Mahoning County voters deliver a strong message

A 9,582-vote defeat of Mahoning County’s half-percent sales tax renewal was an exclamation point that county commissioners and all the other government employees would be foolish to ignore. The voters delivered a strong message Tuesday that many in the public sector would rather not hear: We don’t trust you enough to give you carte blanche with our money.

So how do commissioners Anthony T. Traficanti, David Ludt and John V. McNally IV win over a disapproving public? Simple. By being as transparent and open as possible about the operation of county government.

Several weeks ago, in urging voters to approve the renewal of the half-percent sales tax and to make it permanent, rather than for five years, we urged Traficanti. Ludt and McNally to launch an aggressive campaign to overcome the growing skepticism about the ability of county government to properly manage public dollars.

Unfortunately, they chose the stealth campaign approach and the voters were not pleased — as the 39,920-30,338 vote count showed.

To his credit, Traficanti appears to have heard the message from the taxpayers loud and clear. While having the tax in place permanently makes fiscal sense because it gives government the ability to develop long-range plans, a five-year renewal may be the easier sell in May. The economic recession has put a strain on many residents.

Traficanti said he has not decided whether to seek a permanent tax, or one for five years, and as of Wednesday afternoon had not discussed the matter with his colleagues.

Many questions

But the length of time the tax would be in effect is only one of several challenges the commissioners must address. Of significance is the fact that 39,920 Mahoning County voters said no on Tuesday. Were they saying no to having the tax in place permanently, which takes away their right to vote on it every five years? Were they expressing their displeasure at the way government is being run? Were the taxpayers, especially those in the private sector, saying that the commissioners and other elected officials haven’t done enough to reduce operating costs? And, since more than 80 percent of the general fund goes for salaries and benefits, were the voters saying they want public employees to make the same kind of sacrifices that private sector workers have had to make for the past several years?

Coming up with answers to those and other questions will necessitate the commissioners, sheriff, prosecutor, auditor, treasurer, recorder, engineer and the judges taking to the streets to explain what they have done to reduce their payroll costs.

In the five years Traficanti has been in office, for example, the number of employees in the commissioners’ office has been cut from 30 to nine. In addition, concessions have been exacted, including pay cuts.

Unfortunately, such cost-reduction measures aren’t the rule throughout county government. And the taxpayers know it.

The defeat of the sales tax renewal should serve as a wake-up call for those on the public payroll: You embrace business as usual at your peril.

Six months isn’t a long time to win over a distrusting electorate.