TRUMBULL COUNTY Tsagaris asks 3 agencies to forgo levies to give sales tax more room

The tax could be earmarked for the sheriff's department and the courts.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County Commissioner James Tsagaris has asked three countywide agencies not to pursue levies in November so a 0.5-percent piggyback county sales tax won't be on a ballot crowded with tax issues.
Commissioners haven't committed to again seeking voter approval for the tax, which failed in every precinct in the county when put before voters last year.
But this week, Tsagaris said he agreed with fellow Commissioner Joseph J. Angelo that a 0.5-percent piggyback tax should be put on the ballot -- as long as neither of them is indicted.
"If the indictments come down, there is no point in even talking," Tsagaris said.
Over the past few months, Tsagaris, Angelo, Sheriff Thomas Altiere and Auditor David Hines have all been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury investigating county purchasing. The probe so far has resulted in the indictment of one department head, his wife and several vendors.
Tsagaris said believes he is a target of the probe but said he would be shocked if he were indicted.
If he or Angelo is indicted before the election, the tax "is doomed," he said.
Tsagaris said he does not have a backup plan if the piggyback tax fails, or if there are indictments and commissioners decide not to put it on the ballot.
If the piggyback tax is approved, the total county sales tax would be 1 percent.
Where money would go
To make the tax more palatable to voters, Tsagaris proposes earmarking the roughly $13 million it will raise strictly for the criminal and administrative justice services.
Because the sheriff's department and courts are such a large portion of the county's expenses, this could be done without significant changes to department budgets, he said.
According to information from the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, commissioners must have plans prepared and place a legal ad in the newspaper by July 7 to get a tax issue on the November ballot.
The auditor estimates a budget shortfall of about $6 million next year if no new taxes are approved, and officials say the county is already lean after layoffs last year.
Commissioner Dan Polivka, who took office in January, has not taken a position on the piggyback tax. He could not be reached Friday to comment.
What was requested
Tsagaris said he asked officials from Trumbull County Children Services, Fairhaven School for the Retarded and District XI Area on Aging to postpone levy requests so voters in November won't be overwhelmed by the number of tax issues.
Lifelines may still pursue a mental health levy in November, he said.
If a majority of the board agreed, commissioners could enact a sales tax for justice services without getting voter approval. Commissioners would have to start the process by the end of September if they wanted to start collecting money by Jan. 1, the commissioners association says.
In light of the county's current financial problems, Tsagaris said he has begun to have second thoughts about his campaign six years ago to "roll back the tax," and reduce the sales tax at that time from 0.75 percent to 0.5 percent.
"Should I have taken the tax off? If I didn't, they would have called me a liar," he said. "Was it the smart thing to do? Maybe we could have done it someway else."