Have you ever heard the expression “No one does anything you tell them, but they will do anything you ask them?” I don’t think that is any more true than in my hometown of Ironton.

On the surface you may find that a critical comment toward my birthplace. (Sounds strange doesn’t it, my birthplace.)

However, it is not a criticism but I feel an often overlooked positive trait.

If you look around you will find, almost every week, people of our town helping others.

I have been a part of many discussions lately about our great city and what has been going on. In fairness, many of the conversations have been negative.

However, I feel that in almost all conversations there is one central theme. Many of our people are opposed to everything, because they simply know nothing.

Now, don’t rush to judgement. Let me explain.

I am counted in that number along with everyone else. I feel the citizens of Ironton are negative toward city leadership because we just don’t know what’s going on.

That is a two way street I know. I don’t attend council meetings and I’m sure most do not.

However, I feel that if the leadership wants the community support, we must provide a vision and provide education.

In Ironton we have a 1 percent income tax. If our city wanted to charge more, the citizens of Ironton would have to support it by majority vote.

In lieu of getting support, leadership has enacted fees and changed agreements in order to raise the funds to provide what they deem to be the services the citizens need.

Did you know that Portsmouth, Athens, Chillicothe and Marietta all have income tax rates of at least 1.6 percent and, in one case, it’s 2 percent?

All of those taxes would have had to have been voted in by a majority vote.

Did you also know that Ironton has the ability to charge an income tax on its citizens for the sole purpose of economic development? The port authority has that ability, but it would also take a majority vote of the citizens.

Now, I am not saying that I believe these income tax rate hikes would pass by vote, but how do we know? Maybe our town would support an income tax for the purpose of economic development? Maybe they would support an income tax in general if we truly knew what it was going to be used for?

Question? Why do we need more revenue to run the city? Whatever that answer is should be conveyed by our mayor and council acting in unison.

We need to carry that message to our citizens and ask them to support our vision. How do we do that? How about state of the city addresses twice per year? They could be held in the lobby of our city center and broadcast on Ohio University TV. I believe the public access TV is often an under-utilized tool of city government. What about viewpoints in The Tribune?

Let’s cast our vision and ask our citizens to support it. If they don’t support it, we must cut the services.

Ultimately, the citizens will support what they want to support and we move on. We have to work together.

Don’t tell us. Ask us.

 

Jay Zornes is an Ironton resident, business owner and member of the school board.