Wickliffe income tax increase to appear on Nov. 7 ballot

“We wanted to make sure that we put money towards capital improvement. We hope to see both of these issues pass.” — Wickliffe Mayor William Margalis

Wickliffe Mayor William Margalis is asking voters to approve two issues that will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot.

One is a proposed income tax increase from 2 to 2.5 percent and the other is a charter amendment that outlines the use of the proceeds from the municipal income tax.

The charter amendment will specify that 25 percent of the proceeds from the increase will go towards the capital improvement fund, which focuses on capital projects including infrastructure and equipment purchases.

Margalis said the charter amendment would only go in eefect if the city collects more than 2 percent in income tax.

“We wanted to make sure that we put money towards capital improvement,” he said. “We hope to see both of these issues pass.”

If approved by voters, the tax increase would raise about $2 million annually for city services.

The proposed increase only affects earned income. It does not apply to people receiving a pension or Social Security, he said.

Margalis said Wickliffe also offers a 100 percent reciprocity. Therefore, the city provides a 100 percent credit up to 2 percent for taxes paid to the municipality where a resident works. If a resident pays at least 2 percent to another municipality, Wickliffe does not assess any additional income tax on that individual.

With the proposed tax increase, if 2 percent is paid to another municipality, then 0.5 percent will be owed to Wickliffe.

Similar to several other communities, Wickliffe has suffered a loss in revenue from state reductions since 2011.

“It came to about $1.3 million,” the mayor said.

Over the years, Wickliffe has tried many things to save costs including reducing staffing, charging for trash pick-up and eliminating fireworks, he said. The elimination of the fireworks show saved the city about $25,000.

To add to the city’s financial challenges, ABB announced in January that they will be moving from Wickliffe, which will result in $900,000 less in revenue.

“We don’t have any safety, road or recreation levies,” Margalis said. “I believe we’re the only city in Lake County that doesn’t.”

On the other hand, Wickliffe is the first city in the county to ask for an income tax increase from 2 percent to 2.5 percent.

The mayor did say there are many cities in Cuyahoga County and throughout the state that has income taxes over 2 percent.

Other options were presented to City Council including decreasing the reciprocity or adding a levy to the ballot.

However, since Wickliffe Schools will be presenting levies to the community in the future, Margalis said the city did not want to be in competition with the district.

After exploring various options, City Council decided that the proposed tax increase will be best for the city.

There are 8,561 registered voters in Wickliffe, according to the Lake County Elections Board.