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Columbiana Co. officials focus on ballot wording
The wording was clear on the renewal in 2005.
LISBON — The Columbiana County Commissioners say they will focus on having the right wording for the sales tax instead of trying to determine what went wrong with the last election.
Commissioners Penny Traina and Jim Hoppel, said Tuesday they may have to submit ballot language more than once to make sure it is correct.
The 1-percent sales tax brings in about $12 million a year, or about 44 percent of the county’s general fund. The county also collects a 0.5-percent sales tax that brings in about $4 million a year.
Voters, who had passed the 1-percent issue twice before, defeated it in November, 17,935 to 10,558.
In 2005, the wording that appeared on the ballot for the 1-percent tax said it was for, “the continuation of an existing sales and use tax.”
The tax was approved.
On Nov. 3, the ballot for the same measure said it was an additional tax. That was based on template 44 for issues from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. Template 45, which is for a sales tax for transit authorities, has a footnote that says the ballot will state if it is renewal, a reduction, or an increase.
That wasn’t done for the sales tax.
Traina said Mahoning and Stark counties had similar problems.
She said the commissioners, the secretary of state’s office, and the County Commissioners Association of Ohio will work together to straighten out the situation.
She added that she wants to see “proposed language that is clear and concise.”
The measure, she stressed, “is a continuation of an existing tax.”
The deadline to file issues for the May primary is Feb. 18.
Hoppel said that new language will be proposed for the issue. If the secretary of state doesn’t like it, the county should have time to rewrite it in order to get it on the ballot.
In promoting the tax before the election, people told the commissioners they favored five-year renewals of the sales tax instead of a continuous sales tax.
wilkinson@vindy.com