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Hamilton County Considers Cigarette Tax

Hamilton County Commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday to pursue a new cigarette tax in Hamilton County to bail out the stadium fund.

It was unclear how much the tax would be on cigarettes bought in the county or how much it would generate in revenue. Cigarettes are already taxed by the federal and state governments.

The move would require approval by the Ohio General Assembly. Two of the 11 members of the local delegation told The Enquirer on Wednesday they oppose the idea.

A 1996 sales tax increase to build Paul Brown Stadium for the Bengals and Great American Ball Park for the Reds is not generating enough money. Sales tax revenue for the fund is down 7.27 percent from last year, according to the county auditor’s office.

The fund holds enough money to cover the stadium construction debt – which legally must be paid first – but it will soon fall short of the cash needed for other obligations such as a tax credit to property owners, stadium operations and payments in lieu of taxes to the Cincinnati Public School District.

On Wednesday, Commissioners Todd Portune, a Democrat, and Greg Hartmann, a Republican, teamed up to include the cigarette tax as part of a “framework” to fix the stadium deficit.

A cigarette tax has been imposed in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland. A 30-cents-a-pack tax was approved in 2006 for local arts groups; another 4.5 cents was tacked on later for sports facilities. Summit County, which includes Akron, is considering a cigarette tax.

The federal tax on cigarettes is $1.01 a pack. The Ohio tax is $1.25 a pack. The tax in neighboring Kentucky is 30 cents a pack.

The framework adopted Wednesday would also: - Dedicate a “significant portion” of future casino revenue to the riverfront fund. A casino will be built near the county justice center. - Work with the county treasurer to collect more delinquent property taxes. - Continue negotiating with the Bengals and Reds. Discussions would conclude by June 30, 2010. The teams have refused concessions in the past, and have so far declined to comment on the current negotiations. - Pursue reimbursement from the state government for $7.6 million, money the county says the state promised years ago for the stadium construction projects. Portune said the cigarette tax was the best of several bad choices.

He and Hartmann were committed to retaining the full property tax credit promised to homeowners as part of the campaign to pass the 1996 sales tax.

Commissioner David Pepper, a Democrat, voted against the cigarette tax idea. He said the county should instead reduce the property tax break for homeowners and charge a tax on riverfront-related sales such as on tickets, food and beer. The Reds and Bengals would have to approve the latter idea.

Ohio state Sens. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, and Eric Kearney, D-North Avondale, said Wednesday they opposed a cigarette tax.

“They (commissioners) can save their 44-cent stamp,” Seitz said. “They don’t need to write to us asking us to support that because there’s no way on God’s green earth that we’re going to do it.”

Kearney said he will “absolutely not” support the tax and doesn’t think it’s realistic to expect the General Assembly to approve it. The other legislators, many of whom were stuck in a lengthy session late Wednesday afternoon, did not return calls for comment.

Commissioners have worked over the past few weeks to come up with a long-term solution before the stadium fund goes into the red by 2011. Absent a solution, the deficit will grow exponentially in coming years, reaching at least $93 million by 2014.

The county must find an additional $25 million to $30 million a year to fix the problem.

Troubles have already surfaced. The county dipped into emergency cash this summer to pay the property tax credit because the stadium fund was too low. Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes is holding $473,589 in bills for legal work on The Banks riverfront development because there’s not enough money to pay them.

The budget office assured the bills will be paid next week when several expected payments flow into the fund.

Rhodes criticized the county for its “paycheck-to-paycheck style operation.”

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