Campaign for METRO Issue 8 sales tax issue begins

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by Eric Marotta

Editor

Summit County -- Area organizations and officials last week kicked off a campaign to convince county voters to approve Issue 8, a quarter-percent sales tax increase to support the Metro Regional Transit Authority.

The measure, which voters will face at the March 4 primary election, is supported by dozens of organizations and individuals, who kicked off the levy campaign at a Feb. 8 news conference.

Issue 8 would could provide up to $18 million per year to the agency, whose annual budget is around $30 million. The tax increase would bring the county sales tax to 6.5 percent, compared with 7.75 percent in Cuyahoga, 6.75 percent in Portage and 6.5 percent in Medina counties, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation. It would add 1 cent to the cost of a $4 purchase.

The agency says the tax is needed to restore day-to-day services cut since 2000, as well as prevent future cuts that would be needed to stave off $4 million in deficits the agency faces within the next two years. If the measure fails, cuts that would be instituted this year include elimination of Saturday and Sunday service, elimination of Route 23: Portage Trail/Graham Road and Route 110 Green/Springfield, fare increases and a 40-percent reduction in late-night service.

Cuts on the planning board for 2009 would include further cutbacks in routes, as well as elimination of METRO SCAT, which is a door-to-door transportation service for elderly and disabled people.

Among those agencies supporting the measure is the Akron Metropolitan Transportation Study, an agency responsible for allocating transportation spending in the greater Akron area.

AMATS announced its endorsement of Issue 8 on Jan. 30.

"Nobody likes to pay more in taxes, but we're faced with a choice: Do we want to have a county that offers a quality transportation system that benefits many hardworking people, or do we want to allow an asset to wither away slowly on the vine," said AMATS Director Kenneth Hanson.

According to Citizens for Public Transportation, a political action committee formed to support Issue 8, METRO has not asked for any tax money since 1990.

The agency has also experienced cuts in federal and state supporting that bring it back to 1983 funding levels.

According to CPT, METRO serves 22,000 area residents, including working mothers, senior citizens and people with disabilities who count on the service to get work, doctor's appointments, child care and to "other places they absolutely must go,' according to the group's Web site, www.voteformetroscat.org.

E-mail: emarotta@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3171