Mahoning County Commissioners have decided to stop asking voters for money every five years.
They voted Tuesday to put a permanent half percent sales tax on the November Ballot. Nearly 50-percent of the county's general fund money comes from sales tax revenue. It pays for court operations, the jail, and administrative functions. Commissioners say the sales tax is the most important issue the county must deal with. "The instability of not knowing whether the revenue will be there or not becomes difficult particularly when you are trying to capital budget for the future, stabilizing and having continuous revenue is more sustainable to do," said Mahoning County Commissioner, Anthony Traficanti.
Commissioners stress to voters that they will not have to pay any more than they already do now. They plan to take their commissioner meetings to different communities to educate the public about the importance in having a continuous sales tax.
