Apparently unable to understand the meaning of the word “no,” Commissioners Todd Portune and David Pepper will hold hearings on yet another proposed increase in the sales tax this week and next week. Again, not learning the lessons of the past, among the options on which hearings will be held is increasing the sales tax without a vote of the electorate.
The hearings will be held Wednesday, February 10 at 9:30 AM and again on Wednesday, February 17 at 9:30 AM. Both public sessions will be in the County Commission offices on the 6th floor of the County Administration Building, 138 East Court Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.
COASTers are encouraged to attend the meetings and testify, or call or write their Commissioners at the addresses and numbers noted below:
Greg Hartman | David Pepper | Todd Portune | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone: | 513-946-4405 | 513-946-4409 | 513-946-4401 |
| Fax: | 513-946-4404 | 513-946-4407 | 513-946-4446 |
| E-mail (Click) |
COASTers will recall that in 2006, voters rejected a sales tax increase for a new jail. Not understanding that message, Portune and Pepper tripled the size of that tax and implemented a sales tax in2007 without a public vote. A unique coalition of the NAACP, COAST, the Green Party and the Libertarian Party united to place the issue before the voters and defeat the tax, despite more than $1 million spent by tax advocates, including $100,000 spent by David Pepper’s ultra-wealthy mommy and daddy.
The desire of Portune and Pepper for more of your tax money is congenital and can only be counterbalanced by a vocal and resolute public telling them our objections. Please speak out once again, because apparently they did not hear you the last two times.
Thanks for the reminder! I'll email all three commissioners now and thank them for considering fiscal responsibility and considering an increase in the sales tax. Clearly the days of the free rides you desire need to end to put our county on a sound financial footing.
ReplyDeleteI just wish that you had spoken up when the three previous Republican commissioners were entering in to the dreadful lease with the Cincinnati Bengals that has tapped so much of our resources. I voted for the stadium funding plan because I believed the additional revenues from other uses at these county owned venues would be an asset. Man was I shocked when I saw that Bob Bedinghaus and his cronies had given away the store in a grand corporate welfare scheme and they've been picking our pockets ever since.
So, yeah, I'll email the commissioners and tell them they should have done this a long time ago and that listening to COAST never leads to good things for our county and region.
Isn't it funny how former COAST and Chris Finney ally Bob Beddinghaus is now an employee with the Cincinnati Bengals?
ReplyDelete^You kids need a history lesson. FYI, COAST was formed in 2000, well after the stadium boondoggle was underway, and partly becasue of it. Stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteAs a regular reader of this blog I know to read all Joe M. and CAAST posts with a skeptical eye. They both play fast and loose with the facts when it suits them. Anything to soothe their obsessive hatred of COAST.
ReplyDeleteI'm old enough to remember that after the stadium tax boondoggle COAST ran Republican primary opponents against two of the three County Commissioners who gave away the store. The third retired instead of facing a primary. Thanks COAST for standing up for the taxpayers!
Hey COASTers, we just told all of our tax hikers to flood these hearings in support of raising taxes for Mike Brown! We're going to dominate you. Your taxes are going up!
ReplyDeletehttp://republicans4highertaxes.blogspot.com/2010/02/portunepepper-consider-sales-tax-hike.html
Whoops sorry COAST, forgot it was "Citizens for Choice in Taxation" then. Same ruse.
ReplyDelete