Tuesday, May 20, 2014

(VIDEOS) CATAZARO-PERRY PREVAILS AFTER A COUNCIL HICCUP OR TWO. A SCOTT GRABER DISRUPTION, SO SAYS LAW DIRECTOR PERRY STERGIOS!



UPDATE: 4:52 PM

The SCPR has been included in the loop in a series of emails exchanged between Councilman Milan Chovan (Republican, at-large), a Massillonian by the name of Daniel Brown and Scott Graber  (and others) which readers may find revealing in terms of the impact that the income tax credit reduction might have should the .2% increase in the city's income tax pass on  November 4th.

Re: Lewis 57-2014 section 3
FROM Milan Chovan TO You + 20 More

From:  Milan Chovan
To:  Daniel Brown 
CC
Scott Graber
Martin Olson
del rio keller home
16 More...

You are correct, Dan.  Everyone will pay the additional .2%.  So for people working out of town the tax credit would be 90%,  not 100%.   They would pay .2% of a 2.0% tax in Massillon.   They'd pay 10% of the city tax.


On Tuesday, May 20, 2014, Daniel Brown <dnbrow ...> wrote:

    This is the same stunt they tried to pull last time except last time it was .3%. "An equal distribution of the tax burden."


    Scott Graber <wulffiesrg ... > wrote:

    For the 57-2014 income tax credit reduction to "go away" Section 3 would have to read:  Section 3:

    "This seventy-five percent credit shall automatically expire the effective date the City income tax is increased above the current 1.8% and shall revert to a tax credit of 100% on the full amount of income tax levied by this section."

    On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 12:48 PM, Scott Graber <wulffiesrg ...> wrote:

        Ed Lewis and Nancy Halter apparently do not understand the effect of the legislation they passed.. They are saying in the video posted on your blog,  that if the City electors pass a .2 percent Income tax increase that the "tax credit reduction' "goes away" IT DOES NOT: The people who work out of town will have the credit limited to 1.8 % which means that they will have the .2% IMPOSED in addition to whatever tax they ALREADY PAY in the OTHER CITY.. and so if they are paying 2.2% in another City, the .2 percent increase will be ADDED and they will be paying 2.4% total.

...This seventy-five percent credit shall automatically expire the effective date the City . income tax is increased above the current 1.8% and shall revert to a tax credit of 100% on the first 1.8% only, of income levied by this section.

        We already know Nancy Halter is a confused ...,  but Ed Lewis is supposedly "in command" of his faculties.

        Therefore, he simply does not understand the effect of 57-2014

VIDEOS
=============
 COUNCIL HICCUPS
MANSON & HALTER
VOTE
"NO"
ON
$25 STREET LIGHTING FEE 
=============
 CITIZEN SCOTT GRABER
PRESENTS PETITION
==============
COUNCILMAN CHOVAN
SUPPORTS
GRABER PETITION
=============
 COUNCILMAN ED LEWIS
ON 
RUNNING FOR MAYOR
ON
"NO VOTES"
ON
GRABER PETITION
=============
COUNCILWOMAN HALTER
ON
"NO" VOTE
ON
GRABER PETITION
=============
COUNCILMAN MANSON
ON
"NO" VOTE
&
CALLS
 GRABER
"A BOZO"

It was an interesting meeting last night at Massillon City Council.

The most significant thing to happen was the two "no' votes by Councilwoman Nancy Halter (Republican - Ward 2) and Paul Manson (Democrat - at-large) on one aspect of a financial recovery plan agreed to by council several weeks ago and which was recently approved by the Massillon Financial Planning and Supervisory Commission (MFPSC).


Everything else in the plan has sailed through.

On May 5th, council unanimously passed an ordinance reducing to 75% of the current city income tax rate (1.8%) which out-of-town working Massillons are permitted to take on their Massillon Income Tax return as a credit against the 1.8% tax rate.

And last night council voted to put an increase in the city income tax on the November 4, 2014 ballot by a unanimous 8 to 0 vote (Sarita Cunningham-Hedderly was absent).



To add to the mini-drama of Halter and Manson voting "no" on the street lighting matter (see their videotaped explanations below), Massillon gladfly Scott Graber took to the floor at council with a petition and demanded (SCPR's perspective, Graber disagrees) that council members sign it while council was in session if they believed that Massillonians had a right to vote on whether or not the income tax credit reduction was to go into effect.


TAX CREDIT REDUCTION REFERENDUM ISSUE

Council president Tony Townsend took control of the situation and and asked Graber to sit down (after telling him that he was not going to sign the petition).

During the meeting Graber started soliciting signatures from citizens seated in the audience.

On seeing Graber doing so, Law Director Perry Stergios (through Councilwoman Nancy Halter) got the attention of President Townsend and requested that he be permitted to address council and the president on the matter.

Once Townsend learned of Graber's activity, he put a stop to it.

But Graber was not done.

In the second Public Speaks, Graber was front and center again on the petition.


All of Graber's actions are to be seen in the following video.



Of the members of council and the administration, only Councilman Milan Chovan agreed to sign Graber's petition.

Here Councilpersons Halter, Lewis and Manson explain why they would not sign the petition with Manson calling Graber a Bozo.  Also, Councilman Milan Chovan as to why he signed the petition.



 ON THE STREET LIGHTING FEE ISSUE



Councilwoman  Nancy Halter (Republican, Ward 2) on why she voted "no" on the issue.

Councilman Paul Manson (Democrat, at-large) on why he voted "no" on the issue.



Lewis reacts to the no votes, after a little tete-a-tete with the SCPR about speculation that he is preparing to run for mayor in November, 2015.



In Massillon these days, there is never a dull moment!

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