Days Since Last Surprise: 1

5/13/2019
What was surprising? Gahanna City Council announces settlement for Overtax Lawsuit.
Was it really that surprising? Yes.
Gahanna City Council has spent 7 years adamantly insisting that this was a frivolous lawsuit without any substance. Despite losing repeatedly, including in front of the Ohio Supreme Court, and most recently the $13.1 judgement for damages, council members remained in lock step agreement that they would continue to appeal and prevail. Abruptly announcing a settlement, less than a week after the election, is doubly surprising since such a settlement is unlikely to have fallen together in just 6 days.
Citation: Gahanna settles 2012 tax-credit lawsuit
GahannaTaxLawsuit.com

5/7/2019
What was surprising? Primary election results for Issue 12.
Was it really that surprising? Yes and no.
It was not surprising to the 16 thousand residents and voters that received the letter explaining the predicament Gahanna City Council had created for them and the conditions placed on the issue vote.
Yes, for all the residents and voters who didn't even realize there was an election. Out of 36 thousand Gahanna residents, and 16 thousand registered voters, only 5,895* cast votes in favor of this significant tax increase.
That is 16% of the town.
In a classic case of the tail wagging the dog, those voters will have an outsized impact on the political, economic and cultural growth of our city.
Citation: *96% of precincts reporting / 2019 Primary Election Unofficial Results

There is no budget crisis in Gahanna. The City government has gone years spending grants and borrowed money and become accustomed to a certain level of spending.
Our city is vibrant, healthy and growing.
We can have the nice things that we want by being patient and allowing our community to grow into affording them.
Raising taxes seems like an easy fix, more money, a lot more money, to pour on problems and wishlists alike. Taxes and waivers have their own unseen consequences and cause new problems for our neighbors. Businesses may choose not to move here, businesses may close. Neighbors may be squeezed into moving, they will have less to spend in shops and donate to charity.
Our city is more than just the government, potholes, pools and parks.
If we want some things sooner we can donate and volunteer to get those things.
Gahanna does not have a budget crisis, we have a patience crisis.
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