Hamilton County's GOP Chief Goes On The Attack: Slams Democrat Todd Portune

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- GOP Chair Alex Triantafilou is defending a Republican judge who authorized a $1 million bond for a $27 theft offense, and says Democratic County Commissioner Todd Portune ought to keep his mouth shut. Portune suggested that bail bonds set by Cincinnati judges -- including the Dems on the bench -- should be monitored for abuses. Triantafilou says it is none of Portune's business. He's accused Portune, a lawyer by trade, of trying to make "pure political gain" from the incident. Imagine that. He also took a swipe at MSNBC's Keith Olbermann -- low viewership ratings or something.

The GOP chair contends the seven-figure bond was meant to keep a potentially suicidal suspect in jail. In other words, Triantafilou's spin is that it was all about well-intentioned judicial activism and a mission of mercy. Nothing mean spirited to it. Deputies and jail personnel could monitor the man, whose $1 million bond would keep him locked up and safe. Triantafilou, for some reason, doesn't mention that a healthcare or mental health facility might be a more appropriate setting than a jail. Reasonable people could probably debate the point: Are jails proper places for folks whose sensibilities are not seeming to function properly, who may be suffering a bout of illness?

The $1 million bond made news last month. Triantafilou, a former Hamilton County Common Pleas judge who quit to take over as party chair, accused Democrat Portune of mishandling campaigns seeking tax increases for a new jail in Cincinnati. He doesn't mention that his own GOP supported the tax increases and endorsed the jail expansion efforts:

"The Commissioners should focus on their own responsibilities, Twice in his tenure, Commissioner Portune has failed to convince the taxpayers to support a much needed new jails because his proposals have been bloated with large government programs that had little to do with more jail space. For pure political gain, Commissioner Portune reacted to the ridiculous reporting of guys like Keith Olberman (sic) to get his name in the paper."

Two points to take issue with: It is Olbermann with a double n. And the jail tax "bloated with large government programs" was backed by Triantafilou's own party, something that is made clear here. Portune and the Dems are not likely to lay down and take the attack.

Surprise!!! After Sales Tax Defeat, Hamilton County Studies New Sales Tax Hike

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- This newest plan calls for temporarily bumping the 6.5% Hamilton County county sales tax to 6.75% next year to bring in about $33 million. County Administrator Patrick Thompson floated the idea of another sales tax hike in a (pdf) financial report prepared within hours of a half-cent sales tax increase being defeated Tuesday at the polls. Thompson's recommendation is on page 11 of the pdf document, and states that legal staff "would be requested to develop appropriate resolutions to notice the intent of the Commission to increase the county sale tax rate one quarter of one percent for a one year period."

Voters rejected, 56% to 44%, a sales tax hike that would have raised about $750 million over 15 years to build and operate a new 1,600 bed jail and fund a variety of public safety and law enforcement programs. While that project was scuttled at the polls, the idea of some kind of tax increase seems to remain alive.

So far, there is no action on the proposal the county administrator has placed on the table. The $33 million generated would help cover property tax relief approved by voters when they funded the football and baseball stadiums in downtown Cincinnati. It would also put cash in the general fund. Thompson reported:

"To maintain the history of providing PTR, the Commission could consider using a temporary one-quarter percent increase in the county sales tax (from 6.5% to 6.75%) for a period of one year to reimburse the 2008 PTR and grow the general fund reserve. Each quarter percent increase in the county sales tax rate generates approximately $33 million annually. The amount approximates the total amount recommended from the PTR from 2008 through 2010 described earlier ($14.7 million in 2008, $10 million in 2009, $10 million in 2010).

"Using an increase in the sales tax to grow the general fund balance is not without precedent. During a two-year period between 2005 and 2007, Franklin County (Columbus) increased its sales tax rate from 6.5% to 7% to bolster its general fund balance and maintain its AAA bond rating. After the two-year period, the 7% was reduced to a permanent sales tax rate of 6.75%. The current Hamilton County sales tax rate is 6/5%."

Hamilton County Jail Tax: Court-Ordered Letter Puts Cost At $110,000 Per Bed

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A letter is being sent to more than 1,000 county workers under a legal settlement in an unfair campaign-practices lawsuit filed by jail tax opponents against Hamilton County officials. The letter raises financial questions about the $198 million pricetag for building a new hoosegow. It says the 1,800-inmate facility is estimated to cost $110,000 per bed. It notes that neighboring Warren County is adding capacity for 180 prisoners at a cost of $28,000 per bed. And Butler County spent $35 million in 2003 on a new jail for 800 inmates. There, the cost worked out to about $43,000 per bed.

Jail tax opponents are hammering on a theme that the project smells like a boondoggle.

Politics Extra was first to obtain the letter and posted a link to it the web. The letter was drafted by Jeffrey Capell, the plaintiff in a lawsuit contending Sheriff Simon Leis wrongly used county time and facilities to campaign for the jail. The letter opposing the jail tax was paid for by COAST, the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes. That organization was founded by State Rep. Tom Brinkman, a Cincinnati Republican who is the state's top anti-tax hawk.

Capell says the sales tax increase is unnecessary and he pained the jail project as a government pork project.

"Remember, the land in Hamilton County has been donated. In Butler County, they had to acquire the land as part of the construction costs. Why is the cost of our jail two or three times per cell what these immediately adjoining counties spend on jail spaces?"

Cincinnati City Council Candidate Charlie Winburn: In 2005 No Need For Jail Tax Hike

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Too bad for Republican Charlie Winburn that things hang around the Internet forever. In 2005 -- when he was running for mayor of Cincinnati -- Winburn offered a Violent Crime Prevention Strategy that called for hiring 200 new cops and building a brand new jail. At the same time, Winburn was calling for tax cuts.

Now it is 2007. Winburn has the Hamilton County Republican Party's endorsement. And his own Republican Party is backing a 15-year sales tax increase that would be used to build a new $198 million, 1800-bed jail. It would open in a Cincinnati neighborhood called Camp Washington if voters approve. The county's Democratic Party is backing the plan too. It will be on the Nov. 6 ballot. There is opposition from the NAACP and an assortment of groups including COAST, a conservative anti-tax organization founded by State Rep. Tom Brinkman, who once helped run Winburn's city council campaigns.

Winburn in 2005 filled out a Smartvoter.org questionnaire about his top three priorities if he were elected mayor of Cincinnati. This is what he told the League of Women Voters:

"1) I will fight for safer neighborhoods by implementing my comprehensive Violent Crime Reduction Strategy. Under the plan, 200 additional police officers will be hired in four years and a new jail will be constructed to prevent the early release of violence criminals.

"2) I will work to reduce taxes and create a fairer system that would reward loyal Cincinnati residents with lower property taxes rates."

"3) As Mayor, I will implement the Fast Track Development Model that will make it easier for builders and contractors to build in Cincinnati. Developers have found the City of Cincinnati's process of development a bureaucratic nightmare that is cumbersome at best. As Mayor, I will develop a process that is efficient, effective and user friendly for all residential and commercial developers."

It is parts 1 and 2 that have attracted attention from political insiders, who see Winburn's statements at the time as bordering on being ridiculously out of touch with financial reality. They point to the current campaign for a new jail tax as suggesting he is a hype-meister with little grasp of the actual ability of local government entities to generate revenue for big ticket construction projects finance at the local level. Political officials in both parties agree there is no way today to "reduce taxes" and build a new jail, plus pay for the staff to run it and other programs that go along with operating a correctional facility. And political officials in both parties say there was no way to do it in 2005, when Winburn promised he could while running for mayor.

Charlie Winburn has a new crime reduction plan that he says he'll push to implement if he's elected to City Council. If you read it, you'll see one of his proposals is to erect a tent to hold prisoners. He also wants a new jail, but says the Hamilton County Commissioners should handle the financial arrangements. And what is their plan? Raise the sales tax to generate $736 million over the next 15 years.