Tipp City voters to consider ordinance amendment

0

TIPP CITY — An amendment to an ordinance for moving 0.2% per annum levy on income from the capital improvement plan (CIP) fund to the city’s general fund will be on the Nov. 8 ballot for Tipp City citizens to consider.

An ordinance moving funds from the CIP to the general fund was approved in a 6-1 vote by Tipp City Council at a meeting on May 16, 2022.

The ordinance, which would reallocate 0.2% of funds from the CIP to the general fund, was brought forward to council by means of addressing budget concerns for 2022. Additionally, the legislation states the original capital improvement levy approved in 1981, which allocated 0.2% of funds for capital improvement, was no longer needed for capital improvements, but is needed to provide funding for departments under the general fund such as fire and emergency services, police and public works. The need for the funds to be moved is due to an increase in staffing in order to continue to maintain services to the community.

City Manager Tim Eggleston previously said during the May 16 meeting the capital fund is not necessarily affected and the shift will not increase taxes on taxpayers. Additionally, he cited that with supply chain issues and cost of materials incurred to the city, there were concerns with using reserves to balance the budget.

“It’ll help fund additional services such as fire and EMS. It kind of gets us moving towards, hopefully, a better position with our emergency services along with public works and police. The majority will probably be spent on fire and EMS,” said Eggleston recently regarding the ordinance amendment on the November ballot.

Mayor Mike McFarland, who sponsored the ordinance in May of 2022, said it would authorize the city to move money that they were originally authorized to move with the 1981 levy. He also added that with the rising cost of fuel prices, among other things, this would be needed sooner rather than later.

“This money is needed for other expenses right now, especially when you look at the city’s fuel cost for city trucks, police cruisers and fire trucks. It’s anywhere between $14,000 and $20,000 a month now, and rumor has it that prices are still going to go up,” McFarland said at the May 16 Tipp City Council meeting. “We need this money in the general fund, without going back to the voters to add on top of it.”

The approved ordinance is the first step toward putting a resolution together for council to vote on.

No posts to display