Trumbull voters to decide on tax

By Jon Moffett

An additional license-tax would enable the county to apply for additional funding.

WARREN — Trumbull County residents will vote on a proposed license-tax on the November ballot.

The $10 tax on license registration would help the county acquire state and federal money for street and bridge projects, said Trumbull County Engineer David DeChristofaro.

“All federal and state grants require a local match,” DeChristofaro said. “We would use our share of this tax as our local match for federal and state grants.”

County commissioners decided this week to put the issue to voters.

Some communities already have a tax in place, DeChristofaro said. Warren has a $10 tax that is being raised to $15. Communities that have a tax will be affected only if their tax is below $10, he said.

“Most of the cities have a tax, so if the county passes it, those cities won’t be affected to such an extent,” DeChristofaro said. “If a city already has a tax of $5, they’ll only pay an additional $5. But if a city doesn’t have a tax at all, the increase will be the full $10.”

DeChristofaro added that Trumbull is in the minority by not having a countywide tax. He said more than two-thirds of the Ohio’s 88 counties have such a tax, and all 12 counties with populations of more than 200,000 already impose a license tax.

By implementing an additional — or new — tax, Trumbull would be able to apply for additional funding for bridge and road repair throughout the county, DeChristofaro said.

“This $10 would generate about $10 million a year in road and bridge projects for Trumbull County,” DeChristofaro said.

He added that the projects would also create roughly 600 jobs, including construction, supplying materials and business.

jmoffett@vindy.com