"Community Learning Centers," as advocated by President Bush, serve two purposes: to be used as public schools during the day; and to be used after-hours and during the summer by the community - - for recreation, entertainment, education, and civic purposes.

Funds raised through this initiative would be sufficient to meet Akron’s local match of approximately $270 million over 30 years which would trigger another $409 million from the State of Ohio, money from the national tobacco settlement, and allocated to the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission for school construction.

Council is being asked to approve legislation to do the following:

1. Conduct a special election for Akron voters on Tuesday, May 6, 2003.

2. Place before voters, a ballot issue that would increase the Akron income tax by one quarter of one percent (.25%), to a total of 2.25%, effective January 1, 2004, for a period of 30 years.

3. Establish a Community Learning Center Income Tax Fund.
   (All of the dollars raised through the tax increase would be paid into this fund, and used to "acquire, construct or renovate, enlarge, add to or reconstruct, repair and maintain, equip and furnish" Community Learning Centers. The ordinance also authorizes the purchase and improvement of real estate to create the Community Learning Centers.)

4. Authorize the City to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Akron Public Schools to provide for the term of the agreement, the allocation of the tax proceeds, the transfer of funds from the City to construct the Centers, the ownership, use, operation, and maintenance of the Community Learning Centers.

5. Authorize the Finance Director to reduce the income tax increase, every two years, in the event that other new dollars become available for school construction.
   (For example, if Summit County voters approve a sales tax for school construction in the future, the Akron income tax would be reduced from .25% to a percentage that will equal the difference between the monies raised by the income tax hike, and the new source of funds.)

Akron Finance Director Cathy Watson says that based upon income tax collections received by the City in 2002, the increase is expected to raise about $12 million annually.

Any Akron tax increase will also be passed on to workers in the four Joint Economic Development Districts (JEDD) that Akron has with Bath-Fairlawn, Copley Township, Coventry Township, and Springfield Township.

Each JEDD is governed under a separate contract that requires the JEDD boards to levy an income tax on workers in the district equal to Akron’s income tax. The date on which an increase above 2% can be implemented is also specified in each contract. In Bath-Fairlawn, the increase would take effect January 1, 2006; in the other three JEDDs, January 1, 2005.

In the Bath-Fairlawn JEDD, Akron, Bath, and Fairlawn each would receive one-third of the net income tax increase.

In Copley, Coventry, and Springfield, each of the townships would receive one-third, and Akron would receive two-thirds of the increase in the income tax.