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Pataskala council votes to join letter urging lawmakers to protect municipal inside millage
Summary
The Pataskala City Council voted to ask city representatives to join a letter opposing House Bill 335’s removal of the inside millage, citing a potential multimillion-dollar hit to city revenues and urging exemptions for municipalities.
Pataskala City Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to ask the mayor and city staff to join a letter to state lawmakers urging that House Bill 335 not eliminate the “inside millage” available to municipalities.
Councilmember Tim Higgins said the bill is back in conference committee and warned it could remove the inside millage for municipalities. “For us, that represents, I wanna say, $2,100,000 … It's about 2.2,” Higgins said, adding that the change would affect most general-fund functions outside utilities, streets and police.
The council’s motion asked staff to participate in a letter to the city’s state representatives, specifically naming Kevin Moore and Thad Claggett, and to coordinate with local school districts that had already offered to send a joint letter. The motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote with all members present voting yes.
Council members and staff said the loss of the inside millage would force reductions in services funded by the general fund, listing planning and zoning, administration, and buildings and grounds among programs that could be affected. Higgins urged fellow elected officials and residents to contact state representatives before the legislature’s July 1 deadline.
The motion recorded the council’s request for staff to prepare the letter; the transcript does not show the text of the letter or whether the city will pursue any formal legislative lobbying beyond the joint letter effort.
The council did not take any further formal legislative action on HB 335 during the meeting.
