*Note: This is a reader-submitted opinion piece. Opinions and letters to the editor can be sent to news@crawfordcountynow.com

Now, let’s talk about the long-term effects of this festive generosity. While raising the wages of city employees seems like a kind and noble gesture in the short term, one must ask: is it sustainable? The $4.25 wage increase per hour sounds nice, but how will the city budget manage these increased costs year after year?

The 2025 Bucyrus city budget, like a poorly wrapped present, brings with it a host of problems that are too easily ignored in the face of holiday cheer. It’s well and good to applaud pay raises, but at what cost to the city’s financial health? As anyone who’s managed a household budget knows, you can’t keep spending more than you earn, especially if you’re relying on the generosity of others—or the eventual extraction of more taxes from your neighbors.

Bucyrus might be skating on thin ice with this pay raise. With a budget that could very well strain under the weight of unsustainable wage hikes, the city may find itself facing a future where services are cut, infrastructure deteriorates, or taxes rise to cover the gap. And who will bear the brunt of these financial missteps? You guessed it—those very same taxpayers, who are already tightening their belts as they struggle to keep up with their own living expenses.

It’s also important to remember that raises should be tied to productivity, growth, and a city’s ability to handle the increased expenses. If the city can’t justify this pay hike through increased efficiency, innovation, or an influx of new revenue, then it risks creating a future budgetary nightmare. The last thing we want is for Bucyrus to find itself in a perpetual cycle of raising taxes just to meet rising wage bills.

One Bucyrus taxpayer told me last week, “When they are giving out $4.00 hour raises, they shouldn’t be going after those people who work outside of the city to pay for it. If they decide to go that route I’ll be back up there expressing my opinion. Working for the city is now the highest paid jobs in Bucyrus. They pay more than Timken.”

Perhaps it’s time for the City Council to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. A city that is financially stable will not only be able to offer fair wages to its workers but also ensure that its residents aren’t left holding the bill. Without a long-term fiscal strategy, this $4.25 raise could very well end up being the gift that keeps on giving… in the form of higher taxes, reduced services, and an ever-dwindling sense of fairness among Bucyrus taxpayers.

-Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Kurt Fankhauser

616 Prospect St.
Bucyrus, OH 44820