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CITY OF NORTH OLMSTED RESOLUTION NO. 2006 - 81 By: Mayor O'Grady A RESOLUTION TO OPPOSE CONSTITUTIONAL TAX AND EXPENDITURE LIMITATION PROPOSALS (TABOR AND SIMILAR PROPOSAL), AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. WHEREAS, the Citizens for Tax Reform and others are endorsing proposals to amend the Ohio Constitution to institute tax and expenditure limitations at the state, and local, levels of government that could only be overridden by a popular vote - an example of these proposals is the so-called "Taxpayers Bill of Rights"; and WHEREAS, Colorado has instituted a similar Constitutional proposal and faced such severe problems in meeting the basic needs of their citizenry that voters suspended key aspects of the law in November, 2005; and WHEREAS, such proposals tie the hands of state and local leaders in times of crisis and other unpredictable circumstances, circumventing state and local governments' thoughtful consideration of policy decisions; and WHEREAS, such a proposal would reduce funding for education, health care, public safety, libraries, economic development, and other vital services to citizens; and WHEREAS, such a proposal could undercut state constitutional provisions requiring state support of education and require the repeal of all state laws that conflict with the proposal; and WHEREAS, such proposals would prevent state and local officials from making the tough decisions they were elected to make, passing the responsibility for learning all aspects of often complex issues to citizens who have other jobs and responsibilities; and WHEREAS, such a proposal would allow taxpayers to sue political subdivisions in order to procure cuts in services and have those lawsuits paid for by other taxpayers; and WHEREAS, such a proposal would grant veto power to non-voters, in a perversion of the democratic process, by creating asuper-majority requirement that few political subdivisions could meet; and WHEREAS, amending the constitution is a virtually irrevocable action and should only be undertaken when legislative remedies have proven enduringly inadequate; and WHEREAS, such constitutional tinkering brings great harm to local communities through continued reductions in state funding, erodes decision-making at the local level and degrades government's ability to provide the basic services residents and businesses expect and deserve; and WHEREAS, such proposals would force the state, and local governments, to spend valuable time and money asking for permission from the same people who elected them before any action can be taken on important issues, and would also force taxpayers to pay twice for governance -once for elections of the state and local officials and again for elections to make the decisions those officials should have made; and WHEREAS, such proposals contradict the fundamental principles upon which our constitution and system of representative government are based and damages the ability to craft good public policy; and