By Kurt Fankhauser, City Council President and owner of Wavelinc

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect FreeWire’s views and opinions.

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.” [We asked for clarification or data to prove this claim but Fankhauser refused to answer our requests]

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

Editor’s Note: FreeWire maintains editorial standards that include fact-checking and seeking clarifications when necessary. The opinions in this letter are those of the author and do not reflect the views of FreeWire. While we reached out to the author for clarification on specific claims, no response was received by the time of publication.

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