Gahanna supports income tax change

Gahanna City Council heard from residents for more than an hour Monday at a standing-room-only public hearing about a proposed change to the city’s income tax credit to help fund the budget, with many decrying potential cuts to pools and parks.

The council wants to reduce the city’s credit for income tax paid to Columbus or other cities where Gahanna residents work because the revenue the city generates has been lagging expenditures, officials say.

The city expects a $2.9 million budget shortfall in 2019. Gahanna has until Jan. 28 to approve its budget for the year.

Several residents spoke in favor of reducing the city’s income tax credit but want the council to earmark any new revenue to prevent proposed cuts for the city’s pools and parks and recreation that they say are an important part of their lives.

Victoria Nye, who said she’s worked as a lifeguard at the pool and is now an Otterbein University student, asked council to reconsider the amount of money it’s considering for road repairs and in favor of programming at the pools and parks.

“I feel like we should be choosing people over potholes,” she said.

Others spoke in opposition to a cost-saving proposal that calls for the city’s senior center to become a multigenerational recreation facility.

Some residents suggested that city leaders push to put a proposed income-tax increase back on the ballot, saying it wasn’t clear before a proposed 1 percent hike narrowly failed in the November election which city services could face cuts.

During an emotional speech about his efforts to get the November ballot measure approved, City Councilman Michael Schnetzer asked attendees to raise their hands if they wouldn’t merely vote for another income-tax proposal, but would work to get it passed.

A vast majority of the more than 50 people in the audience raised their hands.

Earlier, when City Council President Brian Metzbower asked how many people in attendance didn’t support putting another proposal on the ballot, only one person raised a hand.