Yes, I want to make sure we keep our services running, etc.
But what gets me is, would this even be necessary if wages haven't become so stagnant in the last thirty years? Or if unemployment wasn't so bad?
I don't think this increase will get to the bottom of, nor force leaders to examine or resolve why we have gotten to this point. Are they going to address the issue of jobs being lost to manufacturing going overseas, healthcare costs, bank industry practices, etc? I know most of these issues need to be addressed at the federal government level, but will saying no to an increase on the local level somehow trickle up? Am I being naive?
If they don't resolve these issues, then isn't there just going to be another income tax increase down the road? Where does it end?
The median income for a household in the city was $37,897, and the median income for a family was $47,391.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus,_OhioIt's a .5% increase, so an average of about $200-ish per household.
On a side note, the mayor who is pushing this is saying it's a police/firefighter services issue, but our neighbors - who are firefighters - say it's bullshit since the money is not guaranteed to go there.