Budget hearing will reveal finances for '07

LISBON -- Columbiana County commissioners have set a budget hearing to see how broke the county may be in 2007.
The hearing has been set for 10 a.m. July 26 in the commissioners hearing room at the courthouse.
Voters have twice defeated a 0.5-percent sales tax that brings in about $4 million a year. Commissioners hope voters will approve the tax in November.
Sean Logan, chairman, said Wednesday that because of the tax loss, the county needs $1.7 million to avoid being in the red by the end of this year.
Logan added that the county also needs a large carryover balance to start 2007. The balance pays for operating costs until taxes are collected.
Commissioner Jim Hoppel said the state for July sent the county a check for $695,000 from the 1-percent sales tax. That's slightly higher than the county estimated.
Hoppel said the payment was well above what the county had budgeted.