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Officials count on approval of 1% tax
The county won’t be making cuts next year.
LISBON — The Columbiana County commissioners will budget funds for 2010 based on the assumption that voters will approve continuation of the 1 percent sales tax.
Penny Traina, president of the commissioners and a former fiscal officer, said Wednesday she expects to have appropriations for 2010 done by the third weekend in December.
Voters in November rejected the renewal of the 1 percent sales tax, which brought in $12 million a year, or about 44 percent of the county’s general expenditures. The tax will expire at the end of 2010 unless renewed by voters.
Commissioners could have cut appropriations for 2010 as a safety measure.
But Traina plans to place the renewal of the sales tax on the May ballot.
“We are very hopeful it will pass,” Traina said.
The commissioners this year appropriated $17.9 million for general operations. The county expects to appropriate slightly less — $17.8 million — for 2010.
Nancy Milliken, county auditor, attributed the county’s revenue drop to the poor economy.
Her office has to load all the spending figures for 2010 into the county’s computer system before the end of the year.
Milliken said that she believes the county may not make its estimated revenue this year until the last few days of 2009.
Traina said it’s difficult to appropriate the funds, adding, “We obviously have only so much money.”
She said Sheriff Ray Stone has been working with the commissioners on his large budget.
“We hope everyone else will,” Traina said.
But Traina said there are unknowns. The state could cut Local Government Funds again, which it did in August. That cost the county $363,251.
Commissioner Jim Hoppel said the county could have money problems into 2011 even if the tax were re- approved in November. That would be a new issue, and it would take the state about three months to collect and distribute the sales-tax funds.
wilkinson@vindy.com