Avon Lake income-tax increase is necessary

Avon Lake's roads could use some work. So, too, could the growing city's stormwater infrastructure. None of that work comes cheap, which is why Avon Lake officials are asking voters to approve a 0.4 percent earned-income-tax increase that appears on the May ballot as Issue 13. Were Issue 13 to pass, the city's income tax would rise from 1.5 percent to 1.9 percent. (The city's income tax rate has been the same since 1992, Avon Lake Mayor Mark Spaetzel told us last week.) The roughly $6.6 million that the tax increase is expected to generate each year would be poured into improving the city's aging infrastructure, including roads. (The increase would be in place for five years unless voters renewed it.) For example, about 47 percent of the city's roads are rated as good or excellent, while the other 53 percent are rated as fair or failed, Spaetzel said. As most homeowners recognize, the longer a repair is put off, the greater the problem tends to become and the more expensive it is to fix. The same goes for roads, catch basins or any number of other infrastructure repairs. "All infrastructure ages," Spaetzel said. "We've got to keep up with that." Avon Lake officials have promised that a minimum of 65 percent of the money from the income-tax increase would be devoted to repairing the 112 miles of roads the city is responsible for maintaining. The remaining money would be used to pay for stormwater management projects, equipment and payments on debt related to capital improvements, according to the city's website. Spaetzel said the city needs to do work on catch basins and outflows that send stormwater runoff into Lake Erie. Avon Lake officials aren't blind to the difficulties of passing a tax increase at a time when affordability is a key kitchen-table issue and voters are frustrated by rising property taxes, a trend that has been driven by rising property values. That's why the city is offering voters a way to soften the financial blow. If voters do pass Issue 13, the city would halt collection of money generated by a 1.5-mill property tax levy that was renewed last year. That levy generates around $1.1 million annually, which goes into the city's general fund budget. It costs the owner of a home valued at $100,000 about $23 per year, according to a calculator on the city's website. Someone earning $50,000 per year would pay $200 annually were Issue 13 to pass. Obviously ending collection of the property tax wouldn't completely make up for the increase in the city's income tax, but it does show that city officials are mindful of the financial pressures residents are facing. The city itself faces the same pressures. Spaetzel said city officials have looked to cut costs and improve efficiency, but there's only so much those steps can do, which is why he argued the income-tax increase was necessary. "The cost of doing business, as everybody knows, has gone up with inflation," Spaetzel said. Voters also should be aware that were Issue 13 to pass, the tax increase wouldn't impact retirement income from Social Security, pensions or annuities. It also wouldn't be subject to local income-tax reciprocity with other communities. Residents would pay for the increase whether they work in the city or not. Spaetzel told us that roughly 75 percent of Avon Lake residents who hold jobs work outside the city. The city has offered a reasonable way to pay for necessary repairs. Voters should take the offer and cast their ballots in favor of Issue 13.