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proposedsolution@marysvilleohio.org.
A Message From Mayor
Schmenk and Marysville City Council
A Plan to Protect Marysville's Future
There's no better place to live, work and raise a family than in Marysville. That's why Ohio Magazine named our City one of the five best hometowns in Ohio! We are indeed fortunate to enjoy strong city services and public amenities that provide a wonderful quality of life and make our community a great place to call home.
However, our city faces challenges that could alter our quality of life and change our city as we know it today. Even without all the positives here in Marysville, we are at a crossroads. As a community, we are facing one of the most important issues that will determine the direction of our city's future.
The quality of life we do enjoy here in Marysville is not by happenstance. Rather, it is the result of good planning, budget-conscious decision-making and an un-wavering commitment by city employees and officials to provide the best public services throughout our city. We know that providing our citizens with the best safety forces, excellent parks and recreation opportunities, and the highest levels of every day city services like street maintenance, leaf pickup and snow removal requires constant attention and management.
The city's ability to continue to provide these day-to-day city services to our citizens is at risk. The good news is that there is a well-thought-out solution that will protect our future and keep our city moving forward. A key element of the proposed solution - a change in the city's income tax rate - includes the necessary investment to bring our safety services - police, fire and municipal court -- to the levels needed to not only protect our quality of life here in Marysville, but to protect our families and our homes and businesses.
To learn more about Marysville's needs and challenges, the proposed income tax solution, and how the proposed solution will impact you, please select from the following links. Also, to learn about these issues first hand, sign up for a free 1-hour tour of our police and fire divisions and our municipal court.
While we work to provide the best levels of basic city services possible within our budget, doing so and maintaining Marysville's long-term financial health and stability has become a greater challenge in recent years. As with most communities throughout central Ohio, and even the country, our basic expenditures are outpacing our revenues despite our best efforts to cut costs while maintaining quality service levels.
Like most Ohio cities, the majority of our revenues are derived from income taxes, and Marysville's income tax revenues account for 60% of the City's revenue stream. The current 1 percent city income tax rate for general public services has not increased since it was established over 40 years ago, in 1968. Today, our current local income tax structure does not provide enough revenues to maintain our infrastructure and to provide the quality level of day-to-day city services Marysville residents rightfully expect and deserve - especially in the areas of safety services including our Fire Division, our Police Division and our Municipal Court.
Since 2002, significant deficiencies have been identified in facilities, resources and staffing in our Fire and Police Divisions and Municipal Court. To protect our community and all our citizens, we need to refurbish our fire station in the core of the city built in 1934 (with a 1973 addition) and build a second station to help reduce emergency response times. Our Police officers do not have basic and adequate resources to do the important job they are being asked to do 24/7. A new building is needed to address these needs and jointly house the Police Division and our Municipal Court.
Like any well-run business would, the City did its research and, with the assistance of safety service experts and a 22-member-citizens advisory committee, completed an in-depth analysis and financial review. As a result, we are proposing a change in the city income tax rate to allow Marysville to maintain its current level of city services, as well as address our serious safety service needs to protect our entire community. If approved by voters, Marysville's income tax rate will increase one half of one percent - from the current 1.0 percent to 1.5 percent.
First, under the proposed income tax plan, Marysville residents who are retired or who are on a fixed income would not be impacted at all financially. If approved, all Social Security, company pensions, dividends & interest income would continue to be exempt from the city's income tax.
Marysville residents and those working in Marysville will pay an additional $5 for every $1,000 of earned income. For example, a person earning $50,000 a year would pay an additional $250 a year, or about $21 a month.
The proposed plan to increase Marysville's income tax rate one half of one percent - from 1 percent to 1.5 percent - would raise an additional $4.1 million per year in revenues to:
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Upgrade the current fire house; build a second fire station; provide ongoing maintenance and operating costs, including 9 additional firefighters.
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Secure an efficient police station and court facility; provide basic and adequate resources for law enforcement; and keep police officers on the streets to safeguard our neighborhoods.
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Maintain current levels of city services for all Marysville residents such as street and sidewalk repair, snow removal, leaf pick-up, and park and recreation operations, etc.
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Balance the budget by addressing the current deficit.
It is important to point out that based on the recommendations of safety service experts and the input of a citizens advisory panel of financial, business and community leaders, we have recommended basic, cost-effective solutions that address our City's long-term needs without unnecessary bells and whistles.
Over the last 25 years, the City of Marysville (Marysville) has seen unprecedented growth. The 1980 population of Marysville of 7,414 citizens has grown to approximately 18,941 citizens today. The actual land size of Marysville has also increased since 1980 from 4.05 square miles to 16.22 square miles today.
With this growth has also come increased need for day-to-day services and resources for residents and businesses. One area in particular not only impacts our quality of life, but literally impacts our safety. Specifically, the Marysville Fire Division (MFD), the Marysville Police Division (MPD) and the Municipal Court have seen an upsurge in demand for services across the board. At the same time, significant deficiencies have been identified in facilities, resources and staffing for MFD, MPD and the Municipal Court.
To begin addressing this need, the City of Marysville formed an internal working team to assess the current state of our safety services and resources. External consultants were also engaged to review the work of this team and to provide options for addressing gaps identified by the assessment. The results of the assessment and the consultants' recommendations are contained in two reports. We invite you to review these reports by clicking on the following links:
On May 14th, legislation was introduced to city council to place a one-half percent (.005) income tax increase on the November 3rd ballot. This proposed increase is intended for the construction of a second firehouse, replacement of the current police station/municipal court and maintaining current levels of city services. The following presentation accompanied the introduction of the proposed income tax increase:
Additionally, citizens were invited to complete a web-based survey accessible through the City of Marysville website. This system of review/survey was designed to both provide important information to citizens while gauging feedback on that information. Survey results can be reviewed by clicking on the following link:
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