Council debates outsourcing municipal income‑tax collection to RITA; no final action

Trenton City Council members on May 15 discussed whether to contract with the Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) to administer the city's municipal income tax, but they did not vote to adopt the change and directed staff to continue research.

A council member summarized RITA as “the Regional Income Tax Agency” and described outreach to Hamilton and Eaton finance directors and a Hamilton council member about their experiences. The summary said the vendor’s initial fee can be structured as 3% of collected municipal income tax but reconciled annually; Eaton reported its final reconciliation reduced the effective fee to about 0.86% in a sample year.

Supporters said RITA offers streamlined online filing, receipts on submission and fewer in‑person paperwork issues. Others stressed the value of Trenton’s in‑house tax staff, citing recent improvements in compliance and collections that have helped fund local services and capital projects without raising tax rates. One council member recommended retaining in‑house expertise and cross‑training staff even if the city moves forward with an external vendor to ensure residents can still get help at City Hall.

Council members discussed potential trade‑offs: administrative ease for taxpayers versus reduced local control of customer service, and onboarding complexity that could affect citizens during transition. Staff said a formal RITA contract would use a resolution and that a final agreement would be executed through a separate contractual process if council chose to proceed.

Council did not adopt immediate contracting steps. Instead, members asked staff to continue researching processes and to return with more information on the operational impact, vendor terms, and safeguards for retaining local tax expertise and services.