MAHONING COUNTY '05 budget is planned with funds from tax

Commissioners are hoping for the best but bracing for the worst with the tax.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners are cautiously preparing for next year's budget while they wait to find out whether voters will approve a 0.5-percent sales tax at the polls.
They will move forward on the premise that the tax will be renewed, but are mindful that it could fail, taking away a huge chunk of the county's general fund operating revenue.
"We've done this before," said Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock. "We can make no assumptions regarding the tax. You hope for the best but prepare for the worst."
One of two
The tax is one of two 0.5-percent sales taxes on the books in the county. It has been in place since 1999 and expires Dec. 31. The other one expires in 2007. The two taxes combined account for slightly more than half the county's annual general fund operating money.
The state auditor's office did a five-year forecast of county finances earlier this year and projected that because of declining revenue and increasing operating costs, the county will be in a deficit situation in five years with or without the tax.
If the tax is not renewed, the deficit will be more than $70 million by 2008 and the county could be placed in fiscal watch next year, the audit report says. The deficit would be about $15 million if the tax is approved.
Joseph Caruso, assistant county administrator, said commissioners are distributing copies of the audit report to each department head and elected official along with their 2005 budget packets.
"We believe it is incumbent upon these elected officials to look at that report and understand the totality of it," Caruso said. "We want them to bear that in mind when they prepare their budget requests for next year."
Caruso said commissioners will schedule budget hearings with each department after the election, once the fate of the tax is known.
Sheriff's department
Sheriff Randall Wellington, whose department historically gets the lion's share of general fund revenue, said he understands the county's plight but can't afford to cut back any further than he already has.
"I think we're performing very well here the way things are. We can't sustain any budget cuts," the sheriff said.
Wellington said that if his budget is reduced and he is forced to lay off deputies, it could cause him to release federal prisoners who are held in the county jail because there won't be enough staff to guard them. The inmates would be placed in other county jails.
The county generally holds at least 100 federal detainees who are awaiting appearances or sentencing in federal court. The county gets paid a daily rate by the federal government for each inmate it keeps. If the inmates are released, that revenue would be lost, further crippling the county, Wellington said.
Reese and Sherlock said that no matter what happens with the tax on election day, they intend to pass only a temporary budget for the first quarter of 2005. Their terms expire at the end of the year and neither is seeking re-election.
Candidates for seats
Democrat Anthony Traficanti and Republican Samuel Moffie are running for Sherlock's seat, while Democrat John McNally IV and Republican Patrick Strange are running for Reese's seat.
"I don't think it's right for us to pass somebody else's budget," Reese said, explaining that the new board of commissioners will have time to study the finances and approve a budget for the rest of next year.
"It doesn't matter who is in this office, you have to have that sales tax to keep things running," Reese said.
He said the newly elected commissioners will be welcome to work with current commissioners this year on budget-cutting decisions if the tax is defeated.
Sherlock said that if the tax is defeated, layoffs will be imminent and services will have to be reduced to only those that are mandated by state law.
But Connie Pierce, human resources director, said laying off employees doesn't mean the county no longer has to pay for them. By law, the county still must pay 50 percent of a laid-off employee's salary for up to 26 weeks to cover unemployment compensation costs.