Question of sales tax is likely to reappear

The county won't enter the year with a debt.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County commissioners plan to pass a temporary 2006 budget later this week.
But Commissioner Chairman Jim Hoppel said a vote to put a 0.5-percent sales tax on the ballot may not come until sometime in January.
The commissioners on Wednesday had the second of two public hearings to get comments on their plan to put the sales tax back before voters in May. Sixty-two percent of voters in November rejected renewal of the tax.
The county won't see any revenue from the tax in 2006 even if the tax is approved in May, Hoppel said.
The proposed tax would bring in about $4 million a year. But because of state enactment laws, the commissioners say they won't see any money from the tax until 2007.
County Auditor Nancy Milliken said the county will enter the new year with about $1.5 million, or about double what is needed to start the year.
About half the funds will pay for general expenses, including one payroll for county workers in January.
Milliken said the county has the extra money because, "I think the officeholders have been frugal."
The auditor added that the county for the first time in recent years will start the year without a large debt carryover.
If the tax passes, the commissioners may borrow against it to help fund offices in 2006.
Support for ag extension
No one at the hearing voiced opposition to the sales tax. But several people voiced support for the Cooperative Extension Service that provides a number of programs, including 4-H, which includes about 800 youths. But the extension's budget is expected to be slashed since it is not a legally mandated office.
Hoppel said, "It's not what we want to do but what we have to do. Our hands are tied."
The extension service plans to try to raise funds to help keep the office partly operating.
Farmer Myron Weir suggested a drive to get individuals to each contribute $50. Weir is also an unpaid member of the county's planning commission.
The drives may not be enough. Ernest Oelker, the local extension service educator, said two full-time support staff members are being cut at the end of the year.
"If the tax fails, we're going to close," Oelker said. "It's a matter of when."