Ashtabula County voters reject jail sales tax hike. (Star Beacon, November 2, 2021)

Ashtabula County, Ohio voters rejected a sales tax increase in 2021.  

Ashtabula County voters reject jail sales tax hike

• By BRIAN HAYTCHER bhaytcher@starbeacon.com
 
• Nov 2, 2021 Updated Nov 2, 2021
 

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Ashtabula County Commissioner Kathryn Whittington, right, writes down election numbers on Tuesday evening at the GOTL Brewery as fellow commissioner Casey Kozlowski, second from right, reads election results while talking with people at the board of elections in Jefferson as Ashtabula County Auditor David Thomas, second from left, Eastern County Court Judge Harold Specht, far left, and Ashtabula County Sheriff William Niemi, third from left, look on.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Saybrook Township poll worker Cynthia Heath, far right at table, prepares to greet voters on Tuesday afternoon at the Saybrook Township Hall.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Ashtabula County Commissioner Kathryn Whittington announces the numbers of the jail levy during a Republican get together at the GOTL Brewing Co. in Geneva-on-the-Lake on Tuesday. The levy did not pass.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Leslie Lencoski, left, prepares to vote on Tuesday with the assistance of poll workers Lewis Smith, center, and Verity Bruening on Tuesday afternoon at the Geneva Public Library.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Ashtabula County Board of Elections Clerk Karrie Blair organizes election materials at the Ashtabula County Board of Elections on Tuesday evening in Jefferson.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Geneva City Council candidate James Baehr, right, and fellow candidate Bill Baker celebrate after the each earned a seat on council on Tuesday evening at the GOTL Brewing Co. in Geneva-on-the-Lake.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Poll worker Amanda Collins, right, assists a voter while fellow poll worker Jen Skufca, left seated, waits for the next voter on Tuesday afternoon at the Ashtabula County YMCA in Ashtabula.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Saybrook Township poll worker Cynthia Heath assists a voter on Tuesday afternoon at the Saybrook Township Hall.

• Warren Dillaway

Christian Graham, foreground, and P.J. Modzelewski transport election results from vehicles to the Ashtabula County Board of Elections on Tuesday evening in Jefferson.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Leslie Lencoski, left, prepares to vote on Tuesday with the assistance of poll workers Lewis Smith, center, and Verity Bruening on Tuesday afternoon at the Geneva Public Library.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Saybrook Township poll worker Cynthia Heath, far right at table, greets voters on Tuesday afternoon at the Saybrook Township Hall.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Christian Graham transports election results from vehicles to the Ashtabula County Board of Elections on Tuesday evening in Jefferson.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Jefferson village council candidate Steve Sekanina, left, and Ashtabula County Auditor David Thomas review election results on Tuesday evening at the GOTL Brewing Co. in Geneva-on-the-Lake. Sekanina won a council seat.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

Ashtabula County Board of Elections clerks Jackie Smith, left, and Karrie Blair organize election materials at the Ashtabula County Board of Elections on Tuesday evening in Jefferson.

• WARREN DILLAWAY | Star Beacon

    

JEFFERSON — Ashtabula County voters rejected a proposed .5-percent, 20-year sales tax increase on Tuesday, 9,231 votes against to 6,836 votes in favor, according to unofficial results from the Ashtabula County Board of Elections.

County Commissioner Casey Kozlowski said he was disappointed by the outcome, but the commissioners felt strongly that it was important to take the issue before voters.

“Moving forward, I certainly expect for us to have a larger community discussion as it relates to the county jail, and expectations,” Kozlowski said.

He said with high inflation and the cost of goods going up, it’s difficult for people to be willing to pay more.

The commissioners and Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office have been campaigning in favor of the sales tax increase — which would be used to fund the construction of a new jail — since June, when the proposal was announced.

The current Ashtabula County Jail was built in 1978 and is rated to house 112 inmates, according to the county’s website.

The proposed new jail would have had 292 beds, and was to be located just north of King Luminaire on Route 46, just outside of the Village of Jefferson. The proposed facility would take two to three years to complete.

The commissioners previously agreed to purchase approximately 35 acres of land on the west side of Route 46 for $350,000 if the sales tax increase had passed.

The sales tax increase would have generated around $5 million per year.

Funds from the sales tax would also have paid for six new road deputies for the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office.

The county’s sales tax is currently at 6.75 percent, and the increase would have brought it to 7.25 percent, at or below 59 of Ohio’s 88 counties, according to the county website.

One of the selling points of the proposed sales tax increase was that tourists and other visitors to Ashtabula County would bear the burden of the tax, not just county residents.

The measure was behind after early voting and absentee ballots were counted early Tuesday night, with 1,280 votes against the issue, and 985 in favor.

As more votes were tallied, the gap widened, with 5,849 votes against the sales tax increase and 4,088 in favor after votes from 47 of the county’s 104 precincts were counted.