Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

May be a good thing

I see there are some that have a difficult time holding on to the past. The township and the city have been in a court battle over an annexation filed in 2001. That annexation was denied by the County Commissioners and then appealed by the city to the Common pleas. The court awarded the 362 acre annexation to Pickerington. The township then appealed that decision to the appeals court and it has sat there since.

More than likely the annexation will go to the city once it is reviewed by the appeals court. The township has admitted they have a weak case.

I believe what they are attempting to do here is first settle the suit. Anytime you spend that many hours in court that costs us all money. If the township and city can reach an agreement then the annexation will happen and these lands will go into the city.

Yes, the city has been very foolish in the last dozen or so years. They have allowed annexation after annexation to occur with little or NO thought to how they planned to pay for this. They just continued to add developments thinking the money would come some day. We can see currently that infrastructure financing and infrastructure needs were met with TIF money earmarked for the school system. Many of those TIFs are currently non producers. Many of the five or so TIFs are being paid for out of the Pickerington?’s General Fund. I believe allowing the city to expand its tax base will relieve pressure on it to use TIF money to fund infrastructure needs. By law the city can?’t intermingle money from water, sewer and general funds.

I believe the Township is requesting that they continue to receive the 1.5 mill tax for roads and bridges and the Township will maintain these roads. For those that live in the township I have heard for years how great your road service is. Do any of you think that reducing their income will improve or keep service at current levels? Granted 362 acres doesn?’t finance a dump truck but that truck in many cases has been purchased and now what does the township do with it? Paint it white and sell it to the city?

The township can not impose INCOME TAXES so they can?’t effectively impose a JEDD like what was suggested above. They city has the power to impose income taxes and this JEDD law does allow the township and city to work together to create commercial taxing districts. If those future taxes are shared between the city and township like Canal Winchester and the township did with the CEDA then additional income will come into the township tax coffers as a result of this agreement. The township only source of income now is from real estate taxes.

As for the pre-annexation agreements, I am sure there is some hand wringing going on at city hall trying to determine a course of action that will find the monies obligated in these agreements to honor the contracts. A long time ago I did look at these agreements and there are many loop holes that will get the city off the hook. I guess we will have to wait and see on that.

Violet Township loses

I agree with Average Jane. This is a terrible deal for Violet Township. Let the courts rule. The Township's case is not as weak as people think.
Furthermore, the only benefit those in the annexation area get for their new income tax is police protection by Pickerington Police.
Also, the potential legal bill for future court cases associated with city pre-annexation agreements may make the Township's legal bills to date look like peanuts.
Isn't it likely a JEDD will include the Piockerington North Campus to collect teacher and staff income tax?

Personal Gain??

It appears we have a poster that is trying to portray themselves as the average persons on the street of Violet Township. Since this agreement had not yet been approved by either the Trustee or Pickerington City Council how does an average Jane know so much about what she thinks the deals are?

First the 1.5 mill road and bridge levy she refers to is has been a sticking point for the Trustees for years now. Their ONLY source of income is from these real estate tax levies. I have no idea how the agreement will read once the two entities work out the details. However it appears Terry Dunlap made some statements to the press that made it a look like that an agreement was signed sealed and delivered. Average Jane appears to know even more that a township trustee.

I am not sure about the other issues Anonymous raised because I doubt there has ever been any kind of study done to determine the revenues or the costs associated with these annexations no matter what Bill Wright might claim.

I am wondering why a township resident that seems to know so much about this agreement and opposes it, might have more than just a causal interest in the outcome and might suffer personal losses if the agreement was approved?

She also claims that the JEDD will tax the North High school staff with the Pickerington income tax. If the Township can create a JEDD on it's own then why haven't they done so up to now. The answer is that it would be a wasted effort because the township CAN NOT IMPOSE income taxes.

Increasing tax dollars is the down side of uncontrolled residential growth that these local farmers and large land owners have never understood. The newly found wealth that many of our township resident large land owners have has been on the backs of the average taxpayer with in our city and township.

If the school bond issue passes in November the school district will be in debt to the tune of $150,000,000. Please count the zeros. That is triple what it was five years ago. Like wise if the township needs new roads or other infrastructures built that must wait on the county and state.

It is time for the township and the city to work together to a sensible solution to these law suits. I can not see any advantage of the two, to keep each other in court over issues that should be solved with written agreements and at a less expense.

By Average citizen

Don't assume

You assume she is a she.
She might be a he.
She/he might be relaying information that only could have come from behind closed doors in Pickerington.
She/he may have brother planning a gas station on Diley Rd.