Sunday, December 05, 1999
Campbell's tax hike a gutsy move
Lawmakers' pledge a political ploy
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Members of Campbell County Fiscal Court could easily have ducked the issue last week when it came time to cast a tough vote on raising the county's payroll tax.
Nobody likes paying taxes, and politicians sure don't like raising them. Increasing a tax is the kind of vote that can come back to haunt an elected official at the ballot box while giving plenty of ammo to political attack dogs.
But Campbell County has hit tough financial times. It needs the $850,000 a year a 60 percent increase in the license/payroll tax will raise each year.
“We realized that if we didn't increase the payroll tax cap, we would have to start looking at a reduction in services to save money,” Judge-executive Steve Pendery said. “The payroll tax is our largest single source of revenue, and we haven't approved an increase since 1986.”
So instead of shirking their responsibility on an issue that demanded attention and action, fiscal court members — Mr. Pendery, a Republi can, and Democratic commissioners Dave Otto, Bill Verst and Roland Vories — stood up and showed leadership by approving the tax.
It was not an easy or thoughtless vote, though down the line some hack pol, campaign handler or reporter will make it seem that way. It was a brutally difficult decision for all involved, but one that had to be made, the fiscal court members determined.
This vote would never have been taken had fiscal court signed a “No new taxes” pledge, as state and federal officials often do.
The pledge is promoted by a Washington-based government spending watchdog group called Americans for Tax Reform, which asks members of Congress and state legislatures to sign.
Lots do, including almost all the state lawmakers in Northern Kentucky.
Keeping taxes low is something we all want our elected officials to pursue. But is signing a pledge to never raise taxes prudent, or is it just politics?
There are a lot of lawmakers in Frankfort dismissing out-of-hand Gov. Paul Patton's call to increase the state's gas tax.
The state's road fund, Mr. Patton argues, has a $600 million shortfall and needs money a gas tax increase of 7 cents a gallon would provide.
More than 40 lawmakers who signed the pledge aren't even listening. They don't care what the needs of the road fund are — they aren't voting to raise taxes.
Again, a laudable goal. But there are times when more money is needed. Costs go up. Roads wear out. Areas like Northern Kentucky grow quickly and need road projects to ease congestion.
What happens when road projects aren't funded, and traffic continues to back up or roads go without needed repairs? Where does the money come from if lawmakers won't even consider raising taxes?
Elected officials say they sign the pledges to protect the public's money and to keep taxpayers from paying more, and on those points there is little doubt they are being honest and truly want a more fiscally responsible government.
But some of the motivation is clearly political. Pols run on the fact that they signed the pledge because it sounds real nice at election time.
Signing a pledge, like ducking a tough vote, is easy. Making a hard decision on increasing taxes isn't.
Water under the bridge: State Rep. Tom McKee, D-Cynthiana, didn't get credit last week when the state announced a nearly $1 million water grant for Pendleton County.
He should have received some.
Mr. McKee worked closely with Gov. Paul Patton, Department of Local Government Commissioner Bob Arnold, Pendleton County officials and members of the county's water districts is securing the grant, which will pay for water lines to more than 200 homes.
Mr. McKee represents Harrison, Pendleton and Robertson counties and five precincts in Campbell County.
Moore makes noise with air port board: Boone County Judge-executive Gary Moore and Florence Mayor Diane Whalen showed guts a few weeks ago when they appeared before the Kenton County Airport Board to talk about airport noise.
The officials weren't trying to pick a fight, and they made sure to stress they understand the importance of the airport and the contributions it has made to the Northern Kentucky economy and the tax coffers of local governments.
But they also wanted to let airport board members know that residents of Boone County are tired of jet noise, and they want a seat at the table as planning begins for construction of a new runway.
The appearance by Mr. Moore was significant because Boone County Fiscal Court has rarely been so aggressive in taking on the airport over an issue.
“This is unprecedented,” Mr. Moore said after making his presentation to the board. “But I was elected to speak for the people of Boone County.”
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. His column appears Thursdays and Sundays. He can be reached at 578-5581, or (502) 875-7526 in Frankfort, or by e-mail at
crowleys@cinci.infi.net.
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