Making sales tax permanent will bring financial stability

If the Mahoning County commissioners are intentionally being silent about the sales tax issue that will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, we would urge them to rethink that strategy.

Commissioners Anthony Traficanti, David Ludt and John A. McNally IV should be canvassing the county to let voters know that support for the half-percent sales tax is vital to government’s economic stability.

From the time the decision was made in July to put the half-percent sales tax issue on the ballot for a continuous period, we have urged passage. That’s because it is not a new tax. Making it permanent, however, will enable the commissioners to get involved in long-range fiscal planning, which has long been viewed as a key to the county’s stability.

It’s important to look at this issue in the context of what is going on in the rest of the state. Half the counties in Ohio already have piggyback tax rates that exceed that of Mahoning County.

The state’s basic sales tax is 5.5 percent. Local sales taxes bring the rate in various counties from a low of 6.25 percent in four counties to 7.75 percent in one, Cuyahoga. which has a 1.25 percent county tax and 1 percent mass transit tax. Mahoning County has two half-percent sales taxes and a quarter-percent transit tax. The total 6.75 percent is the same as in 16 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

But such comparisons are of little consolation to taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet in these difficult economic times. Indeed, the county’s March retail sales tax receipts, which reflect sales from the 2008 Christmas season, were down from the previous March. It marked the fifth consecutive month of decline.

Although commissioners said the March number was not as bad as they had expected, the five-month downward trend was not good news.

Traficanti said it shows that people aren’t spending and that the high unemployment rate is having a negative effect on economic activity.

Projected decline

The two half-percent sales taxes normally generate about $14 million each for the county’s general fund. At the beginning of this year, the county auditor’s office projected a decline of about 3 percent from the $28.25 million collected in 2008.

The general fund supports the sheriff’s department, prosecutor, courts, 911 center, elections board and many other county agencies.

In July, the commissioners held two public hearings on the renewal of the half-percent sales tax, but attendance was sparse. County officials might have concluded that the apparent lack of interest is an indication that people are satisfied with the way county government is operating and how public dollars are being spent.

But as we warned three months ago, the poor turnout could just as well reflect a cynicism that could affect the outcome of the renewal request.

Hence we believe the commissioners should go all-out between now and Nov. 3 to prove to the voters that their opinions matter.

As for financing the campaign, we would remind county Democratic Party Chairman David Betras of a pledge he made during the summer to use the party’s resources for passage of the renewal.

The Vindicator supports making the half-percent tax permanent — with the understanding the commissioners and all other public officials will continue to reduce the size of the government to reflect today’s economic realities.