Collectively, 3 public services spend $1M to urge you to use them

YOUNGSTOWN

Three local institutions serving Mahoning County that rely heavily on countywide taxes collectively budget hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for planned communications that promote public support and use of their facilities.

Those institutions are the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, which just passed a levy; Mill Creek MetroParks, which is planning a levy campaign; and the Western Reserve Transit Authority, which plans one in 2017.

Together, their 2014 promotional budgets total more than $1 million.

These organizations legally are permitted to use tax dollars to promote their programs and services and to inform voters of facts about their tax levies.

But there is a line not to cross in their messages. They may not use public money to suggest how people should vote.

Read the complete story in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.