To the Editor:
In 2011 when I first came on City Council, I had the same questions as most: Why do they need so much money run the city? We were recovering from the Recession 0f 2008, operating with 42 less employees than in 2007 still providing services the residents needs. Our revenue was reduced, so we had to cut expenses.
Citizens of Sidney expect their tax dollars to provide services to enhance their quality of life. As the city has grown, we make budget decisions based on Sidney’s basic needs. Those are: Safety-:Police-Fire-Medics, well maintained streets, water, sanitation, sewer ,safe sidewalks and well maintained neighborhoods.
The costs of providing those services have risen immensely. The present 0.15% street levy does not provide enough funds for us to keep up with our infrastructure needs. As the City has grown, so has demand for critical safety services.
The Streets & Safety Plus Levy will generate funds which will enable us to add much needed police and fire/paramedics.
In 1996 the Fire/Paramedic Department responded to 2,000 calls. Last year we responded to over 4,000 calls with the same number of staff. Twenty-eight percent of the time all three medic units are dispatched. We need more trained staff in order to provide medic/fire protection to the community.
Council has proven to be good stewards of taxpayers money. Our financials/budget are available online at the city website [http://www.sidneyoh.com so you can see where every dollar is spent. We wouldn’t askfor more if it wasn’t needed to provide the residents of Sidney the serviceswhich are expected.]http://www.sidneyoh.com so you can see where every dollar is spent. We wouldn’t ask for more if it wasn’t needed to provide the residents of Sidney the services which are expected.
Sidney has experienced many positive new and exiting changes, with more to come. Let’s keep the momentum going!
Please join me in voting yes for the levy.
Steve Wagner
Vice mayor
