Marysville City Council members are mixed in their support or opposition to a pair of proposed fee increases for residents wanting to renew their vehicle registration each year.
Legislation introduced at Monday’s city council meeting would impose a $5 increase on registration tags beginning in 2021 and an additional $5 increase to becoming effective in 2022. The 2021 fee increase would need filed with the state before July 1.
According to the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles, for December, Marysville has 23,078 registered vehicles. City officials said that based on those numbers, if the city raised the license fee by $5 per vehicles, the increase would generate about $115,000 annually for the city and two fees would generate about $230,000. The money could be allocated only to street maintenance or paving streets.
Council member Mark Reams said the matter received “quite a bit of discussion” at past finance committee meetings — before the coronavirus changed the outlook on personal and city finances. Even so, he said the city needs the additional revenue. Reams said he is worried that when the 2020 census is complete, Marysville’s population will push it into a grant competition with larger communities. He said that grant evaluators will consider whether the city imposes these fees as part of the grant competition.
“This is one tool that we would be able to use for matching funds,” Reams said.
He added that Marysville, like many other Ohio cities, is too dependent on income tax and needs to broaden its ability to collect revenue from citizens.
Council member Aaron Carpenter said his goal was “no new taxes.” He said he has talked to residents in his ward and they do not support the increased fee.
Carpenter called the fee increase, at this time, “both irresponsible and insensitive.”
“I think it is insensitive because families are hurting,” Carpenter said. “Families are hurting really bad.”
He asked, “How do you tell these families and other families that are hurting, that the city is here for you, while levying a new tax on them?”
Carpenter said that rather than impose a new tax, he believes it is “time to look at” cutting the budget.
“Maybe we should be talking about relief. Maybe we should be talking about how to make things easier, not making them, worse,” Carpenter said.
Council member Deb Groat asked about the possibility of other entities imposing the fees if Marysville doesn’t. The state allows local governments to impose a total of five, $5 permissive fees on residents. In November, Union County passed legislation to add three, additional $5 fees, totaling $15 per vehicle, to vehicle registration.
City Law Director Tim Aslaner said that if the city does not impose at least one of the increases, the county could take it.
Council member J.R. Rausch said that for 2019, there were no imposed fees. He said that within three years, Marysville would move from having the lowest renewal fee in the state to having the highest.
He said that he has been a proponent of the increased fee, but understands times are difficult for some residents.
Rausch suggested approving the fee for 2022, then consider changing the proposed 2021 fee to 2022.
Carpenter said that while he would not vote to approve the legislation as it is proposed now, he would “whole-heartedly” support Rausch’s suggestion.
City Manager Terry Emery said he would be comfortable with pushing the fees back, “under the circumstance of what we are facing.”
Mayor Henk Berbee said council will hold a public hearing on the legislation at the May 11 meeting. He said times are “very difficult.”
“We do want to hear from the citizens on this,” Berbee said.
He said officials are looking at a way to “receive citizens at City Hall” for the public hearing. The mayor said officials should know more in the next couple days whether citizens will be able to meet at City Hall or if they will need to participate remotely.
Additionally, at that meeting council will hear a presentation on the fee and its use. Reams said that presentation will allow council to “get all the facts.”
Berbee cautioned council members to “keep an open mind and study the subject.”
He said there is a reason the fees were proposed in the first place.
“At this point, we will continue to move forward until we get more information,” Berbee said.
A final vote on the matter is scheduled for May 26.