MAHONING COUNTY Need for sales tax debated

The commissioners likely will make their decision by Dec. 30, an official said.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Stopping Mahoning County's progress for half a penny is not the route the county commissioners should take, said supporters of the half-percent sales tax.
Another standing-room-only crowd filled the county commissioners' hearing room Friday for the second and last public hearing before their decision on whether to impose the half-cent sales and use tax that voters defeated by a narrow margin in November. The first hearing was Monday.
Joseph Caruso, assistant county administrator, said the commissioners likely will make their decision at their last meeting of the year, which is Dec. 30.
At stake is whether $13 million to $14 million will continue coming into the county's general fund next year.
Because voters failed to renew the tax in November, it expires Dec. 31.
Revenue
The county's estimated revenue for 2005 is $34.2 million, but general fund budget requests for next year have come in at $57 million, which is about what the county is projected to spend this year.
That means that $23 million must be pared from those requests to meet the expected revenue. Even if the commissioners impose the tax, which would raise the 2005 spending plan to about $48 million, cuts will still have to be made.
Most of those speaking Friday urged the commissioners to "do the right thing" and impose the tax so county services, especially protection provided by the sheriff's department and 911 dispatching, can continue without staggering layoffs.
Proponents said if the county wants to continue future progress, a stabilized revenue source is needed.
"We're arguing again over a half a penny," said Charles Emery of Austintown. "The longer we stay divided [over the sales tax], the farther we're going to fall behind" other communities.
Police chiefs from Washingtonville, Coitsville and Goshen Township sent letters urging the commissioners to think hard about public safety if the 911 center is hamstrung and inmates released from the county jail because of cutbacks initiated by the lost sales tax revenue.
Richard J. Billak, chief executive officer of Community Corrections Association, said the issue boils down to the sanctity of the vote vs. the community's safety and security.
Billak said closing the county jail and releasing hundreds of inmates "is not a TV commercial; it will be a reality."
"Perhaps it is time to shed blood and let the people see this is not about a political issue; it is about the community and health and welfare," Billak said.
Prosecutor Paul J. Gains made an impassioned plea for the commissioners to impose the tax. He said no opponent of the tax has stepped forward to point out one specific example of the commissioners wasting taxpayers' money.
"The demand has not decreased for our services, but rather increased," Gains said. He acknowledged there were corrupt people in county government at one time, but they are now in prison for their crimes.
Atty. Mark Huberman, a former Boardman school board member and now a member of the county's corrections planning board, said the most common refrain from sales tax opponents is "No means no" and "The public has spoken." He rejected that mindset.
"I ask you to consider that if that mindset controlled the day among school boards, there would not be a school district in Ohio that would still be operating today since they have all failed levies at one time or another," Huberman said, adding he urged the commissioners to impose the tax.
Other supporters spoke about how the resulting cuts in county staff would impact their businesses and housing development.
Terry Abrams of the Homebuilders & amp; Remodelers Association of Mahoning Valley said building permits for new construction in the county total $178 million so far this year. If there is a slowdown in building permits because of staff cuts, the builders lose money and time.
'Consent decree'
Sheriff Randall Wellington reminded commissioners a federal judge is waiting to see if they impose the tax before he decides whether to "issue a consent decree" against the county for conditions at the jail.
The sheriff said he believes the judge won't issue that decree if the tax is imposed. If not, the consent decree would mean the release of prisoners, Wellington said, because he won't have enough deputies to staff the jail at its current population of 668.
Opponents said the tax keeps getting defeated for two main reasons: Commissioners and elected officials are not spending county dollars properly, and commissioners eliminated the revenue sharing program, which gave a portion of sales tax receipts to the county's political subdivisions to leverage against federal and state money for infrastructure improvements.
The opponents added, however, they would be more inclined to go along with imposition of the tax if the commissioners agreed to let people vote on it next November and if it is put on for a specific length and not a continuing period of time.