MAHONING CO., AUSTINTOWN Commissioners, trustees warn of layoffs

One levy is a renewal, the other a new issue.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County and Austintown officials say public employees will be laid off if tax issues are not approved by voters Tuesday.
The Mahoning County commissioners are seeking a five-year renewal of a 0.5-percent sales tax, while the Austintown trustees are asking voters to approve a 2.5-mill levy for police.
Commissioner David Ludt has said the loss of the sales tax would cost the county more than $12 million per year. Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution earlier this month allowing them to lay off employees.
The resolution does not name any specific job titles or employees that would be laid off.
"There will definitely be a layoff," Ludt has said. "That would be devastating to the community."
Ludt also has called the passage of the tax a "no-brainer" because it is a renewal and not a tax increase.
Commissioners have said that if the renewal passes, they will no longer share some of the revenue it generates with the county's townships and municipalities.
A portion of the revenue has been given to area communities for development projects since the tax was first passed in 1999.
Ludt has said the county can't afford to continue sharing the revenue after 2004.
Austintown layoffs
Austintown trustees have already laid off two police officers and seven part-time firefighters to save money, and township officials said more layoffs can be expected if this new levy does not pass.
Trustee David Ditzler has said layoffs are necessary because 80 percent of the township budget is spent on salaries.
The levy would generate about $1.4 million for police.
Township officials said the township ended last year with a deficit because of increases in the cost of insurance, worker's compensation and wages, and decreases in revenue. It also was still feeling the financial effects of an unexpected $460,000 tax refund it had to pay to Phar-Mor in late 2002.
Trustees took out several loans to help cover some of the deficit. As this year began, township officials still had to repay $412,000.
Township Clerk Michael Kurish has said he expects the township to end this year barely in the black, in part because of past layoffs and budget cuts.
The township also is expected to receive a record amount of fees for construction permits this year, and it will benefit from a county effort to collect unpaid taxes.
That additional revenue, however, will not pay to rehire laid-off firefighters and police officers, Kurish said.
The levy failed by 900 votes when it appeared on the November ballot.