TRUMBULL COUNTY Despite failure, group tries to submit petition

Because of staff cuts, the auditor's office was closed when the petition arrived.
WARREN -- Trumbull County officials refused to accept the presentation of a failed petition Friday by organizers who had tried to force one of two new county sales taxes onto the November ballot.
In fact, the county auditor's office wouldn't even look at the final 2,705 signatures.
"We still owe it to the people of Trumbull County to turn them in," a weary-looking Thaddeus Price said.
There were 4,465 too few signatures after nearly a month's work by Price of Howland, Bill Walls of B & amp;B Automotive Machine in Warren and some 30 volunteers who tried to gather the needed 7,170.
Price and Walls knew that, but they took the signatures to the administration building anyway to formally complete the process on Friday's deadline.
"It was all for naught I guess is the best way to put it," Price said.
Their outdoor efforts had been hampered by rain, snow, freezing temperatures, resistance by some merchants and voter apathy in recent weeks, they have noted.
Closed office
Ironically, because of staff cuts brought on by a county general fund shortfall, county Auditor David Hines' office was closed when Price and company arrived shortly before 1 p.m. The tax petitioned is supposed to shore up that general fund.
Adrian Biviano, chief deputy auditor, and James Saker, assistant prosecutor, turned on the lights, opened the door and Price walked up to the counter at 1:04 p.m.
"We're here to present our petitions," Price said.
"We cannot accept any of the petitions because of an insufficient number of signatures," Biviano replied.
Price said he did not expect the county would accept the petitions. "You guys need them for confetti?" he joked, then said more seriously that the names represent "a lot of hard work" and that the number of opponents sends a strong message to county commissioners about fiscal diligence.
He took the papers home.
"We do not accept the petitions unless they meet the 10 percent count of the last gubernatorial election," Biviano said earlier in the day.
"That is the opinion of our prosecutor," and the guidelines are contained in the Ohio Revised Code, he said. "We don't look at it."
Tax start date
Merchants will start applying the additional tax on retail sales July 1 -- a quarter-percent, nonemergency sales tax for a continuing period, for general county operations.
The county already collects a half-percent sales tax.
Also being applied July 1 is a second quarter-percent emergency measure for a continuing period for the county's criminal justice services. Price and friends have until Aug. 25 to try to repeal that tax in November. He's already got 2,705 and about 1,300 signatures gathered on two separate petitions against it.
"It's very doable, even if we work at it on a part-time basis," Price said, noting the effort won't be dropped.
A lawsuit against the county to challenge the criminal justice services tax appears unlikely. "We're better off trying to kill it with the signatures," Price said.
Ohio's sales tax went from 5 percent to 6 percent July 1, 2003. The state budget bill that upped the sales tax rate also calls for the increase to end July 1.
"Unless the state puts its half percent back on, the consumers are not even going to feel the effect" of the county taxes, Biviano said.