The city has looked at this issue from every direction, and reviewed a number of approaches with the 34 member citizen Budget Review Committee. It was concluded that this approach, which has the full support of the Budget Review Committee, is the most balanced and appropriate way to spread the impact over the broadest base of residents, yet in the smallest way possible

Thereupon, it was moved by Vice Mayor Byington and seconded by Mr. Stephens that the ordinance be passed.

Mayor Duncan invited Bill Frapwell, co-chair of the Budget Review Committee, to say a few words.

Mr. Frapwell stated that no one wants to pay more taxes, but when the facts were presented to the Budget Review Committee, the committee felt the 90% compromise would be the best course of action moving forward.

Mayor Duncan read the following statement into the record:

“I support this ordinance and, if approved by City Council tonight, the reduced credit option will stabilize our financial situation, provide for future city property tax renewals only (no new city property taxes) and protect our city from revenue losses if surrounding cities increase their income tax rates. It also endorses the financial stewardship of our city staff who work tirelessly on behalf of all our residents.

All members of City Council appreciate the advice and counsel from our 35 member Budget Review Committee. The have been instrumental in assisting our City Council and city staff with our financial challenges over the past seven years. We appreciate their support of our 2018 budget and the tax credit limitation ordinance.

It is important to understand how we arrived at this point.

In my 2012 State of the City address, I noted that there are people in the Ohio General Assembly and the current administration who do not agree with the right of Oakwood and other charter cities throughout Ohio to provide services under the “home rule” provisions of the Ohio constitution, provisions which were established over 100 years ago. They believe there are too many local governments and school districts in Ohio and plan to force local government and school district consolidation by reducing our revenue streams. My comments then were prescient.

In 1935, after a two year debate, local governments and school districts reduced local property taxes by 1/3 in exchange for a 3% state sales tax, 40% of which would go to the Local Government Fund (LGF).

In 2010 the Governor and the Ohio General Assembly broke its 75 year covenant with local governments by keeping the majority of the LGF for themselves. Local governments were no longer partners with the State but instead expenditures which needed to be eliminated.

Effective January 1, 2013 the State of Ohio eliminated the Ohio estate tax, 80% of which benefited local governments. At the time, this accounted for about 20% of our revenue. Current and former Oakwood City Councils prudently used these funds to build our Public Works facility, renovate and improve our city building, acquire the Old River playing fields, allowed a city property tax issue to expire, increased our operating reserves and ensured no city debt for future generations.

In 2013 and 2014 we fought and were unsuccessful in opposing H.B.5. This poorly written legislation by lobbyists for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants did not promote municipal tax uniformity, did not reduce complexity for business and did not create jobs. We commended our State Representative Jim Butler and our State Senator Peggy Lehner for opposing this legislation.

In December 2014, I reported to the citizens of Oakwood, “It is now clear the Ohio General Assembly is not our partner in providing services to the citizens of Ohio. They are, in fact, an existential threat to local governments. We are very concerned that the next General Assembly will continue their assault on local governments. We know they want to eliminate municipal income taxes entirely or, absent that, eliminate our ability to collect taxes locally and set our own rates and credits for taxes paid to other cities.”

Like clockwork, in 2017 the General Assembly passed centralized municipal tax collection for certain businesses. We testified, to no avail, that the entire purpose of this