Mayor’s Page
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Mayor Don Kuchta
Mission statement:
‘We are committed to provide the citizens of Macedonia exceptional constituent service. It is our goal to ensure that every encounter with our office reflects our dedication to the interest and well being of our beloved City and its citizens.’
Mayor’s Report – May 9, 2013
The first thing I have to say to you all is a great big “THANK YOU” for so soundly passing issue one which is a renewal of our FIre Levy. It was passed 4 to 1 this time and last time it was passed 2-1. People are realizing more and more how important a Fire Department such as ours is to living in Macedonia. We have voted to keep our Fire Department strong. As your Mayor I thank you and as a resident of Macedonia I thank you for passing this levy. We are lucky that we have this valuable asset that is our Fire Department.
I will be in Washington next week to meet with Congressman Joyce and Congressman Renacci. I am working with Congressman Joyce to obtain funding for some anticipated safety projects for the City.
On the local scene I was in Independence this morning for a meeting of the North East Ohio Mayors Association. The hot topic is State House Bill 5. This is the house bill that threatens our main source of revenue, City Income Tax. It is very important that the Mayors join together to have force in numbers to oppose this Bill passing. It may be hard for you to understand the impact this will have on your city so let me try to give you an example…..The City of Macedonia is standing at a bus stop…The State (with a mask on) comes up and robs you of every penny you have. But then they give you bus fare and they expect you to be grateful! The State has been taking away things like inheritance tax and municipal funding (which is our cut of the sales tax) and saying “you’re on your own.” Then they want to take away our ability to be on our own with House Bill 5.
Last Friday, Jim Degaetano and I were in Columbus for a Safety Directors meeting. Jim came with me to learn rules and regulations in promoting safety in our City. Many times I turn to our service department to implement safety measures. The seminar was put on by the Ohio Safety Directors Association which I am an active member of because I also serve Macedonia as Safety Director of Macedonia. There were only 2 other Mayors there that serve as Safety Directors and Mayors. Most of those present were hired Safety Directors by Cities and Townships across the state.
I have met with three other businesses since our last Council meeting that are interested in either expanding or locating here. This is all good stuff. Every business brings in employees. Employees pay 2 1/4 % City Income Tax. They keep your Real Estate City Operating Taxes down! The Real Estate City Operating Tax has been basically the same since 1962.
Our old City Hall is on the Summit County Council Agenda to be demolished. It really is sad to see a building that could have been put to good use…. be torn down. In a way it puts an end to my quest to try and help the County fill that building with something that would benefit us not only as a city….but as a community. Maybe I should be relieved that I won’t have to worry about it any more. At our next council meeting I will be bringing forward legislation to accept a quick claim deed to accept the property. This is because of the efforts of Nick Kostandaras, Jason Dodson, and County Executive Russ Pry. This will be at no cost to the City. I would like to thank these County Officials for working with us all along, in our efforts to fill the building, and now for giving us a clean parcel of land that will probably be a grassy plot with some flowers and a park bench or two.
Nick Kostandaras told me today about the property as we went to our Senior Luncheon to enjoy some of the best chicken paprikash I ever hand. our Senior Coordinator Cheri is serving fantastic food at fantastic prices to our seniors and to our neighboring communities seniors. The lunch costs $3 for a Macedonia senior and $4 for one of our neighbors. You need to come and enjoy if you are a senior!
Our Mayors Court will be written up in the Legal publication Akron Legal News as one of the most successful Mayors Courts around. Our Prosecutor Myra Severyn, and I, spoke with editor Benjamin White and answered every conceivable question of why we felt is was better to have a court that is local, personable, convenient, and actually helps the Municipal Court docket be more manageable. We are not a speed trap Mayors Court Community that lives off their Mayors Court receipts. Actually the Mayors court total receipts make up only 4% of our budget. We have great police that are supported having a court right here in town. They don’t have to leave Macedonia every court day to appear.
Governor Kasich has signed the Transportation Budget/Ohio Turnpike Plan. It will raise $1.5 billion in new Turnpike bonds. It guarantees that at least 90% of the money will go to fix northern road projects in Ohio. In Summit County… that is north of 303! That’s a good thing. There will also be a partial toll freeze for the next ten years. That’s another good thing. At least some good is coming from the State Government.
