WIN THAT LOTTERY-----BUT BE QUICK ABOUT IT!

On September 15^th Finance Director Joe Filippo let Council in on proposed changes to the city’s Income Tax Ordinance (Chapter 111).
Filippo explained:

"The state legislature wanted to make taxes uniform throughout the state.
RITA (the Regional Income Tax Agency) and CCA and others (municipal tax collection agencies) fought a lot of what the state wanted to do, including having the state in charge of tax collections.

The bill (passed by the legislature) makes a lot of items uniform throughout the state.”

The good news according to Filippo:

"Many (of the required changes) don’t effect us cash-wise."

Filippo wanted to give Council a heads up because the city has to become compliant with the new tax law by December 31, 2015.
To do that, Council will have to pass a set of new Income Tax Ordinances this fall.

One change that may impact taxpayers and the city alike: 

Our state legislators raised the bar for receiving a tax refund.  

While previously taxpayers were paid if they were owed at least a $1 refund, beginning in 2016 only refunds $10 or greater will be paid out.
The city gets to hold onto refund money under that amount.

One potential money loser for the city: occasional worker taxes

The old tax rule required non-residents who worked in the city for at least 12 days to pay tax on all of the income they earned in the city.

Starting in January 2016, however, non-residents won’t be subject to tax unless they work at least 20 days in the city and the first 20 days of income will be tax-free.

And, oh yes, some extra advice for our Finance Director:

If you are going to hit it big in the lottery, be sure to do it in 2015

Current Ordinance 111.0318 includes“lottery winnings of one million dollars ($1,000,000) or more” in taxable income.
Smaller lottery winnings, anything under $1 million, have been tax free, at least for city income taxes purposes.

The new state law, though, doesn’t contain a minimum threshold for taxing lottery winnings

Since the city’s taxing ordinance has to match the terms that our state legislators have dictated, that means come January 1^st every dollar of lottery winnings will be subject to city income tax.

UNIQUE CAMPAIGN LITERATURE?

Campaign signs are beginning to sprout up in the city.

I have to wonder if some people are a bit confused about municipal boundary lines

There surely do seem to be a plethora of signs for Mayfield Village candidates planted in Highland Heights front yards.

One intriguing piece of what appears to be campaign literature was just forwarded to me.
It was mailed to a a local resident:

The Heritage Home Program’s website (http://heritagehomeprogram.org) states:

"We partner with Cuyahoga County, Lucas County, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, and the Treasurer of State of Ohio to "buy down" the interest rate in order to make home rehab more affordable. ….
Over 20 years after the Program's inception, we have provided 9,000 homeowners with helpful technical advice on over $200 million in projects. Additionally, our program has facilitated over 1,200 low interest loans on projects totaling over $46 million in neighborhood reinvestment.”

The website lists the communities who offer Program services to their residents.
Highland Heights is listed as one of the Program's “Participating Communities".

So actually it is the City of Highland Heights that operates "in partnership" with the Heritage Homes Program….not "Mayor Coleman"

And if truth be told, at the Council meetings I attended at least, I recall the biggest and loudest booster of the program as being not Mayor Scott Coleman but Council President Cathy Murphy.

And, of course, it was the Highland Heights City Council who took action and passed the legislation enabling Highland Heights residents with 50+  year old homes to participate in the Program.
The mayor just signed that legislation once it was adopted.

 So what gives?

I’m scratching my head here.
It’s hard to believe there is some sort of quid pro quo involved----but the question remains:

Why the big glossy card, sent out during campaign season, lauding partnership with the mayor, by name?

Whatever the reality, it certainly might strike some residents as a political endorsement.
Which raises another question:

Do you suppose the mayor will list the Heritage Home organization as a contributor when he turns in his next campaign finance report?

As always, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

GOODBYE AND HELLO

GOODBYE: BUILDING INSPECTOR GEORGE WILSON
Council President Cathy Murphy read a Resolution of Appreciation at the Sept. 8th Council meeting, lauding newly retired George Wilson for his 32 years of service to the city.
Wilson had a cheering section of family members in attendance.
Mayor Scott Coleman later reported that he was in the process of interviewing possible replacement candidates and would request an executive session in the near future, to "discuss compensation" for the position.

HELLO PATROLMAN JEFFREY BALDREY
The mayor swore in the city's newest patrolman at the same Council meeting.
He is new to us, but not new to the profession.
Mr. Baldrey began his career with the Painesville Police Department in 2002.
After listing some of our newest patrolman's many accomplishments, Police Chief Jim Cook commented:

We are lucky to get him here.
He's an example of why we wanted to move the (qualification) age up from 35 to 40.

HELLO GLEAMING BEAUTY
Sitting in the parking lot outside the Council Chamber was the city's newest snowplow.

It's a brine truck---outfitted to spray a liquid salt solution as road salt is dropped, allowing better salt adhesion to winter roads.

Service Director Thom Evans did not disclose whether he's still seeking to spray processed frack drilling refuse "production water" on city streets this winter or whether he'd settle for using regular old salt & water brine.

The fancy new plow brought to mind a newspaper article I read recently, discussing one downside of the frack drilling craze.("Regulators Act to Ease Quake Peril in Oklahoma", N.Y. Times, 8/5/15).
Frack drilling uses lots and lots of water, sand and chemicals to fracture shale rock deep underground.
That results in lots of contaminated "production" wastewater that needs to be disposed of.
Some energy companies have been pumping the stuff in "disposal" or "injection wells"---which, in some areas like Oklahoma and our own Youngstown, has triggered earthquakes.
Affected states are trying to put an end to that practice.

That has pushed energy companies to try to come up with other ways to (cheaply) get rid of frack drilling wastewater----including selling purportedly "purified" production water as snow removal liquid brine.

Is that something you want our Service Department to be spreading on your street this winter?

If not, you need to talk to your favorite Council person ASAP...

Otherwise that stuff may be seeping into your tree lawn come spring

LABOR DAY:TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK

Labor Day marks the end to Council’s month-long recess.

First up on the Sept. 8^th Agenda: a Resolution of Appreciation honoring the city’s long-time Building Inspector, George Wilson.

Wilson, who is retiring, worked for the city for 32 years.

WHAT’S THE “EMERGENCY”?

Also on the agenda for this week's Council meeting:
A first reading of an ordinance, proposed by Mayor Scott Coleman, allowing the city to sell or “dispos(e)” of “no longer needed” city property “by way of internet advertising and auction”.

Two things caught my eye.

First, although proposed legislation is almost always listed as being sponsored by “Mayor Scott. E. Coleman and Council as a Whole”…the mayor appears to be standing alone on this one.
According to the Agenda posted online this morning, he’s the legislation’s sole sponsor.

Second, the mayor has designated this as “emergency” legislation---a designation which carries significant legal significance.
I have to ask:

What’s the emergency?

Will the City run out of money if this property isn’t sold, auctioned-off or “disposed” of ASAP?

Will the company sponsoring the internet auction site go under if they don’t receive City hand-me-downs right away?

The Agenda doesn’t disclose what dire necessity has prompted the mayor to “declar(e) and emergency” in connection with this piece of proposed legislation.
Guess I'll have to go the Council meeting to find out.

ONGOING LITIGATION:
THE MONSTER DECK

The litigation arising from a huge Rutland Drive deck installed 11 feet from a rear property line continues to move forward in the common pleas court downtown.
The deck owners---who didn’t obtain a permit before beginning construction and who never appealed a May 14, 2014 Tear Down Order issued by Building Commissioner Dale Grabfelder---have taken a “no compromise” stand with regard to the deck.
 
They took comfort when---even after acknowledging that proper permitting procedures were not followed---the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission and Zoning Appeals Boards (in split decisions) ruled in their favor…

the majority’s hilarious reasoning being that the city’s 40 foot setback for decks didn’t apply because the after-built, freestanding deck was placed next to an above ground pool.

 The deck neighbors filed the lawsuit, an obvious necessity to protect themselves and the only way, at this point, to get the City to enforce the permit and zoning laws as written….

laws which, in this case apparently, some city officials had no interest in respecting, obeying or enforcing

Zoning laws promote and preserve the high quality residential life that Highland Heights residents expect and enjoy. 
They are intended to protect every resident from overcrowded lots, noise pollution and the like.

Rather than admitting the City’s mistake(s), Mayor Scott Coleman, with Council’s approval and consent, decided to fight the lawsuit.

Taxpayers are now footing the bill as the City defends itself against a situation, entirely of its own creation.
And fight it has.

The City (in conjunction with the deck owners and their attorney) tried to have the case thrown out on the ground that proper procedures weren’t followed. 

The court said no

Next up: an attempt to limit the material the court considers.
It turns out that although it was a hotly contested zoning issue and zoning hearings are digitally recorded via computer, the City didn’t file copies of the hearing recordings with the court.
Instead the record the City filed with the court included summary “Minutes”, prepared by a clerk and approved by the zoning bodies themselves.
There is some question, apparently, about whether the City even preserved the hearing recordings.

Something it should have done because---as shown by the fact that the City posted police officers at the doorway during the zoning hearings---the City was well aware that the dispute might lead to litigation.

The City’s sparse filing prompted the neighbors to ask the court for permission to expand the record and file additional material relevant to the case.
 The City (and deck owners) opposed that request. 

The Court granted it

After the supplemental material was filed----which included sworn affidavits, city Building Department records and Google Earth photographs of pools and decks currently erected in the city----the City (and deck owners) filed a motion to strike.
They called the affidavits “gibberish,” asserted that the Google Earth images had “absolutely no bearing” on the issue at hand, and claimed that the material, in general, went “far beyond the scope” of the court’s supplementation order.

The Court said no, it would let the material stay in the record

Next up: briefing on the “merits,” which should (finally) set the stage for a legal ruling in the case.
That could happen this fall as the neighbors’ brief is due at the end of the month…

Unless, of course, the City comes up with another taxpayer-financed avoidance and/or stall tactic