Renewal of Mahoning County sales tax assures vital services; we urge a yes vote on Issue 3

The voters in Ma- honing County have it in their power to throw the county into chaos. All they have to do is reject the five-year renewal of the half-percent sales tax that will be on the May 4 primary ballot.

We well understand that people are frustrated with government these days; hard times have that effect.

But the county’s piggyback sales tax extracts minimal discomfort from any individual resident, yet it cumulatively provides the lifeblood on which 30 county departments depend. The Sheriff’s Department, the jail and juvenile detention and the various courts receive nearly 70 percent of the general-fund expenditures.

The county collects two half-percent sales taxes, one of which is permanent; the other, the one coming up for renewal at this election, must be renewed every five years. A half-percent is equal to five cents on every $10 purchase. The only time it begins to become a factor in our daily lives is on our relatively rare purchase of big- ticket items, and even then a half-percent tax on a $20,000 car is $100.

That is a reasonable enough price to pay to remain a modern, functioning county in a First World nation.

The county has been under enormous financial pressures in recent years, and county officials have responded. Budgets have been cut, jobs eliminated, people laid off, wage freezes and mandatory cuts in hours worked have been instituted.

Revenue is down

That’s because even with the tax in place, county income has been reduced during the recession. Each sales tax is expected to produce about $14 million a year, and they provide the bulk of the county’s general fund income. But the county’s revenue from those taxes has fallen below those of the same month in the prior year for the past 17 months.

Even with renewal of the tax, county offices are going to have to walk a budgetary tightrope. That’s what is expected, especially at times such as these.

And so, various county offices have responded to the hard realities of the day. A partial list includes:

County commissioners have taken 10 percent pay cuts, which are done by donations to the county because commissioner salaries are set by state law; four positions in the commissioners office have not been restaffed, and other employees are working reduced hours that are equivalent to 10 percent pay cuts.

The county treasurer’s office is closed alternate Fridays, with all employees taking a 10 percent pay cut.

The Mahoning County juvenile detention center closed one of its four floors and laid off five corrections officers.

The Sheriff’s Department budget, once nearly $20 million, has been cut to less than $12 million. Deputies have taken a 10 percent pay cut.

Employees in the county prosecutor’s office are taking 12 hours off without pay in each two-week pay period, amounting to a 15-percent pay cut.

Meanwhile, County Administrator George J. Tablack has warned county elected officials they could be held personally liable if they don’t live within the budgets the county commissioners have given their departments for this year. That’s designed to avoid a crisis at year’s end if some officials gambled on spending more than they were allotted.

But there will be no avoiding a crisis if the tax is not renewed. The tax is due to expire Sept. 30, so this is the last election at which voters will be able to assure continuation of the minimum funding necessary for county operations. It should be noted that the total sales tax being collected in Mahoning County is less than that collected in more than half of the state’s counties. Very few urban counties manage to survive on less than the 1 percent that Mahoning County realizes from its two tax issues.

Outside revenue

And it should be noted as well that a good part of the sales tax collected for Mahoning County operations comes from visitors shopping here. An estimated 40 percent of the customers at Southern Park Mall live outside the county. That makes the sales tax an attractive way for Mahoning County residents to assure revenue for vital services here.

County officials have been holding public hearings and meeting with residents in an attempt to tell the story of how vital this tax renewal is to the county.

The Vindicator hopes that voters have heard the message, and we add our endorsement to the call for renewal of the half-percent sales tax.

Vote yes on Issue 3 because it is in investment in sound governance and because the alternative is turmoil.