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Thursday, February 9, 2012

Forum rebuttal

In the recent commissioners candidate forum sponsored by the Clinton County Tea Party my opponent Mike Curry was asked why he didn’t use the 2005 sales tax increase for the stated purpose of debt reduction.

Mike’s response was that the Sales Tax Resolution did not say anything about the increase being used for the purpose of debt reduction therefore he could not be accused of having broken any promises.

I would like to point out that the way the sales tax was presented to the public is a different story. In a Wilmington News Journal article from July 21st, 2005 it is stated “Both plans put a large chunk of the newly-generated money toward debt service.” Mike is quoted saying “we want to reduce the debt so that those dollars going to debt service are freed up to be used as operational dollars.”

It is disingenuous for Mike to use the wording of the resolution as his defense when it is clear from his quotes that the public was lead to believe the revenue would be used for debt service.

Mike also took issue with my comment that he had raised the sales tax three times. He said that would mean he lowered the sales tax twice.

Each of the sales tax increase resolutions are for a fixed period of time meaning that the one-half percent increase goes away at the end of the stated term. Subsequent resolutions are increases in the sales tax as evidenced by the wording of the resolution.

The recently passed sales tax resolution is titled “In the matter of levying an additional county sales tax of one-half of one percent. The resolution states “Pursuant to Section 5739.026, Ohio Revised code, and for the purpose of paying the expenses of administering the increase in the tax….”. It goes on to say “….there is hereby levied a tax at the rate of one-half of one percent in addition to the tax of one percent, currently imposed…”.

The resolution wording makes it clear that is a tax increase so my statement that Mike has raised your taxes three times is accurate.

The recently passed sales tax resolution is titled “In the matter of levying an additional county sales tax of one-half of one percent. The resolution states “Pursuant to Section 5739.026, Ohio Revised code, and for the purpose of paying the expenses of administering the increase in the tax….”. It goes on to say “….there is hereby levied a tax at the rate of one-half of one percent in addition to the tax of one percent, currently imposed…”.

The resolution wording makes it clear that is a tax increase so my statement that Mike has raised your taxes three times is accurate.