Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Levying school assessments?

I understand that there may be a way for the Pickerington local schools to levy a assessment through the Pickerington Home Rule powers.

Is this true?

What does the community need to do to make this happen?

Hold on..

I am as sympathetic as the next guy to the plight of the schools, but hold on a second. Why don't we just let the city do what they must and get the impact fees through three readings? Let's get them in place and begin collecting some sort of compensation for the cost that new development brings. I read in the paper where the economic developer for the city left for another job. Isn't that the position that has to maintain and regulate the impact fee funds? The city has to fill that position.

There may perhaps be future considerations for the schools but let's let the council do what the schools have been asking them to to for years - slow growth. I think they have been increasingly successful as the months go by and the new studies are adopted.

Also let's see if the township can and/or will look at impact fees themselves. They also have made gains is slowing growth. Let's give credit where it is due. THANKS GARY!! Now go look at impact fees.

Let the city enact and begin collecting the fees and when that experience is under their belt they can look at the agreements that I am sure must be in place before they can address collecting funds for the schools.

One thing at a time. Council still has a huge hole to dig out of thanks to Wright, Sabatino, Parker, Mapes, Bushman... you know the usual suspects, but I think the council can at least see the top of the hole and a lot of the dirt quit falling in on them.

One place he didn't go

He didn't go back on the personnel board. What's up with that???

Light at the end of the tunnel

I think the general direction of the NEW PICKERINGTON CITY COUNCIL is to follow their goals and enact some kind of impact fee for the City's infrastructure similar to what Lancaster is currently doing.

What is important here is that what was thought to be an impossible task of finding ways to charge off to new development the capital costs of new school buildings may now have a glimmer of hope within our community. Clearly Gary Weltlich has been a driving force in the township with this kind of thinking.

As for the city they can hire another person to administer the impact fees. They can even contract that work out if they deem it necessary.

Once the city gets in place their impact fee program and maybe a year or so down the road with some additional studies to justify other fees to be assessed the schools and the Township can also begin to collect impact type fees that help all of the community in coping with this growth. Whether it is a light at the end of the tunnel or that you see the top of the hole I think there appears to be some real progress beginning to form within our community.

I understand Parker what now to reconsider the Community Authority. Doug it didn't work in 2003 and it won't work now.