It’s to easy for council to pick the pockets of those who work and own property to pay for all those that don’t. Just think,  some members of council pay no city income tax but want you to pay two percent out of your hard-earned dollars to pay for their foolish mistakes and mismanagement.

Through a records request, I found the city auditor transferred over a million dollars out of the water works fund and used  $1 million of water revenues to pay part of the $3.5 million in salaries and benefits for the fire department. So if you think the money will only be used for fire and police, I have some swamp farm land for sale. 

Once they have the money they can transfer it however they want; they call it an ordinance! Why do you think we are in financial trouble, much like the wasted $2 million Martings building purchase.

The 2011 Ohio minimum wage is $7.40 per hour for non-tipped employees. This is about 15 cents an hour pay withheld or about $6 a week for city tax alone.

This is about a week's pay at the end of the year even for those that don’t even live in the city. This should be considered  robbery, not a city tax!

Lets not forget about the $10,000 raises the top city officials got, which also trickled down to all department heads, and the $1,500 a month paid health insurance for each council members.  Malone is hiring people, unlike other cities who are making cutbacks. Where’s the cutbacks in Portsmouth? Looks like it’s in our paychecks.

It was nice for council to make a comparisons to other cities income tax rates, but let me also make a comparison. Jackson, Ohio, has no city income tax and if you’ve been to Jackson, you’ll notice the streets are maintained and the city is clean and businesses are opening; unlike Portsmouth, a dying city, that instead of coming up with ways to save the city they are killing it by invoking more taxes and fees on the few left paying. Instead of encouraging business we are moving them out of town. Look around they are moving out of the reach of stupidity.

Jackson city government had the foresight and intelligence to make investments and proper planning years ahead so it would encourage growth with no income tax on its workforce. 

Portsmouth city council takes the easy way out by imposing more taxes and fees until the very life of this city is gone.

Some city officials have dug to a new low by counting college students living in tax-free dorms as permanent residents to enhance the city's population. 

With rising food cost and fuel prices skyrocketing, think about those trying to make an honest living for their families. 

Make the Portsmouth City Council buckle their belts and make the same cutbacks as the people they are supposed to represent.  Vote no against the charter amendment income tax increase in May.

Harald Daub

Portsmouth