Delaware council holds public hearing on proposed repeal of tax credit; no final vote

City Council of Delaware, Ohio, opened a public hearing and second reading of an ordinance to repeal section 192.081 of the Delaware codified ordinances, a local income tax credit, and took public comment and extended council discussion without a final vote.

The city manager and finance staff told council that a full-year repeal of the credit would increase general fund revenues by about $3.6 million, with additional estimated flows of about $600,000 to parks and recreation and about $2.5 million to Fire and EMS. City staff warned that immediate repeal would require changes to employer withholding forms and additional taxpayer documentation to determine where income was earned.

Why it matters: repeal would change how income-tax revenues are collected and allocated across the city budget, potentially freeing funds for capital projects such as street repaving but raising questions about timing, administration, and public consent.

During the hearing, council and staff explored alternatives to immediate repeal. Staff and council members discussed: reallocating residual balances from a now-closed fire pension obligation (identified in the meeting as about $473,000), adjusting municipal impact fees (staff estimated possible changes could produce roughly $500,000), and pursuing ambulance “soft billing” (charging for transport to generate revenue while using third-party billing to handle collections). City staff emphasized these were preliminary ideas and not an adopted plan.

Public comment included several residents who urged different outcomes. Some speakers, including Matthew Brooker of Cambridge Road and Scott McVicar (Ashburn Drive), urged keeping the credit; others suggested pursuing grants or alternative revenues. Several commenters urged transparency about budget cuts and where the city would reduce spending if the credit were repealed.

Council members emphasized the difficulty of the choice. Several members said staff had already prepared two draft budgets—one that assumed a levy passed and one that assumed it did not—and that staff had trimmed spending where possible. Some council members urged further study of soft-billing and impact-fee reform; others said soft-billing would shift costs to residents and opposed it without a public vote. No formal motion to adopt repeal was passed at the meeting; the item was left for a future meeting and additional staff analysis.

Next steps: Council discussed returning for a more detailed presentation (city manager suggested January 27) that would outline options and potential revenue offsets. The ordinance remained at second reading and will return to council for further consideration; staff will prepare additional fiscal detail and possible implementation timelines.