Mayor Michael P. Bell and various members of Toledo City Council today joined together to urge Toledo voters to support Issue 5 on the May 4 ballot.
Issue 5 is not a tax. The ballot initiative will permit the Mayor and Council to redirect existing funds mandated for the capital improvements fund into the general fund while maintaining a capital program. Toledo residents will not pay any new taxes and there will be no increase in existing taxes.
If voters approve Issue 5 the administration has proposed and pledged to council that the refuse user fee will be reduced for those residents on a fixed income; the reciprocal tax credit for Toledoans working outside the city will be returned to 100 percent; and a capital improvement program will be maintained. Both the refuse fee and reduction of the tax credit were instituted as part of the effort to balance the city budget, which faced a $48 million deficit.
The administration has also proposed an ambitious CIP plan that includes:
- Work to re-certify the Point Place dike;
- Purchase of 60 police cars;
- Construction of a new fire station #6 in east Toledo; and
- Approximately 87 lane miles of street resurfacing across the city.
Issue 5 is a temporary measure and will expire in December 2010 when the 3/4 percent levy expires. The measure would again require a vote of Toledoans to continue redirecting the CIP funds beyond December 2010.