BUCYRUS— Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser did not attend the Bucyrus City Council Finance Committee Meeting to see his bid to reduce the tax credit on out-of-town workers taken off the project list.
Councilman Kevin Myers made the motion citing contentious reactions from the community as one of the many reasons he was making the motion:
“There’s a lot of problems knowing exactly when this is going to get addressed. There was not a clear plan given by the Mayor. Under the right circumstances, I might’ve agreed with this. But we are paying $4.00 a gallon for gas and jobs are leaving this community. Now is not the right time. I informed the Mayor of my intention and what I planned to do and explained why. When the Mayor brings a better plan forward we can decide if we want to move this to committee.” Myers said.
Councilman Mark Makeever gave the second on the motion. With a unanimous vote by the committee, more than 10,000 people making up Bucyrus’ out-of-town workforce can breathe a sigh of relief.
In other committee business, Lisa Alsept apologized to council for her heated remarks at the last meeting. As a former council member Alsept said she understands how it feels to sit in the chair and remain calm and professional when people are angry. Alsept said she did not want to discourage people from service.
Robert Taylor also took the opportunity to address council. Taylor told council he realizes he comes across as very aggressive. He told council that as a Marine Infantry Veteran, his aggressive attitude is simply part of his personality, but he is not being aggressive.
“I’m not here to personally attack anyone but to point out what I don’t agree with. I’m behind a podium. I’m not being aggressive,” Taylor said.
Taylor went on to say that the city needs to consider cuts. He again suggested that the position of Mayor be reduced to part-time. Taylor also told council that some of their spending proposals are not necessary.