WILL CANTON PARKS & RECREATION ISSUE 5 PASS? TODAY SAM SLIMAN VIDEO

VIDEOS

TODAY

SAM SLIMAN
CANTON CIVLL SERVICE DIRECTOR 
Chairman of the Pass Issue 5 Effort

OTHER VIDEOS

TOM BERNABEI (LINK)

COMING SOON

J.R. RINALDI

ANDY BLACK

On Thursday, February 12,  The Stark County Political Report camped out at a fundraising event put together to raise campaign funds for Issue 5 which is an issue to fund Canton's parks and recreation facilities going forward.

On February 17th, The Report began this series featuring "the leading lights" of key Canton officials who are leading the effort to get Issue 5 passed, to wit:

• Canton mayor Thomas M. Bernabei (on Canton finances in general and park/recreation financing issues  [February 17th, LINK]),
• Sam Sliman, a Bernabei administration official (on park/recreation financing issues [today's blog]),  and in the ensuing weeks:
• J.R. Rinaldi, a Canton City Schools board member (on park/recreation financing issue), and
• Andy Black, a parks and recreation board member (on park/recreation financing issue

 These leaders are working hard to involve the general Canton community in the effort, to wit:

BACKGROUND

Canton's parks used to be funded out of Canton's general fund to about the tune of $3 million annually.  (LINK to Canton Parks and Recreation website)

In 2013, Canton voter approved a levy to provided dedicated funds to the parks.  That levy expires on December 31, 2106.

Recreation activities for areas encompassing the Canton City Schools and the Plain Local Schools where funded by a levy administered by the Canton Joint Recreation District (CJRD).  That levy expires on December 31, 2016.

The two activities (parks and recreation facilities) are in the process of being merger into one entity under the auspicious of the Canton Parks and Recreation Commission (CPRC).

But there is a hitch.

Voters in November, 2015 rejected combining the two levies into one levy and therefore beginning on January 1, 2017,  the CPRC will have to stretch what dollars they normally would spend in 2016 (again, about $3 million) over at least 2016 and 2017 UNLESS voters pass the replacement levy either in the primary election on March 15th or in the 2016 presidential year general election.

The deep thinkers of the CPRC think that the ballot language as required under Ohio election law which is of course administered locally by the Stark County Board of Elections made November, 2015 voters think that there was going to be a 1 mill increases in their taxes as a consequence of the "in the works" merger.

But that is not the case.

The current levies (Canton Parks Commission - 4 mills; CJRD 1 mill) are merely being combined and officials of the Issue 5 campaign emphatically say that there is no increase in taxes being collected for Canton's parks and recreation facilities.

The SCPR agrees with the parks and recreation campaign officials who say that voter confusion was a key factor in the November, 2015 defeat of the levy.

However, The Report thinks (LINK to February 1, 2016 blog) that the wrangling and turf fighting going on as members of the CJRD (mainly one Eric Resnick [now a CCS board member]) fought the merger and the resulting efficiencies that yours truly thinks the merger is going to bring.

 One official tells the SCPR that Resnick continues to bash the merging parks and recreation process.

THE SCPR SAM SLIMAN INTERVIEW VIDEO

The Report thinks that readers of this blog will find this interview Canton city official (going back to Republican Richard Watkins administration) Sam Sliman.

His service to Canton spans some 25 years with his being aboard as a staff member in the Bernabei administration.

Most of his time has been spent under Republican administrations (Watkins 12 years), Creighton (4 years).  However, he served 8 years with the Democratic Healy administration and now is embarked on a stint with political "independent" Thomas M. Bernabei.

Sliman currently is:

• Canton's civil service chief administrator,
• Canton's coordinator of annexation.
• Canton'sEEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity) compliance official, and along with Mike Hanke (former Repository editor), and
• a newly appoint Canton Parks and Recreation Commission board member.

Andy Black is a carryover board member of the commission.

 The Sliman video.