FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT

Mansfield City Council Don Bryant, Councilman At-Large

30 N. Diamond St. Phone: (419) 755-9680
Mansfield, OH 44902 dbryant@ci.mansfield.oh.us

April 19, 2019

Councilman Bryant to request bipartisan legislation to make the

Downtown Improvement Advisory Board more open and
transparent
Mansfield City Councilman At-Large, Don Bryant, is expected to request bipartisan legislation
that would establish the appointment of one Republican and one Democrat from City Council
to the Downtown Improvement Advisory Board

MANSFIELD—In January 2019, the $5.00 annual vehicle license tax increase took effect for all vehicles
registered in the City of Mansfield. The tax is allocated to fund future downtown improvement projects
through the newly established Downtown Improvement Advisory Board and with the consent of City
Council.

But on April 16, 2019, Mayor Tim Theaker advised City Council that they are “not welcome” to attend or
to participate on the Downtown Improvement Advisory Board.

“This is not what we were told when we approved the creation of this board,” stated Councilman At-
Large, Don Bryant. “The mayor’s response on this issue is an immediate disregard to the people of
Mansfield.”

Mansfield City Council approved the creation of the Downtown Improvement Advisory Board in 2018.
The board consists of the mayor and six members appointed by the mayor, all of whom must be
confirmed by council. The purpose of the board is to reinvent and revitalize Mansfield’s downtown and to
seek creative avenues to strategically maximize grants and other revenue streams for downtown
improvement projects. Moreover, the board is to encourage collaboration between the City of Mansfield
and local residents.

Bryant raised immediate concern to the lack of transparency pertaining to the use of public funds, and is
calling for the mayor to allow members of council to attend the meetings.

“City government is not a private business and taxpayer dollars are not for private use. What is the mayor
hiding and why is he minimalizing the voice of the people? Downtown Improvement Advisory Board
meetings involve the planning and eventual spending of taxpayer dollars. This is a public process and the
moment City Council approved the creation of this board, it should have been understood that the board
needs to be open and transparent.”

President and CEO of the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce, Jodie Perry, stated in February 2019
that “downtown is everyone’s neighborhood.”

Bryant agrees with Perry’s statement and adds, “This makes the case even more relevant to why then, the
public should have a seat at the table.”
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