Fiscal challenges remain in Columbiana County

By their vote Tuesday, residents of Columbiana County saved the county from inevitable financial collapse.
In approving renewal of the 1 percent sales tax for five years, residents gave commissioners an opportunity to continue working to provide the county with vital services.
Certainly the commissioners don't have the luxury of cruising; indeed they are not even going to be able to restore the cuts that have been made.
That's because the county has been operating with 1.5 percent in sales taxes. The 1 percent, which was due to expire at the end of this year, was renewed. The other half percent will expire at the end of August. Even if it is put on the November ballot for renewal and approved, the county will lose several months of collection.
Limits of power
But aside from the obvious income issues facing the commissioners -- each half-percent of sales tax produces 22 percent of the general fund -- the commissioners are limited in the extent to which they can control overall county spending.
Of the 175 employees in the county, only four work directly for the commissioners.
It is the responsibility of every county officeholder and every department head to look for ways of cutting costs.
No wiggle room
There is no room in county government today for fiscal abuse. Part-time members of the Board of Elections who claim that they are entitled to full health care benefits -- and that if they don't have such coverage, the county's ability to conduct fair and efficient elections is somehow endangered -- are doing a disservice to county government.
Columbiana County has made greater strides than Mahoning County in increasing the share of health care costs that are carried by the employees, but the burden must be shared equally and the search for ways of saving more can never be abandoned.
Though their power may be limited, commissioners are charged with the obligation of providing for the safety and welfare of the county's residents.
And though the commissioners have only four of those 175 county employees in their office, it is the commissioners who will be out front in the coming months making the case for renewal of the second stone in the county's fiscal foundation -- the half-percent tax that will be expiring this summer.
That's not a role they want, but it's one that they dare not shirk. The voters should hear them out. Their fellow officeholders should provide their full support.