Well, here we go again. Gov. John Kasich told Mayor Aaron Montz that the dire fiscal crisis facing the community is the fault of the voters for not supporting his ill-conceived attack on the hard-working public employees. We sent the governor a strong message with our historic defeat of Senate Bill 5/Issue 2, but he just does not get it. During Montz's discussion with the governor, he should have made it clear that the people of Tiffin are tired of his continued vendetta against our hard-working policemen, firemen, teachers and other public employees. We want answers and solutions, not additional taxes. Here are some questions Montz should have asked the governor.
First, regarding the Republican-led elimination of the estate tax, which only affected about eight percent of Ohioans, how does the governor expect cities and townships to make up for this lost revenue? Municipalities such as Tiffin received about 80 percent of estate tax revenue. Montz should have asked how Kasich can reasonably expect us to make up such a shortfall.
Question two, what happened to all of the governor's promised economic benefits from the creation of JobsOhio? Montz should have asked why JobsOhio does not have to produce public records telling taxpayers where their money is being spent.
Third, Montz should have asked the governor about his opinion of House Bill 388, which is sponsored by my opponent. This bill supposedly would eliminate "double-dipping" in Ohio. This piece of legislation was criticized by The (Toledo) Blade as "Double-Dip, Double-Cross" and in my own column published in The Advertiser-Tribune. The bill is a double-cross because it allows for elected officials to continue the practice of double-dipping, while local governments and schools would lose the tool to save money.
Number four, Montz should have asked the governor about the half-billion dollars in the state's rainy day fund. For Ohio's struggling municipalities and public school systems which were devastated by Kasich's draconian budget cuts, it is not raining, it is a monsoon.
Since Montz did not ask these questions, I want to assure readers that when I am elected as your state representative, I will. You deserve a legislator in Columbus who is not a "yes" man but someone who will fight for our hard-working public employees against the governor's relentless attacks. Tiffin is a wonderful city that deserves the support of the state government and as your state representative, I will do everything in my power to ensure that support for Tiffin and cities like it all over Ohio, but especially in Sandusky and Seneca counties.
Bill Young,
Green Springs
