Pushed to provide a detailed plan for what the city needs to do to keep its finances in order, Mayor Jeff Reser recommended reducing the income tax credit by 1%, at least temporarily, then asking voters to approve both a 0.25% income tax increase and a property tax that would generate money to replace necessary equipment such as firetrucks, ambulances and police cruisers.
The recommendations came near the end of a special meeting of Bucyrus City Council’s finance committee on Tuesday evening that ran almost two hours long.
The session opened with a presentation by Reser on the financial pressures facing the city and what has been done so far. City Auditor Joyce Schifer, who will retire at the end of the year, provided additional information.
“I have to say: I’ve been at this for 23 years, and I’ve never seen a budget this tough, as we’re going through right now, and the way expenses have spiked … I know it’s not an easy decision, but I don’t want to see our police and our ambulance services go downhill because we’re not supporting them,” Schifer said.
