04.19.21 MEETING MINUTES - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes of the Regular Meeting of Council Monday, April 19, 2021 Page 6 our best to support the businesses in our community, but the impact this crisis would have on the Village revenues was yet unknown. Out of an abundance of caution, many of our capital projects and purchases were placed on hold while we assessed the economic harm caused by the virus. As the pandemic hit, Governor DeWine declared an emergency and the Ohio legislature passed HB 197, which included a waiver of the "20 -day rule" and provided that municipal income tax for employees working from home for the duration of the health emergency, plus 30 days, would continue to be paid to the municipality where they would otherwise be working. The legislation was legally challenged several times during the past year and, most recently, the Ohio legislature overrode the Governor's veto of SB 22, allowing lawmakers to overturn state orders issued in response to a state emergency. Barring intervention from the courts or extension by the legislature, SB 22 will become effective on June 23, 2021 and will allow the legislature to terminate the Governor's current state of emergency 30 days after the legislative action is taken. HB 197 ends in just a few months. Both municipalities and businesses are likely to immediately experience substantial impacts. Municipalities would lose the revenue stability that HB 197 provided as they continue to deliver necessary services to their communities. Additionally, businesses need time to ensure they are able to track, report and remit withholdings to the local jurisdiction of each employee that continues to work from home. It is currently unknown how many employers will extend their current work -from -home policies or choose to return employees to their principal place of employment within a municipality. There is potentially more bad news on the horizon. While HB 197 remained in place during 2020 and through the first quarter of 2021, allowing us to retain a significant portion of our income tax revenue, the retention of this revenue remains uncertain as some members of the legislature are taking steps that would allow employees to file for income tax refunds retroactive to March of 2020. This result could take a big chunk out of our income and would be devastating for many of Ohio's larger cities. Efforts are underway to persuade the Ohio legislature to stem this action and to extend HB 197's protections until the end of 2021 or even later. As we wait to see when the COVID emergency provisions will end, and whether retroactivity will apply, many employees are beginning to return to work. While we need to continue to be aware of the potential for future impacts to our local revenues, and plan accordingly, we have thus far weathered the pandemic very solidly. With the added assistance of the Federal Government's CARES Act, and rebates from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, the state of the Village remains strong. Much of our focus this past year has been to monitor and educate ourselves on the pandemic, to plan our responses, to implement the orders and laws that pertained to us, and to assist our residents and businesses. We all learned how to work remotely, hold virtual meetings, and maintain transparency while continuing to serve our community.