Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman David Johnson, left, and Columbiana County Democratic Party Chairman Charley Kidder announce the support of both parties for the county’s 1% sales tax renewal on the May 6 primary/special election ballot. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON — The chairmen of the Columbiana County Republican and Democratic parties jointly pledged support for the 1% sales tax renewal Wednesday and asked residents to do the same.

“Bipartisanship, it’s working together. We’re asking Republicans, Democrats and Independents to please support this for the good of the county,” county Republican Party Chairman David Johnson said.

Johnson and county Democratic Party Chairman Charley Kidder sat side by side in the county commissioners’ meeting room at the downtown courthouse and shared information from charts they prepared to state their case during a press conference they called.

“There are certain things that aren’t about your party affiliation. It’s all about your desire to help this community,” Kidder said, adding that it’s about putting partisan politics aside to help the people in this county.

Both Johnson and Kidder acknowledged that there may be disagreements about candidates, but when there’s something important for the good of the county, they join forces.

“I’ve always been proud of the fact that the Republicans and Democrats have pulled together and jointly sponsored things we think are important to everybody in the county. The 1% sales tax is that kind of issue,” Johnson said.

Both the Democratic and Republican Central Committees and Executive Committees voted unanimously to support the 1 % sales tax renewal. Voters are being asked to renew the sales tax for another five years, with Johnson and Kidder stressing its importance to the financial health of the general fund and the county as a whole.

Commissioners Tim Ginter and Roy Paparodis attended the press conference and thanked them for their support.

“We appreciate the chairmen being willing to do this,” Ginter said.

During their presentation, Johnson and Kidder focused on three areas: the fact that the 1% sales tax represents 54 percent of the general fund revenue; 70 percent of the county general fund goes to the criminal justice system for the operations of the sheriff, prosecutor, county jail, all the courts and clerk of courts with combined annual budgets over $18 million; and every county in Ohio has a permissive sales tax, with at least 50 counties at the same tax rate range as Columbiana County.

They also talked about the deal a past board of commissioners made with taxpayers to stop collecting 2 mills of inside millage property tax in exchange for passage of the sales tax many years ago and how boards since then have kept that promise not to collect the 2 mills, which represents about $5 million dollars. Commissioners have said they don’t plan to collect that again and Johnson also indicated commissioners don’t plan to reinstate that inside millage.

Voters overwhelmingly defeated the 1% sales tax renewal last November, with commissioners attributing the loss to the wording, which was different than the last two times the sales tax was approved in 2019 and 2015 and made people think it was a new tax.

Commissioners ensured that the language on the May 6 ballot will indicate it’s a renewal and a continuation of an existing sales and use tax for another five years. The tax won’t cost taxpayers any more than what they’re already paying and is dependent on them making a taxable purchase.

Johnson talked about the language issue and said “I just don’t think enough people in this county realize how vital this tax is to the operation of our county government.”

He talked about the county having a lower property tax base and business tax base than other counties, making the county more dependent and more reliant on the sales tax. He pointed out that an estimated 25 to 30% of the income for the sales tax is paid by citizens from other counties or states coming to Columbiana County to shop.

Kidder, who works as a defense attorney, talked about how 70 percent of the county general fund goes to criminal justice. If the tax goes down, he said “we would be putting the commissioners in an impossible position if we tell them, look, you still have to maintain this 70 percent at the level that we have right now while also telling them half their budget is going to be removed.”

He said it’s not like the sales tax is going for frivolous events, “it’s going for things that you need, it’s going for things that can be court-mandated, it’s going for what we need to keep our residents safe.”

He talked about the sheriff’s office covering a wide area. To cut the sheriff’s office funding by over half, to cut the different jurisdictions by over half, Kidder said “you’re really creating a scenario that’s going to bring problems, that’s going to bring hardship on the everyday citizens of the county.”

Johnson showed a map of Ohio which shows the tax rates of every county and both he and Kidder said every county in the state has a sales tax, with the majority, over 50, at the same rate as Columbiana County.

The state rate is 5.75% plus the county’s rate of 1.5 % brings the total to 7.25% in Columbiana County.

“We believe this is the fairest amount of tax,” Kidder said.

Johnson said they’re also supporting the Children Services levy and levies in Salem for the .25% income tax for street improvements and the park levy.

Besides the 1% sales tax, the county also relies on a .5 % sales tax that’s permanent, with both taxes together totaling more than $21 million and together accounting for more than 70 percent of the general fund. If the 1% sales tax went away, that’s a $14 million hole to fill annually.

According to the figures county Auditor Nancy Gause Milliken provided in January, the total sales tax income for 2024 totaled $21,423,016, with the 1% sales tax generating $14,281,881 and the .5% sales tax generating $7,141,135.

In 2023, the 1% sales tax generated $14,468,375 and the .5% sales tax generated $7,234,685 for a total of more than $21.7 million. That’s nearly $1 million more than the previous year in 2022 when the 1% generated $13,856,638 and the .5% generated $6,939,783 for a total of more than $20.7 million. The figure from 2023 is also more than the 2024 amount.

The general fund also relies on interest income, casino funds and other income, but the majority comes from the sales tax receipts.

The county general fund pays for most of the county operations, including the courts, sheriff and other offices in the courthouse such as the commissioners, auditor, recorder and treasurer, along with the prosecutor’s office.

mgreier@mojonews.com