Tonight, Massillon City Council will be voting on Auditor Jayne Ferrero's plan to raise the city's income tax, in an effort to deal with the city's extraordinary budget shortfall.
Even should council approve this measure, it would be up to Massillon voters to approve this tax hike in November.
We can't imagine the good people of Massillon raising their income taxes to provide their city government, who has squandered their tax dollars on a hotel, an arena that was never built, a golf course that won't be paid off until 2032, un-voted annual pay raises for their elected officials, and now a senior housing project where the owner collects the rents and we pay the mortgage, with more money.
We just don't see it.
What could possibly be the campaign slogan for an income tax increase?
'If you give us more money we won't waste it as badly as we have been'
Put that on a bumper sticker.
Besides, the person most responsible for this financial mess, Massillon's Extraordinary Mayor for 153 days, opposes the tax hike.
At least "officially."
And why does he oppose it?
The cynical amongst us would speculate that he plans on making a political comeback, and wants to leave the biggest mess possible for his successor.
But we know the truth.
We know that the "dollars will be there."
"I feel confident the dollars will be there to make it through this year and we'll have the dollars to make it through next year" (Frank Cicchinelli, The Independent, July 6, 2010).
See?
We don't need a tax increase. The 'dollars will be there.'
