BLANCHESTER — The first step toward enacting a possible 1-percent village earnings tax has been made by Blanchester Village Council.
After being tabled at the last few meetings, Councilmember Don Gephart made the motion at Thursday night’s meeting to hold the first reading on having a 1-percent earnings tax enacted by council — instead of putting it on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The proposed 1-percent tax levy would be an income tax on earned income and proceeds would go to “general municipal operations, maintenance and new equipment.” It was first discussed at the March 22 council meeting as an emergency five-year 1-percent earnings tax.
This comes after a different 1-percent income tax levy was voted down by 64 percent of voters in last year’s election.
The reading was approved in a 4-2 vote, with Councilmembers Chad Hollon and Reilly Hopkins voting against it.
“We need the money,” said Gephart. “I think it should be permanent and non-ending,”
Gephart also believes it should be set up so that some citizens, such as elderly residents and veterans, should not have to pay the tax.
“I think it’s insane that we’re asking for that kind of money,” said Hollon. “It’d be different if we needed half a million dollars more per year to operate, but we don’t.”
The next reading will occur at the July 12 council meeting.
Also during council:
• Councilmember Reilly Hopkins made a motion that $2,476.73 be appropriated from the “police equipment grant line item” to the “police operating fund equipment line item.” Hopkins stated the equipment grant had been sitting around and no one knows the origin of the grant. The appropriation would allow Police Chief Scott Reinbolt to make purchases when expenses come in. Council approved the motion.
• Xezakia Rouse, a Marine Corps veteran, spoke on behalf of the Ohio Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) out of Euclid, Ohio about putting a donation bin for the organization in Blanchester. PVA is an organization that strives to improve the quality of life for honorably discharged veterans who have spinal cord injury, dysfunction or illness. TCouncil said they would discuss it, mainly about the location of the bin.
• Council approved a request to have Wright Street be closed off for their car show and benefit on July 1. The benefit this year is to raise money for CancerFree KIDS out of Loveland. The street would be blocked off from the alley by the post office up to the alley before Curless Printing. Council approved the request.
