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City Leaders Make the Case for Issue 1
By Fletcher Word
Sojourner’s Truth Editor
Issue 1 will raise the
city income tax for Toledoans to 2.75 percent if approved by
voters on the March 17 ballot. City leaders have spent the
past several weeks urging voters to support the measure and
gathering like-minded individuals and organizations to help
them make the point.
“Issue 1 will ask citizens
to make an investment in themselves,” said Mayor Wade
Kapszukiewicz during a press conference at Savage Park last
week.
The mayor addressed what
the additional funds will mean for the city’s
infrastructure.
“We will resurface 70
miles of road, every year, for a decade,” he said of the
annual increase in road repair – an increase from the
current average f five miles a year. He also addressed the
rumors that such an increase would not necessarily go to the
infrastructure
“They are incorrect,” he
said noting that the Issue 1 approval would require that
most of the funds go to roads. “A yes vote will require that
most money must be spent on roads.”
There are, however, some
other notable benefits to be gained from an increased income
tax according to the mayor and the other past and present
elected officials who spoke at Savage Park.
City pools can remain open
from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the city will have six times
its current money to spend on youth recreation programming
and there will be “funding to help fix the scourge of lead
paint,” Kapszukiewicz added stressing the importance of the
added investment in “our children and our neighborhoods.”
“I’m supportive,” added
Councilwoman Cecelia Adams, PhD. “I’m looking at what it can
do in the parks and in education, especially preschool
education – [the children] will be ready for school. This
will help police, fire and roads. I’m supporting for what it
does for the soul of the city – the parks.”
“This is probably the most
comprehensive levy I’ve seen in 20 years,” said former State
Rep. Michael Ashford. “This is different because it touches
everyone – from pre-K on. It’s a kitchen table issue and
it’s a standard of living issue. We have to afford it.”
Also speaking in favor of
the issue were Councilwoman Yvonne Harper, Micheal
Alexander, secretary of the NAACP and businessman Blair
Johnson.
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