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Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Additional Sales Tax on August Ballot

Additional Sales Tax on August Ballot

Sales tax goes to vote
By BRENDA LUTHY World Correspondent
7/26/2005

Vote is on financing of Delaware County Sheriff's Office

JAY -- Some $750,000 in county funds would be freed up for other needs if voters approve a sales tax next month to finance the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, officials said Monday.

County Commissioner Bruce Poindexter said the countywide tax, if approved Aug. 9, would replace the sheriff's current budget received from the county.

The sheriff would still receive money collected from the court systems for services, but the remainder of monies would come from the sales tax, Poindexter said.

"If the sales tax is successful, the Sheriff's Office would collect $1.2 million" a year, Poindexter said.

He noted the Sheriff's Office now receives about $750,000 yearly from the county. That money, he noted, would be free to spend on other vital county needs if the tax passes. Poindexter did not outline areas in which that money would be spent.

Poindexter said the sales tax would expire on Dec. 31, 2010, by which time voters would be asked to continue the tax. The tax would be used to hire more personnel and buy new vehicles, said Sheriff Jay Blackfox.

There may be trouble on the horizon for the proposed tax, however.

Last week, the Grove City Council said it would ask county commissioners to withdraw the tax from the ballot.

Councilors noted that the tax would raise Grove's total sales tax to 9.4 percent, making it one of the highest in the state.

Grove contributes 60 percent of the tax base for Delaware County; Jay contributes 10 percent, Councilor Terry Ryan said.

"I believe the commissioners need to remove this from the ballot and consult with Grove to find other opportunities to fund the Sheriff's Office," Ryan said last week.

But Poindexter said Monday that no one from the "Grove City Council or their legal counsel has approached us, asking commissioners to vacate the countywide half-cent sales tax question" from the ballot.

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