Pat DeWine lambastes tax vote

Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine issued this statement today after the two Democratic county commissioners voted to raise the county sales tax to 7 percent to pay for a new jail and anti-crime programs:

Statement of Pat DeWine on County Sales Tax Increase

"Today, this Board has taken steps that will burden Hamilton County taxpayers with some of the highest taxes in the State, forcing an even greater loss of population from the county and discouraging economic growth. This action taken by the Commission majority is too expensive, fiscally irresponsible, and 2.5 times more costly than one rejected by the voters just last year. I cannot support this misguided proposal."

"Already Hamilton County taxpayers pay the second highest property taxes of all 88 counties in the state, and they are literally driving people out of the County. According to the census bureau, this County lost 2.7% of its population over the previous six years. The Kosmont-Rose Institute released a report last year showing Cincinnati the second most expensive place to do business in the entire region. Yet with today's vote, this Commission will establish a sales tax rate that's higher than any other County in the region."

"We all agree that we need to add more jail spaces. Through my efforts last year this County added 400 jail spaces in Butler County and last fall I supported placing before the voters a much more limited proposal to pay for jail construction. I simply cannot support the proposal that is before the Commission. It is too expensive and not fiscally responsible."

"Last November, the Commissioners unanimously put before the voters a proposal to build a new facility and consolidate some of the County's corrections facilities. The voters resoundingly rejected the proposed tax increase. I believe that our obligation is to heed the will of the voters and to come up with a proposal that meets the County's corrections needs but at a more limited cost. I have tried to advance ideas to do exactly that; unfortunately, the majority of this Board has shown little interest in anything but a mammoth tax increase."

"This proposal is over $450 million - or 2.5 times -- more expensive than the one the voters rejected last fall. The same County administration that now supports this tax increase was clear last summer, that the County could fund jail operations and necessary alternative programs within the confines of the previous proposal. Why can't they do the same now?"

"Citizens should be skeptical of claims that the proposal before us deserves support because of the need to add more jail space. The reality is that relatively little of what's being proposed goes to adding new jail space. Of the approximately $777 million generated by the tax, only $190 million goes to adding new jail space. The rest goes to costly new programs and ongoing County operations. In essence, what is being voted on is an unparalleled expansion of County government."

"The significant increased cost is justified by proponents purportedly because of the need to add new social programs. Yet the Voorhis report, so often cited by the proponents of this plan, found last year that Hamilton County already has 'the most sophisticated, creative and complete grouping of alternatives that the consultant has observed. What is needed according to the County's own consultants is not costly new programs, but more accountability and performance standards within the programs we already have."

"Voters should be particularly skeptical of claims that this tax will be temporary. This proposal will put in place a host of programs costing tens of millions of dollars a year that will not go away in 15 years when the tax will purportedly end. History tells us that once a government program is put in place it is almost impossible to end. As Ronald Reagan once said, a government program "is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth." No doubt, future Boards of Commissioners will have little choice but to extend this tax indefinitely."

"Remarkably, despite its mammoth costs, the proposed tax increase will add relatively few jail spaces: only 400 more than the County is currently using. And more jail space, although desirable, won't by itself reduce crime. There is no better example of how to reduce crime than New York City under Rudy Giuliani. During the so-called New York miracle, New York reduced homicide rates by 70% since 1993, yet at the same time it reduced the number of people behind bars by 1/3rd."

"But perhaps most disturbing of all is the determination of the Commission majority to avoid a vote by an informed majority of the electorate. This is a democracy, after all. If the majority has a good proposal, they shouldn't be afraid of a full public airing. Yet the Board majority has consistently maneuvered to avoid such a public airing: first efforts to change the law to allow for a stealth August election and now a decision to take the vote away from the people all together. Of course, the real reason the Commission majority may have for not allowing the public to vote on this proposal is perhaps a more simple one - they know voters will reject it."