Commissioners to vote July 1 on putting 0.25 percent sales tax on November ballot

Following two sparsely attended public hearings on the matter, the Lorain County commissioners is expected to vote July 1 on whether to put a 0.25 percent sales tax on the November ballot to help fund the Lorain County Sheriff's Office. Commissioner David Moore, a Republican, said the public can expect a vote at its next meeting. That will take place at 3:30 p.m. July 1 in the fourth floor meeting room at the County Administration Building, 226 Middle Ave. in Elyria. "I like the concept that it's going to be up to the public to decide how we move forward as a county," he said. The commissioners have to make a decision by July 15 to get the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot. Consumers in Lorain County currently pay 6.5 percent sales tax on eligible purchases, among the lowest rates in the state. Only three other counties charge that, and 84 other counties have a higher sales tax. Voters may get to vote the tax up or down at the polls on Nov. 4. If it passes, it would raise an estimated $13 million for Sheriff's Office operations. Sheriff Jack Hall, a Republican, inherited a $31.2 million budget for 2025 when he was elected in November and took office in January. That number includes what is spent annually to run the Lorain County Jail, for deputies to patrol county and township roads and for courthouse security, among other responsibilities. His estimated 2026 budget is $34 million to $35.5 million. A 0.25 percent sales tax passed in 1994 already provides $13 million to $14 million annually for Lorain County Jail operations. The Sheriff's Office is the largest line item in the county general fund, with its largest expenditures being personnel and vehicles. After Hall hired her to run his office, Chief Deputy Tanya Czack said Friday she checked "every single requisition" and signed off on "every single" vendor to make sure it was the correct one that should be used, at the best prices. She said the sales tax increase will free up $13 million in the county general fund, and the new revenue will help avoid future cuts or emergency fixes to fund the Sheriff's Office. Hall said fixing math errors made by his predecessor — to the tune of $1.8 million, though he didn't go into specifics what those were — and finding a less-expensive state bid contract for inmates' prescription medications will result in further savings. There are no politics in Hall's budget and he's accountable directly to the people, he said. "We are providing a lot more services, being a lot more effective and a lot more efficient for actually the same amount of money," Hall said. Moore said Hall's budget still will be dipping into the county general fund for $7 million to $8 million in 2026, but if the sales tax passes it will mean relief for the larger pot of money. "I hope the public sees today, what you presented, that you're on top of it," Moore told Hall and Czack. "What you're doing, and what we're doing is asking the public to participate, and we're telling them, and educating them to say 'Here's how we want to move forward, will you allow us to move forward?'" Commissioner Marty Gallagher, also a Republican, said budget efficiency and more patrols on the road are "critical" to Lorain County, to public safety, and to attracting business development and housing. Brian Baker — a Brownhelm Township resident, longtime union official and former Democratic candidate for county commissioner — was the lone member of the public to speak at Friday's hearing. He said he supports the Sheriff's Office and deputies, knows Hall has been working to put more uniformed deputies on the road and that educating voters is what is most important when trying to pass a tax increase. "The public just went through a big reevaluation on our property values, a ton of money they had to pay extra," Baker said. "Now we're going to come back and ask them for more, we just did that with the $5 license plate fee." He said "a great gesture" by commissioners would be to take any revenue from the sale of Midway Mall in Elyria and put that toward replacing the aging Lorain County Jail, another project that Hall will have to deal with during his first term. "I don't know that it'll ever come, I don't know that we're ever gonna get our money, but I think they (the Sheriff's Office) deserve that piece," Baker said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.