted in: PATA
Well folks I got the call this evening. I speak of the $12,500 phone survey to determine why the income tax levy went down in flames last November.

1. They asked me at least three times if I would support an income tax increase from 1% to 2% I think three times. My answer was NO!!!!!!!!!!!

Reason they never qualified the question with what they would offer as a tax credit.

2. They tried out the campaign slogan of if I was impressed that the city had not raised its income tax for 30 years. That is frankly a damn stupid question.

3. They asked me if I would support a tax increase if I knew the city debt was $50 Million. I told the lady that was a lie. The general fund is not $50 million in debt.

4. They seemed to be preoccupied with parks and rec. I lost count of the number of questions referring to cuts in the parks and rec. department and only one in safety services.

They asked my why I didn?’t support the income tax last November. My answer was that the city was all over the place and in short they were confused. First they asked for $1.7 Million then it was $3 million. They came up with needs that I don?’t see a need for. This needs list looked more like a Christmas wish list. This was prior to any cuts being made. Now they claim they have cut over $1.9 million from the budget but these cuts were from a budget made up and based on revenues they thought they would receive if the income tax were increased to 2% passed. Basically our city government is lying to us.

One question that floored me and it must have came right out of the Fix play book. Would I support increasing the income tax from 1% to 2% if I knew that it would not raise the taxes on the majority of the tax payers. I told the lady I didn?’t really care about the other tax payers. I would vote based on what it did to MY tax bill.

Folks based on these questions tonight I will say that the next income tax increase or revenue enhancement will not do any better than the last one. A
Lost cause

It sounds like we (taxpayers) have wasted $18,000. Judging by the repeat questions (original questions answered in November) this council will emerge from their retreat and they will still have 7 different opinions of what they should do about the revenues for the city. All based on what they perceived from this survey. They will pick out their arguments and we will be in the very same position as we are today. There is no amount of counseling from an outside source that will erase that fact.
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