City Warns, No Tax Hike, More Cuts

The City of Columbus has warned that if a proposed hike in the income tax is not approved on Aug. 4, more cuts will be made. Here is a list of the proposed cuts in city services.

• Eight more recreation-center closings would leave just 10 of 30 in operation.

• After-school programs, including Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s “Capital Kids” initiative, would lose all city funding. The Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corp. would need to seek money from other sources to provide summer jobs for young people.

• Health services would be slashed, including the city’s sole dental clinic, a women’s health clinic and funding to support neighborhood health centers.

• Bulk trash pickup would end. Elimination of a city subsidy would likely kill a new fee-based yard-waste service. And the head of the Public Service Department said every-other-week trash pickup could become possible.

The Columbus Dispatch

There are always going to be those who say the city should have managed its money better. Anyone who looks hard enough can find isolated incidents where the city could have been more frugal.

But to suggest the city is at fault is to ignore what has happened over the last eight years. The previous administration started two wars (one under false pretenses), gave a tax break that benefited the rich over the middle class, and allowed business to run roughshod over regulatory rules. The fiscal crisis started by the Bush administration has now trickled down to the states and then to the cities. The problem is in Ohio the cities and the state have to balance their budgets. The federal government does not and under the Bush administration they did not.

Believe me, I have already seen the city promise and then make cuts to programs. I have seen people lose their jobs and citizens not receive needed services. These are not scare tactics. If this income tax is not passed, the city will make these cuts and the quality of life in Columbus will suffer for everyone.

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