The Pickerington City Council approved the final reading of an ordinance Aug. 19 directing the staff to spend $10,000 on literature to educate voters regarding the November income tax issue.
If the measure is approved in November, it would essentially raise the income tax of the people who work in Pickerington from 1 percent to 2 percent. Most residents of Pickerington would pay no additional taxes because they work in Columbus.
Resident Brian Fox urged the council to vote against the ordinance.
"Please vote down (the ordinance)," Fox said. "It is unnecessary and contradicts the argument that we’ve got no money for police or to pave streets.
"All of a sudden we have $10,000 to spend on a political campaign? People predisposed to vote for the tax will vote against it."
Councilwoman Cristie Hammond said the mailer is necessary to "explain the purpose of the tax (including) who will pay and who won’t" because not all residents visit the Web site and the local papers have not clearly explained the issue.
"I have not understood everything (the newspapers) have said and I know what the (tax ordinance) is supposed to say," Hammond said.
Sabatino disagreed and mentioned the possibility of a referendum.
"I am a business man and have spent money to make additional money for myself, but we are talking a little different issue when spending tax dollars," Sabatino said.
"(The mailer) is not a good use of taxpayers’ money. We can’t forget the rights of the people and our duty to be as responsible to them as we can."
Wisniewski said he asked the board of elections how much it would cost if a referendum led to a special election.
He was told almost $20 to resolve a $10,000 issue.
