July 28, 2011
Income tax hike headed to Nov. 8 ballot By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers In a 5-2 vote, Reynoldsburg City Council approved emergency legislation Monday to let voters decide in November whether to approve a 1-percent income tax increase. The city has until Aug. 10 to file documents with the Franklin County Board of Elections to place the request on the Nov. 8 ballot. If approved, it would raise Reynoldsburg’s income tax from 1.5 per-
cent to 2.5 percent beginning Jan. 1, 2012. Council members Doug Joseph and Nathan Burd both voted against going to the ballot this fall. “We’re elected by the citizens to do what we think is right, and whether they agree or disagree with what council members do, we have elections in the city … they can replace us,” Joseph said. “I’m very unhappy that we didn’t spend more time looking at cuts and reforms before racing to the ballot.” Burd said he thinks the request for a
1-percent income tax increase is massive. He said he believes the city needs to take more time to see how it can manage before rushing to the ballot. City auditor Richard Harris said a 1percent increase would generate about $5.8 million. Even though Reynoldsburg needs to make up for $1.3 million in projected revenue losses next year, the extra money is needed for future infrastructure needs, he said. “The last income tax increase that was put through the city started Jan. 1, 1982
… 30 years without a tax increase — that’s a long time, folks,” Harris said. He said the latest complete income tax records from 2009 show 18,464 returns. Of that, 14,078 were residents who live in Reynoldsburg but work somewhere else. “Many of those residents are already paying 2.5 percent, so this would cost those people nothing,” Harris said. “About two-thirds of the dollars collected by us in income tax is from people who live somewhere else and work here.”
An ad hoc committee charged with reviewing the city’s budget issues reported to council on July 11 that there are two options for a tax increase: Increase the rate or reduce the 100-percent tax credit the city offers residents who work outside Reynoldsburg city limits. The committee members said a tax increase would have the least impact on residents. Council president William Hills reitSee INCOME TAX HIKE, page A4
Nine seek vacant seat on school board By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
(Above) The Lewis family, (from left) Lynette, Caitlyn, Callie and Tim, work on putting in plants in the school district’s new wetlands site behind the new high school on Summit Road. (Below) Mark DeBrock places a plant in a pool of water.
Reynoldsburg schools
Volunteers prepare wetlands for ‘eco-study’ lab By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers About 100 Reynoldsburg students, parents and community members volunteered to brave the heat and humidity last Friday and Saturday to plant a variety of species at the district’s new wetlands site behind the new high school on Summit Road. District spokesperson Tricia Moore said the site encompasses about 4 acres, with about two being wetlands and the other two running along an unnamed stream which is a tributary to Blacklick Creek. She said before the project is completed by this fall, about 9,000 plants will be planted, along with seeds for a cover crop and about 350 trees. The two dozen different varieties of species planted over the weekend included swamp milkweed, bearded sedge, red-footed spike-rush, turtlehead, hairy willow-herb, American water horehound, and mad-dog skullcap. See ‘ECO-LAB’ STUDY, page A4
See VACANT SEAT, page A2
Haire takes development post in Canal Winchester By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Reynoldsburg schools
Bertke named principal at Herbert Mills Elementary By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers Pam Bertke will be the new principal at Herbert Mills Elementary School beginning this fall. Bertke replaces former principal Jana Alig, who is the district’s new director of elementary education. She will be paid an annual base salary of $78,898 plus $17,000 for insurance. Her previous salary was $71,858 per year.
Bertke, 36, has spent the last eight years in the in the Reynoldsburg school district, six as a fifthand sixth-grade teacher at Hannah Ashton and WagPam Bertke goner Road middle schools, one year as dean of students at Waggoner Road Middle School and this past year as an administrative intern at Herbert Mills Elementary.
Nine candidates have expressed interest in filling a seat on the Reynoldburg Board of Education that became vacant when Chip Martin resigned on July 20. Lynda M. Snyder, Sandra D. Long, Ben McKibben, Ryan P. Kelly, Joe Begeny, Monica DeBrock, Dee Kahl, Thomas C. Drabick Jr. and Loretta L. King all submitted letters to the board by July 19. The board is required to appoint someone to fill a vacancy within 30 days after a member resigns. Board vice president Andy Swope said members will review the candidates’qualifications in the next couple of weeks. “We’ll go over the letters and try to narrow it down to two, three, maybe four, then contact them in for an interview. Then we’ll have someone to announce by the next board meeting in August,” Swope said. If the person who is named to fill the rest of Martin’s term wants to seek a full term, which begins Jan. 1, 2012, he or she will have to run in the Nov. 8 general election. Snyder is director of operations for “I Know I Can,” a nonprofit college access program for Columbus City Schools. She also is a member of the Parent Advisory Council for the Ohio Department of Education. Long is the majority owner of a small document-security-related business in Reynoldsburg. She has served on the Reynoldsburg Farmers Market committee since 2008, is a
As principal, Bertke said she wants to take a very focused and data-driven approach to students. “Right now, we have room to grow and things to improve upon,” she said. “I’m thrilled and excited. It’s what I’ve waited for and wanted for a couple of years. “Being at Herbert Mills after I worked there for one year, I know this is exactly the place I want to be,” she said. Bertke said she learned a lot from
You have a hole in your house.
Alig during the past year at Herbert Mills. “My main goal is to continue what we’ve done, that’s the biggest thing, because last year, they came off of a 25-year principal (Craig Seckel), then Jana and I came in and worked real closely,” she said. A native of Coldwater, Ohio, Bertke received her bachelor of science degree in elementary education from
Reynoldsburg development director Lucas Haire will leave the city to take a similar post in Canal Winchester, effective Aug. 1. Canal Winchester Mayor Mike Ebert made the announcement July 26. Haire will succeed Chris Strayer, who stepped down in June to take a position with the Ohio Department of Development. Strayer had been at Canal Winchester for four years; his most recent annual salary was $65,000. Haire’s salary will be between $61,150 and $70,000, according to Canal Winchester finance director Nanisa Osborn. See HAIRE TO LEAVE, page A4
See BERTKE, page A2
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