Green Party Says No to "Undemocratic" Jail Tax

Josh Krekeler, convener of the Southwest Ohio Green Party, says the party's backing the referendum campaign to put the jail tax on the November ballot.


Local "Greens," he writes in an e-mail, find the county commissioners' decision to institute the tax without a vote "inappropriate, particularly for a project with so much potential social impact...The people of Hamilton County deserve a chance to decide if this is the right approach to public safety."


The group's concerns:


- The Commissioners should implement solutions to the inefficient intake and processing functions of the current system, including ways to keep some non-violent offenders out of the Justice Center altogether, and then assess the usage rate of existing facilities. Until this is done, the claim of "overcrowding" will appear to be a manufactured crisis.


- The County should focus its budget priorities on preventing INITIAL appearances in jail; the need to address recidivism will decrease proportionately. Planning for an increasing rate of incarceration is an ineffective and immoral long-term strategy.


- Funding the plan with a sales tax increase would disproportionately and unfairly impact lower-income citizens.


- Finally, enacting the tax increase directly is undemocratic. The failure of a similar, less costly proposal indicates that this plan may be contrary to the will of the people.



E-mail Krekeler at jollygreenjosh@fuse.net.