MAHONING CO., Ohio (WKBN) – Mahoning County’s auditor says despite the COVID-19 pandemic and issues over funding from Columbus, the financial situation for local county government is fairly stable.
Monday morning, county commissioners heard auditor Ralph Meacham’s financial state of the county.
He says sales taxes, which fund a large portion of local government, held their own in 2020 thanks to the ability to collect revenue from internet sales.
“As you know, people were staying out of restaurants, bars and stores but they were still buying things. Car sales were surprisingly strong but really, retail sales really pulled it through for us,” he said.
Meacham says he is concerned about the 2020 Census report, which he believes will show a continuing decline in the county’s population, which will leave fewer people paying local property taxes in the future.
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