City Council Members: Quarter-Cent Income Tax Repeal In The Works

Twinsburg officials are busy paving the way for a possible repeal of the 2009 quarter-cent income tax increase.

Council members have been saying that putting the repeal before voters is a priority this year, and said at last week's council meeting that Law Director David Maistros is currently drawing up legislation to bring before council.

Repealing the tax would require voter approval.

Income tax collections in 2012 were about $23 million, said Twinsburg Finance Director Karen Howse last week. In 2011, collections were nearly $20 million.

Councilman Seth Rodin, now the council president, told the Twinsburg Bulletin that the decision whether to repeal the tax will be a top issue for city council in 2013.

Like Rodin, other council members are in favor of the idea of repealing the tax increase, but others want to tread carefully to make sure they don't make a decision that causes future financial problems for the city.

The tax was initially approved to help bolster city revenues after the Chrysler plant shut down, dealing a big hit to the city finances. But council members have talked about repealing that tax once the city stabilized its books.

What do you think? Would you like to see the .25-percent income tax increase repealed?