Zack Reed: It’s time to fish or cut bait
Now that the Medical Mart/ convention center deal is on the rocks, City Councilmen Zack Reed and Brian Cummins, along with their pals at the citizen’s group Put in on the Ballot, are back on the protest train.
This morning they braved the frigid steps of the county headquarters to rail against the sales tax increase, approved by the commissioners last summer, to pay for a deal that has yet to materialize…
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2008.
News Release From
Put It On The Ballot
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Put It On The Ballot
Citizen’s group calls for repeal of County sales tax, reinstatement of Convention Facility Authority, and transparent and collaborative process for planning and implementation of Medical Mart
News Release – March 6, 2008
Contact: Brian Cummins, 216-459-8400, bcummins@clevelandcitycouncil.org
REF: http://www.putitontheballot.com/about
Put It On The Ballot calls on the Cuyahoga County Commissioners to repeal the sales tax passed for the convention facility, reinstate the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Convention Facility Authority (CFA), and provide an open, collaborative and competitive process for planning and implementing a strategy for creating a Medical Mart.
If the additional .25% tax would be repealed as of July 2008 (the next available quarter a repeal could take effect) the county is estimated to collect $32,000,000 for the 9-month period October 2007 – June 2008. The county should retain this funding in a restricted account for purposes of utilizing the funding if and when the convention facility/medical mart negotiations are finalized. The County Commissioners should charge a newly constituted CFA to set a date certain for negotiations to be concluded. The regionally representative and transparent CFA should be utilized to manage the planning and implementation of a convention facility/medical mart.
The County Commissioners should also develop and approve a plan for the re-allocation of the tax in the event a convention facility/medical mart is deemed not feasible. Previously the Commissioners have estimated that approximately $20 – $25 million of the estimated annual tax receipts of $43 million would be needed for convention facility/medical mart. Such a reallocation plan should take into account the continuing use of the existing convention facility as well as the priority needs of the county and municipalities that have contributed to this funding through the tax.
The tax is being collected under the County’s general fund and although the funding was intended and is earmarked for the convention facility/medical mart, the Commissioners decided to pass the .25% tax without a vote of the people. The commissioners used the State law that allows for a passage of a tax without a vote of the people as long as the additional revenue is used to provide funding for the County’s general fund. The State law provides for such a tax to be levied for the express purposes of a convention facilities authority, but in doing so would require a vote of the people.
The County Commissioners are called to take these actions to rebuild the trust of Cuyahoga County residents and to provide a transparent, accountable, collaborative and competitive process for which a convention facility/medical mart can be supported by the public, realized and achieve success in providing economic development benefits to the region.