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State: Tax wording on ballot ‘accurate’
TweetThe sheriff will continue his criminal investigation into sales-tax-issue language.
YOUNGSTOWN — Despite accusations by Mahoning County officials of improper — and potentially illegal — activity by the board of elections over ballot language for a half-percent sales tax, the Ohio Secretary of State’s office says nothing improper happened.
“A review by this office indicates the ballot language accurately reflects the resolution” approved by county commissioners to place the tax on the Nov. 3 ballot, said Jeff Ortega, a secretary of state spokesman.
“It appears the board of elections did nothing wrong.”
Even so, the board placed Danielle O’Neill, a 20-year employee who’s responsibilities include preparing ballot language, on paid administrative leave Thursday. She’s paid about $36,000 annually.
The board will meet at 8 a.m. Monday to discuss potential disciplinary action against her.
Her punishment “could be anywhere from a suspension to a termination,” said Robert Wasko, the board’s chairman.
The problem is one of procedure and protocol, said Wasko and Thomas McCabe, the elections board’s director.
Wasko and McCabe said O’Neill failed to send the ballot language of the half-percent sales tax to county commissioners and the county prosecutor for review. The elections board sends ballot language to political entities proposing a tax for review as a matter of courtesy, McCabe said.
McCabe had initially said Wednesday that providing the language was required by state law, but both McCabe and Ortega said Thursday that is a not a legal requirement.
O’Neill sent tax-issue language to every political entity with an issue on the Nov. 3 ballot except for Mahoning County — which has the sales-tax proposal, McCabe said.
The issue is, the language of the half-percent sales tax states it would provide “additional general revenues.”
The tax is for a continuous period. It’s been on the ballot before as a five-year renewal.
The tax raises about $14 million annually for the county’s general fund.
That tax and another half-percent sales tax, which also raises $14 million a year, are the largest sources of general-fund revenue for the county.
The ballot language misleads voters because it states it would provide additional revenue rather than being a continuation of an existing county tax, said Commissioners Anthony Traficanti and David Ludt.
The commissioners said they would have sought a change in the ballot language if they knew about it.
“What went wrong? This is such an egregious error,” Traficanti said. “What happened? Was it a mistake and who made it? It infers we’re asking for more money. It misleads the public.”
The commissioners asked Sheriff Randall Wellington to conduct an investigation into the issue to determine if criminal activity occurred.
Despite assurances by elections board officials that it was just a mistake and nothing criminal happened, Ludt and Traficanti said the sheriff department’s investigation will proceed.
“Whatever happens, so be it,” Ludt said of the investigation, adding there’s no reason to stop it from continuing.
Regarding the investigation, Wellington said, “The investigation will follow the path to wherever it leads us. It’s unfortunate the actions of the [elections] board has misled our voters about an issue so vital to our community.”
But Mark Munroe, the elections board’s vice chairman, says the investigation is a waste of time and is drawing bad publicity for the sales-tax issue.
“If they’re worried about the ballot language hurting the chance of the sales tax passing, what they are doing is exactly the wrong thing,” he said. “Calling attention to it may cause some voters to vote against it.”
Munroe also points out that the secretary of state found nothing wrong with the sales-tax ballot language.
As for O’Neill, Munroe said, “She made a mistake, and that will be handled administratively. How anyone can suggest a criminal act occurred is baffling.”
The elections board should have just used the same language from the county’s other half-percent sales tax, approved in 2007 by voters from a five-year time frame to a continuous period, Traficanti and Ludt said.
Elections board employees used that language based on Sections 1 and 3 of the Aug. 1 resolution from the commissioners for the tax, McCabe said.
The body of the resolution never mentions the tax is a continuation, so McCabe said elections employees couldn’t use that word.
The title of the resolution uses “the continuation of an existing” sales tax twice.
The board is supposed to use the body of the resolution — and not the title — to write the ballot language for a tax issue, Ortega said.
The elections board has received requests from about 6,500 voters for absentee ballots, McCabe said. To date, none has called the elections board to ask about the sales-tax language, he said.
Only one person has contacted the commissioner’s office about the language, Ludt said.
skolnick@vindy.com
Comments
Why not print the body of the resolution for the public to review?
Again, for Boardman Township's additional tax levy on last November's ballot, the language included "...or the establishment and maintenance of lines of fire alarm telegraph..."
Fire alarm telegraph? Who approved that?
It is a new tax because it is for a continous period rather than a fixed period. If this tax is passed, you will not have another chance to vote on this tax unless a referendum is placed on the ballot.
I agree w/ akafr1 it is a new tax for that simple reason that you can't revote on it after 5 years, if it passes its on forever. VOTE NO
Commisioners are misleading, period.
point 1 The body of the resolution never mentions the tax is a continuation so elections employees couldn’t use that word. Why didn't the resolution say continuation? Answer It is not a continuation of a 5 year tax period it is a new tax that will last forever.
point 2 The board is supposed to use the body of the resolution — and not the title — to write the ballot language for a tax issue.. The commisioners knew the word continuation could not, by law, be put into the resolution. Now they are looking for a scapegoat. I believe all of this was a part of a pre-conceived plan to fool the public that this tax was a continuation.
point 3 Either the above mentioned point 2 is correct or the incompetance in the County administative offices is high.
point 4 The secretary of state found nothing wrong with the sales-tax ballot language.
Is this O'Neill related to the Youngstown fire chief and former judge O'Neill? How many O'Neills are working for a government entity, the whole family?
She is related to Judge Belinky.
You're not paying anything new with this tax renewal, why vote no? The County Jail will have to close half of it's housing, which means criminals on the streets that have been arrested and are pending trial, not to mention all of the employees from departments all over the County being laid off, tallying over a couple hundred.
Your actions have consequences, think about them.
From a Vindy August article: "Judge Mark A. Belinky received an additional $200,000 from the county’s general fund to settle his lawsuit against the Mahoning County commissioners,..." If O'Neill is really related to the judge doesn't that look odd that she is being singled out considering all the issues?
Why vote NO? Because every 5 years the county was required to come back to the taxpayers and show that they have spent our money wisely. If this becomes permanent, there will be less accountability and no need to watch how tax dollars are spent.
They use to give some of the sales tax money to the townships and village. Now they keep it all for the county to spend. It is a continuous sales tax according to my absentee ballot. There will not be any future accountability of spending.
Why won't any of the commisioners or Tablack answer the four points made?
It is our job to keep the elected officials honest and accountable concerning the people's government and it's operation. We have the power of the vote. The half percent sales tax is needed to run our county let alone maintain the Justice Center and those incarcerated. I remember the early 1990's and the crime being out of control in all of the county not just within the city.because of the sales tax not being passed and later when it all shook out the people saw that it was justified. I don't really care about the politics, I want my streets safe for my kids. My vote with yours will weed out those that will not make my tax dollar go the distance and we are watching!
The Youngstown school system needed their levy passed or the world was going to end. The voters said NO and look at how much they were able to cut before the taxpayers finally said OK. $14 million is to much to give to these idiots who still have not fully implemented the Pete Marwick study and continue to waste money one lawsuit after another.
T
Let me get this straight, Traficanti is mad and wants this clerk fired because after she typed up what he sent her she didnt send it back to him so he could change the wording to mislead us. WOW what a class act. As for the clerk of course if she is related to Belinky he is gonna go after her. Lets not forget the butt kicking Belinky put on Lanzo in the primary it made them so angry they openly worked for a republican against him. They even short changed his funding alot more then other departments forcing Belinky to sue. So of course this clerk who the state and the board of elections have both said did nothing wrong will lose her job because he didnt have a chance to lie to us. But whats worse is he will win re-election
The main problem with the Board of Elections is Tom McCabe.The only reason he was given the job he holds is because Sonny Smith became enamored with him during the 1980`s when he was in a cabal of teen Republicans who spent their days and nights genuflecting at their Ronald Reagan altar.The bottom line is,as long as he remains Chairman there will be issues with elections in Mahoning County.