Video: Eklund, Filipiak Discuss Local V. State Tax Collection

The Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a Q & A with State Sen. John Eklund Friday morning at Seeker's Coffee House in Mentor.

Members of the chamber asked Eklund (R-Munson Township) questions on topics as varied as bipartisanship, school funding and football fandom.

Mentor City Manager Kenneth Filipiak asked Eklund's take on the proposal that the state of Ohio, as opposed to local municipalities, collect income taxes.

Mentor City Council has already passed a resolution that opposes the state collecting income taxes.

"A lot of us have concerns about how local revenue that is collected by the state might be used over time, considering what has happened with the local government fund," Filipiak had said at the time of Council's vote, referring to the state's decision to halve the money that cities get from the LGF.

Eklund replied that he generally believed that communities are best managed at a local level. However, he could be convinced specific matters, including tax collection, are better handled by the state if there is enough evidence.

He added, for now, he knew no specific reason why income tax should be collected by the state.

Other videos from the Eklund Q & A:

• State Sen. John Eklund on bipartisanship
• State Sen. John Eklund on "the brain drain"