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 Sales Tax Hike: The F-Bomb Mushrooms As An Issue

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Jason Gloyd is the spokesman for a Cincinnati citizens group that is campaigning against a $700 million plus tax hike for a new jail and other criminal justice programs. There is word that a high-ranking county law enforcement official called Gloyd a "f---ing idiot" to his face earlier this week after a Cincinnati debate over the proposed sales tax increase, which is on the Nov. 6 ballot. The Republican and Democratic parties, along with many local elected officials, are backing the tax. Opponents include Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine, son of former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, and the local NAACP branch.

No witnesses have come forward yet to say they saw or overheard what happened, but Gloyd has been pushing the story about being blasted by the F-bomb, a story fanned by the Whistleblower, an online newsletter . The Whistleblower often scoops the local blogs and newspapers, which haven't yet reported Gloyd's account of a verbal assault. Here's an e-mail Gloyd sent to the county in complaint:

"I am writing to express my displeasure with how you verbally accosted me, out of the blue, last evening at the Price Hill Civil Club. You used absolutely vile language that has no place in a decent society. I don't understand how people can disagree on an important issue without such venom. I care very deeply about the city and county I've lived in most of my life and strong feel this tax cannot be absorbed by the tax payers. We will lost more jobs and more residents, and then we will need bigger jails since it will just be criminals left. I respect and understand the Sheriff's arguments, but this is a seriously flawed plan that this community cannot afford. I don't know if you were attempting to intimidate me, or you just don't like me, but I expected far more from the highest ranking . . . in the county. I would hope that in the future you would either show me decent courtesy as a human being, or just ignore me all together."