Public hearings offer chance to hear from the 'no' voters

We find it hard to believe that the 64,000-plus Mahoning County residents who voted against the renewal of the half-percent sales tax earlier this month all belong to the "We're taxed off" school of local politics.
To be sure, the anti-tax movement has shown it has staying power, but as the passage of the other half-percent sales tax in 2002 demonstrated, it can be neutralized. Thus the question: Why did Issue 2 on the Nov. 2 general election ballot fail, albeit by fewer than 2,000 votes?
We hope the answers will be revealed during the public hearings that commissioners David Ludt and Edward Reese voted last week to organize. The hearings are the first step in the procedure that could lead to the imposition of the tax by Ludt and Reese.
Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock voted against the public hearings, thereby reiterating her opposition to commissioners' going against the will of the people. Indeed, Reese has also come out against such action, saying recently, "Imposition now is not the right thing."
But Ludt forced the issue of the public hearings last week after he and his colleagues met with a lawyer for Mahoning County on a federal consent decree the county signed years ago over the operation of the jail. The lawyer is scheduled to appear in federal court on the decree, which deals with conditions at the jail, including staffing.
Although the meeting between the lawyer and the commissioners was behind closed doors, Ludt revealed that the county faces "severe" economic consequences arising from the decree. He would not elaborate, but his push for the public hearings on the imposition of the sales tax suggests a heightened sense of urgency to address the $14 million shortfall next year as a result of the Nov. 2 "no" vote.
"This is political suicide, but there is no choice," Ludt said.
Backlash
Because of the political backlash, it is important for all three commissioners and the two commissioners-elect, Anthony Traficanti and John McNally IV, to actively participate in the public hearings. Traficanti and McNally will be replacing Reese and Sherlock in January. The two incumbents chose not to seek re-election this year.
The question they must seek to answer is this: Why did 64,000-plus county residents refuse to renew the half-percent sales tax?
What they hear will enable them to decide whether imposing the tax is a good idea. It will also give them the ammunition to deal with various officeholders whose departments receive general fund money.
The commissioners should be willing to challenge anyone who talks about waste in government without providing specifics. Unfortunately, there is a growing perception that Mahoning County government is like a giant sponge that soaks up whatever money it receives. Ludt, Reese and Sherlock should be prepared to address such claims with facts and figures.
Indeed, they should invite Tom Humphries, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, to join them at the public hearings to discuss the findings of an in-depth chamber study of county government's finances.
The chamber led the campaign for the renewal of the sales tax and pointed to one of the main findings of the study, namely, that there is no evidence of wholesale waste of taxpayer dollars.