In November 2006, Hamilton County voters rejected a referendum that provided for a 10-year, 0.25% increase in the county sales tax in order to pay for a new 1,800 bed jail. County commissioners Todd Portune and David Pepper, in response, passed over Pat DeWine’s objections a 15-year 0.25-0.50% percent increase to fund both the proposed jail and hundreds of millions of dollars of new social programs.

(Source: Cincinnati Enquirer)

Hamilton County already has the 2^nd highest county property taxes in Ohio. The new tax would tie Hamilton County with 39 other counties for the 2^nd highest sales tax in Ohio (only Cuyahoga County has a higher rate, at 7.5%). However, it’s important to note that the tax hike will give Hamilton the highest rate among neighboring counties in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

(Source: WeDemandAVote.com) Both Kentucky and Indiana have flat statewide rates of 6%, Ohio has a state imposed 5.5% tax, with local taxes added depending on the county.

According to the 2006 Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business Survey, Cincinnati has the 2^nd highest cost of doing business of any major city in the nation. The sales tax increase will only make this worse. Taking Mr. Pepper at his word, the tax will cost the average citizen $33 dollars a year. With 18.2% of Cincinnati families below the federal poverty line (less than $20,650 a year for a family of four), that figure is nothing to be dismissed, especially when considering the fact that these people are being forced to pay for the housing of more prisoners even as the city’s population falls/remains stagnant. Yet, the $33 figure in itself is not the chief problem. The main problem was captured when one local resident declared in a letter to the Cincinnati Enquirer: “I will be going to Clermont and Warren to shop! Simple!” Businesses, especially on the borders of the county, are going to lose customers if this tax increase is enacted. That will make it tougher for the county to grow economically by hurting small businesses, forcing the poor to spend a larger percentage of their after-tax income on bare necessities, and hampering the middle class with another bill or long trip to avoid the tax on large purchases.

Although Pepper and Portune continue to reject plans that require sufficient spending cuts in order to avoid the tax hike, the necessity to continue funding the existent jails without the increased sales tax has shown that it is possible to free up jail beds without more taxes.

In August, the commission approved an across the board 2% reduction of non-personnel spending, a reduction of capital maintenance costs, reduced funding for the tourism initiative Cincinnati USA Partnership, and increased restrictions on county official out-of-state travel.  That freed up $1.7 million to pay Butler County, which houses about 300 Hamilton County prisoners every night. On Monday, September 10, county commissioners can take another step to alleviate the problem. Hamilton County has, for the past three years, housed approximately 35 federal prisoners a day. The county is not required to house these prisoners, but continues to do so even though the federal government reimburses the county at a lower rate for the spaces than the county is currently paying to lease space in Butler County. If this practice is ended, an additional 12,775 bed days per year will be available for Hamilton County prisoners.

Yet, the county will still need more money. Commissioner Dewine has proposed cutting the following:

• Eliminate court reporters in courtrooms and replace them with electronic recording devices, saving $2.2 million in the first year and $3.5 annually thereafter. Hamilton would be joining all its neighboring counties and 1/3 of all courts nationwide in this technology.
• Eliminate the new Pepper social plan called the "Out of School Youth Initiative," which costs $250,000 annually;
• Eliminate the County subsidy to home mortgage loans, costing taxpayers $500,000 annually.
• Eliminate currently unfilled Deputy Administrator position. The county government has functioned without it for the entirety of 2007. The post is not necessary and its elimination will reduce the number of county full-time employees.

Further information is available here and by visiting We Demand a Better Plan.

Voters must remember that, even if more jail space is necessary, it’s not necessary to raise the full $736 million over the next 15 years, because only $190 million of the proposed tax hike is going to fund extra jail space. The rest is going to fund increased police patrols, adding prosecutors to pursue gun charges, programs aimed at helping inmates transition back into society, increased mental health funding, and increased funding for the juvenile court system. The new program on the table is called the “Comprehensive Safety Plan”—any attempts by supporters to frame it as just jail expansion is disingenuous. If the program’s true goal was simply to alleviate overcrowding in jails, it would be adding only a net 400 extra beds at the cost of $1.9 million per bed.

Timeline: 

January 2006: Hamilton County receives a consultant’s report recommending the consolidation of three existing jail facilities into one new jail.

November 2006: Voters reject a plan to fund plans for a new jail through a 0.25% sales tax increase.

May 31, 2007: Hamilton County commissioners vote 2-1 to enact the “Comprehensive Safety Plan” without asking voters.

June 1, 2007: Organizations including Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), the NAACP, and the Libertarian Party of Ohio organize to collect the necessary 28,750 signatures to force a referendum on the commissioners’ plan.

July 13, 2007: The partnership of 7 organizations announces a final total of 56,951 signatures out of 28,750 needed to place the Sales Tax issue on the Ballot in November. Petitions submitted for validation.

August 10, 2007: Sufficient signatures are approved.

November 6, 2007: Election day. Sales tax increase decided.

July 1, 2008: If the referendum fails, the county begins collecting the increased sales tax.