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Council tables proposed 0.1% park and pool income-tax levy after legal warning
Summary
Council took first reading of Proposed Ordinance 38-20-26 to add 0.1% income tax for four years to fund parks and the city pool but tabled the measure after the law director warned he would seek an injunction if the ordinance were passed improperly; council voted to submit the signed resolution and a copy of the proposed ordinance to the Board of Elections.
Council members accepted Proposed Ordinance 38-20-26 for first reading, a proposal to levy an additional 0.1% income tax for four years to fund maintenance, equipment and debt service for city-owned parks and the municipal pool. The ordinance caption, read aloud at the meeting, lists specific sites including Almilar Park, Lyons Field Park and the city-owned swimming pool and related concessions, restrooms and parking facilities.
Law Director (speaker identified in the record as the city's counsel) urged caution and advised the council not to pass the ordinance that night, saying a recent Ohio Supreme Court decision requires that a copy of the proposed ordinance accompany a resolution filed with the Board of Elections and that passing the ordinance prematurely could invite legal challenge. "I will be obligated by law to file an injunction because it will be an illegal passage," the law director said, citing the court's New Carlisle v. Clark County Board of Elections opinion and Ohio Revised Code 718.04(C)(2). Council members and staff debated whether the board required an unpassed copy or a passed ordinance; the clerk and others confirmed the signed resolution and proposed ordinance would be delivered to the Board of Elections the next morning.
Faced with conflicting advice about filing procedures and deadlines, council voted to table further action on the ordinance while ensuring the signed resolution and a copy of the proposed ordinance are submitted to the Board of Elections. A council member noted: "If in the event they decline it, then we will hold a special council meeting Thursday" to resolve the filing. The motion to table passed by voice vote.
