By Jeff Gallatin
Westshore
Bay Village Mayor Debbie Sutherland is scheduled to meet today in Columbus with other members of a statewide coalition in their continuing effort to avoid further state erosion of municipal finance control.
Sutherland earlier this year became a member of the coalition of state and local government officials, business groups and others interested in the issues surrounding the consideration of an idea by Gov. John Kasich as well as other members of his administration and the Ohio legislature about possibly having the state take over collection of municipal income taxes. Another important part of the discussion for both coalition and state officials are streamlining regulations and methods of income tax collection from businesses.
Sutherland said the coalition is working on putting its thoughts and concerns into a more cohesive presentation.
?We?re still working on our thoughts and ideas, but we have no problem with streamlining the process and making it easier,? Sutherland said. ?We would support anything which can make the process easier, but not while sacrificing control of it to the state or losing significant income. But I?ll note it?s already difficult enough for individuals, businesses and municipalities. We don?t want the process to become any more difficult than it already is. And, the cities have already taken enough of a hit from the state in recent years on their finances.?
Sutherland said the coalition is still keeping a wary eye on the possibility of cities losing revenues through the state taking control of local income tax collection by centralizing it through a state-run system or changing the regulations and methods of collection.
?From our perspective, we simply can?t afford to lose any more money or revenue sources because of state action,? she said. ?The estate tax is going and the local government fund has taken major hits because of state actions. Couple that with the still-questionable state of the economy and other revenue sources still being in trouble and we?re all still struggling with our budgets.?
Sutherland, who represents Northeast Ohio in the group, said the group also is aware that there are other competing interests.
?There?s at least one other group which is also looking at the issues and what could be done,? she said.
Mike Young, chairman of Bay Village City Council?s Finance Committee, said he?s glad Sutherland is working on the issue.
?I?m very glad to have her there, representing not only our city, but Northeast Ohio,? he said. ?She is very knowledgeable about the subject and is committed to doing what?s best for the cities. We?ve had to make some very difficult budget decisions in the city and we?re going to have to continue to do that. It?s by no means over. She?ll represent us well, which is good because this is important for all of us.?
Rocky River Mayor Pam Bobst agreed that concerns about income tax are prevalent throughout the Westshore and Northeast Ohio.
?We?ve set a meeting in October (of the West Shore Council of Governments) of the mayors and finance directors to discuss income tax issues and how to work on them together,? she said. ?We?re supportive of finding ways to make it easier for businesses, that would benefit us all. But we also have to find ways so that we?re not harmed by any other loss of money from income.?
Bobst said area cities want to make sure they and their residents are treated fairly in whatever changes are made.
?We want a seat at the table for all of this,? she said. ?Different cities have different needs, and we would want to make sure that it is represented and taken into account.?
She said making sure every city has the exact same process for collecting income tax would not be a good idea because of the aforementioned different needs.
?Standardizing the process completely would alter how some communities are run,? she said. ?What about the communities where a certain percentage of the income tax is dedicated to specific service or function? Taking that away from them by standardizing the process would be bad for them. Different communities have different rates; any changes would need to be cognizant of that, because they?ve set those rates for different needs.?
Both Sutherland and Bobst said they anticipate much discussion on the issue in coming months.
?I expect to be in Columbus a lot over this,? Sutherland said. ?We?re going to protect our communities as best we can.?
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Source: http://westlife.northcoastnow.com/sutherland-continuing-fight-over-cities-income-tax-concerns/
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