Hamilton council passes mayor’s budget with tax cuts

HAMILTON >> Mayor Kelly Yaede proposed a 2019 municipal tax cut earlier this year and now expresses satisfaction with Hamilton Council making it a reality.

“I’m pleased they supported the tax cut I proposed to council,” the Republican mayor said Wednesday in a statement, “for it gives Hamiltonians the tax break they deserve.”

The Democratic-led Hamilton Council amended Yaede’s budget plan with a few adjustments but the adopted budget still calls for approximately $107.3 million in spending and preserves a 1.25 percent reduction to the municipal purpose tax rate.

Council passed the budget in a 4-1 vote, with Republican Councilwoman Ileana Schirmer opposing the measure.

“I am just not comfortable with this,” she said at Tuesday’s council meeting. “I don’t like the games that were played with this.”

Republican Councilman Ralph Mastrangelo said he was “comfortable with the budget” but wishes Hamilton Council supported a $175,000 capital project that would have funded a $125,000 fence and $50,000 in parking lot enhancements at the police department. The police department for years has wanted the security fence, but Hamilton Council has never funded it.

The three Democrats on Hamilton Council all supported the budget after tinkering with it.

“This is a much better budget than what we got at the start of April,” Democratic Hamilton Council President Jeff Martin, a 2019 mayoral candidate, said at Tuesday’s council meeting. “It’s a budget that has been cleaned up some.”

Council also amended Yaede’s 2019 sewer budget plan with a few adjustments before adopting it. Martin said he was “far more comfortable” with the amended sewer budget. “It’s a budget I am

comfortable voting with that I am happy to vote yes on.”

The Democrats issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying the budget they adopted enacts a tax decrease, improves public safety by adding an additional township police officer, reduces new debt by nearly $900,000 and amends the sewer budget to “ensure that taxpayer resources are being properly allocated.”

Yaede on Wednesday said Hamilton Council ultimately “agreed” with her sewer budget plan after their “much ado about nothing” protest. The adopted sewer budget still calls for almost $17.8 million in total appropriations, showing Hamilton Council did not want to drastically change the bottom line despite voicing strong concerns over Yaede’s original sewer budget proposal.