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Valley communities seek $72M in taxes from voters
YOUNGSTOWN
Voters in Mahoning and Trumbull counties are being asked to approve $72.2 million in taxes on the fall ballot, the largest amount sought on a November ballot in at least five years.
Though more money is sought, there are 42 tax issues on this ballot compared with 60 levy proposals in November 2012 and 52 in 2010. Thirty-four issues appeared on the fall 2011 and 2013 ballots in the two counties.
Most of the money is for countywide issues, but several requests are from villages, townships, school districts, and fire districts.
Of the total $72.2 million, $52.4 million is for renewals.
About one-third of the $72.2 million requested comes from a single issue — Mahoning County’s 0.75 percent sales tax.
That includes a 0.5 percent renewal to raise $16 million, and a 0.25 percent additional tax to raise $8 million.
Based on the declining approval rate of tax levies since November 2010, it could be a challenge for some to get passed.
The success rate in November 2010, which had about $66 million in tax levy requests, was 83 percent. It dropped slightly in November 2011 to 82 percent. It went down to 77 percent in November 2012, and to 68 percent last November.
“There’s so many things on the ballot,” said Mahoning County Commissioner David Ditzler, who is working to get the sales tax approved. “It’s difficult. Even though most are renewals, [voters] will look at everything on the ballot and could say ‘no.’”
People “frustrated” with federal and state taxes don’t get a vote in those decisions, he said.
“The only ones that you can vote on are the local taxes,” Ditzler said. “It’s a challenge to get issues approved.”
Mahoning County voters will not only decide on the sales tax to raise $24 million but also a replacement levy for children services to raise $7.6 million a year and a $9.3 million library renewal and additional levy.
The library levy actually represents a $1.5 million reduction from its current tax collection with a new 0.6-mill levy replacing an existing 1-mill levy, but state law requires the issue to be called “additional” on the ballot.
Those three countywide issues make up nearly $41 million of the $52.4 million from 20 tax issues on the ballot in Mahoning County.
In Trumbull County, 22 tax issues seek to raise $19.8 million. Like Mahoning, three countywide issues in Trumbull make up a majority of the money being sought on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The three are renewals: $3.3 million for the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board, $6 million for the career and technical center, and $2.7 million for children services.
One key reason for Mahoning County’s additional sales tax — with all of it going toward funding the county’s criminal justice system — is reductions in state funding, said Ditzler, a Democrat.
The most serious cut for the county is a $3 million a year cut in the state’s Local Government Fund compared with five years ago, he said.
“Government entities are going to the voters more because of the various tax cuts by the state,” Ditzler said.
But Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, said since the LGF reduction, 97 percent of government entities that report to the state have balanced budgets, and 92 percent have a surplus.
“By and large, local governments haven’t been raising taxes,” he said.
Of the 42 tax issues in the two counties, 28 are renewals, eight are additional levies, three are replacements, and three are renewal/additional proposals.
Also, the LGF makes up only about 3 percent to 5 percent of the budget of local governments, Kasich said.
In Mahoning County, it’s about 5.5 percent.