哥伦布市议会8比0通过财政护栏：所得税预留基金运营动用每年削减10%
俄亥俄州富兰克林县哥伦布市市议会11月2日以8比0的投票结果通过一项法典修改，限制市长动用预算平衡工具的方式，市议员 Nick Bankston 缺席会议。
据《哥伦布电讯报》报道，这项由市议会主席 Shannon Hardin 提出的措施，要求市政府逐步减少将所得税预留子基金用于日常运营支出的规模，每年削减10%。该子基金存放全市所得税收入的25%，原本用于偿还为建设资本项目而承担的债务。市长 Andrew Ginther 的财政主管 Chris Long 在会上表示担忧，称2026年运营预算将动用该子基金约5000万美元，约占运营预算的4%，并表示限制这一财政工具的灵活性可能束缚市政府。市审计官 Jacquelin Lewis 支持立法，称评级机构已警告，市政府持续依赖该基金可能招致信用评级下调。最终法案还赋予审计官在紧急情况下动用该基金的「打破玻璃」权限。
Ginther 政府指责市议会将这一问题政治化，而 Hardin 正在挑战 Ginther 竞选2027年市长一职；市长须在不到两周内提交2027年运营预算提案。议员 Nancy Day-Achauer 在会上表示，这项立法意在遏制「拆东墙补西墙」的做法，是一个非常缓慢的退出过程。
（来源：哥伦布电讯报）
Columbus Council Votes 8-0 for Fiscal Guardrails on Income Tax Set-Aside Fund
The Columbus City Council in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, voted 8-0 on November 2 to pass a code change restricting how the mayor can use a budget-balancing tool; Councilmember Nick Bankston was absent.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, the measure, proposed by Council President Shannon Hardin, requires the city to gradually reduce its use of the Income Tax Set Aside subfund for operating expenses, curbing that use by 10 percent every year. The subfund holds 25 percent of all city income tax revenue and is intended for payments on debt taken on to build capital projects. Mayor Andrew Ginther's finance director, Chris Long, expressed alarm, saying the 2026 operating budget will tap about $50 million from the subfund, or about 4 percent of the operating budget, and that limiting the flexibility of the fiscal tool could hamstring the city. City Auditor Jacquelin Lewis supported the legislation, saying credit rating agencies have warned that continued reliance on the fund could lead to a downgrade. The final legislation also gives the auditor "break glass" authority to tap the fund in an emergency.
The Ginther administration has accused the council of politicizing the issue, while Hardin is challenging Ginther for mayor in 2027; the mayor must present a 2027 operating budget proposal in less than two weeks. Councilmember Nancy Day-Achauer said the legislation reins in the practice of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" and called it a very slow weaning.
(Source: The Columbus Dispatch)
来源：哥伦布电讯报
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：哥伦布市政厅。General Ization 摄，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Columbus City Hall, Ohio. By General Ization, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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