There are several solid reasons for voters in Tiffin to approve the quarter-percent income tax issue on the Nov. 6 ballot.
First, there's no doubting the need for the $960,000 the increase is expected to generate. That amount is roughly equal to the reduction in state funding the city sustained in the last few years.
Second, city leaders not only succeeded in cutting spending to live within a shrinking budget, but they have run a tight ship in the past 10 years. In fact, between 2002 and 2011, general fund income increased 5.56 percent, general fund spending rose 5.91 percent and the number of city employees was reduced by 9.7 percent - all while prices for consumer goods and services jumped nearly 25 percent.
The third reason to vote for the tax increase is what will happen to city services without the revenue it would bring. The police and fire departments - already shorthanded - would see further reductions. City streets, which now need work, would see less maintenance. No pool, no park programs, no fireworks.
Plus, the mayor and city administrator would have even less time to devote to planning and development. That would make it doubly difficult to promote the city; it would be tough to sell the city to potential employers amid cutbacks - just when the city is on the rebound.
But the main reason for voters to approve the issue is while they definitely would notice the reduction in city services without it, they might not notice it missing from paychecks if approved.
City residents should ask themselves how much they really noticed an increase in their take-home pay when the payroll tax for Social Security was reduced by 2 percent. The increase sought by the city is one-eighth of that.
Speaking of Social Scurity, retiree benefits are not subject to the city income tax. Neither are interest and dividend payments, military pay, unemployment benefits and workers' compensation payments.
We urge Tiffin voters to approve the quarter-percent city income tax increase.
