Vote Yes on November 4

On November 4, a ballot question will appear in Sharon offering the voters the opportunity to amend the Charter.  I urge you to vote "YES" on this ballot question.

The question reads:

Shall the Sharon City Charter be amended by repealing Section 914, "Tax Limitations" and replace it with the following provisions of a new Section 914?

Section 914 Tax Limitations
Effective January 1, 2015, Council may increase the rate of the City earned income tax from time to time if, and only if, Council shall in the same year reduce the real property tax millage by a rate estimated to off-set the increased revenue generated by the earned income tax.

YES
NO


Proposed Plain English Statement: a Yes vote amends the Charter by removing caps on tax rates such as are applicable to Third Class Cities other than as stated for Earned Income Tax rates.  A No vote means no change in the charter.
 

The purpose of this Charter amendment is to allow Sharon to increase its real estate transfer tax to a rate that is more in line with the home rule communities around us.  Currently, the charter restricts any taxes to those in the third class city code for non-home rule communities, with the exception of the income tax.  By raising the real estate transfer tax to the level of that tax in Hermitage or Farrell, Sharon could gain the equivalent of as much as a mill of real estate taxes each year. 

Currently, when homes in Sharon are sold, the real estate transfer tax is 2%.  Of that 2%, 1% goes to the state, 0.5% goes to the school, and 0.5% goes to the city.

In Hermitage the transfer tax rate  is 2.5%, with 1% going to the city.
In Farrell, the transfer tax rate is 3%, with 1.5% going to the city.


By amending the City Charter through this ballot question, the voters will allow City Council to adopt a higher real estate transfer tax in the future.  Since surrounding communities already have higher transfer tax rates, Sharon should be able to raise transfer tax rates to an equal level without harming local homes sales.  Given the time and financing of transfer taxes, this revenue stream has a smaller impact on decisions to buy a home in Sharon than an equivalent increase in property taxes.

Please vote "YES" on this ballot question.  If you have additional questions, please leave them in the comment section below and I will address them.