Friday, October 17, 2014
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber has explained the mystery of its support for renewal of a half-percent sales tax and silence on the quarter-percent additional sales tax, which are combined in Issue 1 on the Nov. 4 ballot.
“We support the half-percent renewal. We have not considered any additional because the county officials did not provide justification as requested,” said Guy C. Coviello, the chamber’s vice president of government affairs and media.
That led to head scratching among Mahoning County officials.
“I’m a little bit perplexed as to what their opinion is because there’s only one issue on the ballot,” David Ditzler, chairman of the county commissioners.
County officials told the chamber during a spring presentation concerning the half-percent renewal on the May ballot that they were considering asking for an additional sales tax in the future, Coviello said.
At that time, Coviello said, chamber officials told county officials a performance audit or performance review of county government showing how any additional tax would be used should be provided for the chamber to consider supporting a sales-tax increase.
County Budget Director Audrey Tillis said a performance audit of the entire county government might cost between $500,000 and $1 million.
“That is not in our budget to do,” she said.
Read more about the dispute in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.