A newly formed group of West Chester Twp. residents want to recoup the millions of dollars in taxes that leave the township every day at 5 p.m.
In order to keep that money locally, the Committee for West Chester says the township must incorporate.
As of this week, members of the committee have begun collecting the nearly 4,500 signatures — based on a percentage of the latest gubernatorial election — to potentially place the issue before voters in May 2010. Butler County commissioners would have to approve the ballot initiative within 90 days after they received the signatures.
For the committee — whose tag line is, “It’s time.” — the moment is right for “cityhood” because members say incorporation would lower taxes and improve government efficiency.
“West Chester residents currently foot the entire bill for township operating expenses through property taxes. We’re a host community,” said Bill Zerkle, the committee’s spokesman. “We support everybody, but nobody supports us.”
Zerkle said approximately 80 percent of the township’s roughly 54,000 workers live outside the township, but use the community’s services — such as roads — on a daily basis.
If a 1 percent income tax were levied as part of the incorporation — the limit by Ohio law without a separate ballot issue — that 80 percent could contribute nearly $17 million annually. The remaining 20 percent of people who live and work in the community would raise nearly $8 million.
Zerkle said the income tax could eliminate the need for police and fire levies, which raised just more than $20 million in property taxes in 2007.
The committee is an offshoot of a 2007 25-member study group that researched the possibilities for the township’s future, Zerkle said.
The thought of incorporation received mixed reviews from trustees, each of whom emphasized the importance of the issue being citizen-driven. Two of the trustees, Catherine Stoker and Lee Wong, are up for reelection in November.
“The population is too big to be run under the township government,” Wong said. “It is overdue for us to become a city. The residents who work here but live outside the city put a burden on our residents.”
While Stoker said a time may come when incorporation is necessary — such as an annexation attempt by a nearby city — now is not the time. She also said there would be too many unknowns — because of Ohio laws regarding incorporation — at the time of the ballot issue.
“You’re pretty much voting for a pig in a poke,” she said.
Trustee George Lang was direct about his opposition to incorporation. He said the move would make West Chester a less attractive place for businesses.
“If you want to kill economic development, you incorporate,” Lang said. “The only reason to incorporate is to raise more money, and we don’t need it.
“Never trust government with more money. We’ll spend it.”
