Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman last week formed a committee to examine the city’s financial structure and recommend a long-term fiscal plan as officials floated a proposal for the first income tax increase in 25 years.
“Every neighborhood service, every employee benefit, every investment, and every option needs to be looked at by this 15-member committee,” Coleman said in a statement announcing the plan.
The Economic Advisory Committee will examine the city’s expenditures and revenues with a focus on eliminating a structural imbalance that Coleman has said threatens annual budgets.
“We have a structural problem,” Coleman was quoted as saying in local reports. “Since I became mayor [in 2000], we’ve cut every year. Even with those cuts our revenues don’t meet current needs. Now we’re at the bone.”
The committee will also study whether the city should raise its income tax, which has been 2% since 1983. Any tax increase would likely not go on a ballot before November 2009.
The committee includes long-time city auditor Hugh Dorrian, other city finance managers, as well as representatives from Ohio State University, private businesses, and the local plumber’s union. It will issue its report in late 2008 or early 2009.
