Politics goes on. It has always been biased, its objectives to bring power, influence, financial gain to those who participate but only if done on the right side. Integrity, honesty, responsibility to country, state, city, and the citizens who reside there is a thing of the past. Good stewardship to citizens is dead.
On the national scene we are governed by a president who is of doubtful citizenship, Barack Obama, who is unfit to serve in that office because of his inability, or refusal, to prove his citizenship, has disregarded the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence, has openly declared his preference of Communism over a republican type of government, and is supported by Congress which follows his lead without question.
New Philadelphia has watched the debacle in Washington and learned its lesson well. The present circumstances could be the basis for an Orwellian book titled “The Day the Idiots Took the Asylum”. Consider the recent past. New Philadelphia is in serious financial trouble. The mayor, Michael Taylor, for whatever reason, we’re not privy to what, resigned half way through his second term effective the end of December last year. That, of course left the city with no mayor, a situation that could only be remedied by the Tuscarawas Democratic Central Committee meeting and appointing a replacement to fill out the last two years of Taylor’s unfinished term. Meet they did and on January 9, by a vote of nine of the 16 eligible committee members, the Democratic Central Committee elected David Johnson Mayor of the City of New Philadelphia, a remarkable choice.
Johnson has had experience in city positions in the past, City Council President and City Treasurer, both jobs as the result of successful election bids. As city treasurer Johnson did not finish his four-year term but resigned after a state audit of the city’s books. His experience as treasurer was marred by a lack of presenting to city council monthly reports on the state of the city’s finances, as required by law, and difficulty in balancing the city’s books with statements from banks in which city funds are deposited. This is spooky as a major part of the mayor’s job is administering the city budget.
One of the first decisions made by Johnson as mayor of New Philadelphia, was to express opposition to retaining Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) to administer, and enforce, New Philadelphia’s income taxes. RITA is an agency established by the state under the Ohio Revised Code, Chapter 167, to provide assistance to cities in Ohio with their tax collection. RITA does it all. It calculates taxes due, checks to make sure full payment is made, goes after delinquent tax payers, or non-payers as the case may be. RITA will represent the city in actions which require going to court to collect taxes not paid.
This assistance does not come for free. RITA charges two-and-a-half percent of the total amount of taxes collected, for an estimated cost of $151,000 a year in comparison to the income tax office current operating budget of $240,000 per annum, an annual saving in excess of $90,000.
Mayor Johnson doesn’t like this for a couple of reasons.
He says that it could cost jobs, and the city should be hiring people instead of laying them off. Currently there are four people working in the tax office, an administrator who was hired as a temporary employee and knows it, two full time clerks and a part-timer. One full-time clerk is retiring, the part-timer will probably be let go no matter what happens.
Johnson’s second complaint is that there aren’t many cities getting involved with RITA. I don’t know where he got his figures. Since 2008, 92 municipalities have signed on with RITA. To name a few there are Willoughby, Kent, Gahanna, Loveland, Cleveland Heights, North Ridgeville, and Painesville. Conversations with communities using RITA over a number of years give RITA excellent ratings including the cities of Freemont, Lyndhurst, Middlesburg Heights, Streetsboro, Tallmadge, and Broadview Heights.
It has been rumored that there are taxpayers in New Philadelphia, some of whom are major businesses within the city, who are not paying their taxes at all, and the money is being lost to the city because the city does not actively pursue and prosecute them. RITA will seek these people out, prosecute them if necessary to collect back taxes, increase New Philadelphia’s revenue, and do it with a $90,000 savings to city expenses.
And Mayor Johnson doesn’t seem to get it.
What’s coming next? Executive orders from Mayor Johnson?
