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ELYRIA, Ohio -- Lorain County voters on Tuesday rejected a quarter-percent sales tax increase to support the county’s Sheriff’s Office, defeating a measure that would have generated roughly $13 million annually to bolster law enforcement operations and address projected budget deficits. Issue 1 failed as 70.21% of voters rejected the sales tax increase, with 41,747 votes against and 17,709 votes in favor, according to unofficial results from the Lorain County Board of Elections. The defeated measure would have raised the county’s total sales tax from 6.5% to 6.75% and added 25 cents per $100 in purchases, or $25 on $10,000 in taxable spending. County commissioners had argued that the tax increase essentially would have restored a 0.25% sales tax that was eliminated by previous county commissioners in 2020. That decision created a funding gap temporarily filled by federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with those funds exhausted, deficits are projected to begin next year. The Lorain County Sheriff’s Office operates on a $31.2 million budget for 2025, which is projected to rise to $35.5 million in 2026, according to Chief Deputy Tanya Czack. She told county commissioners that when Sheriff Jack Hall assumed office in January, the office inherited a budget with minimal historical data, more than $250,000 in unpaid 2024 bills and $1.8 million in accounting errors. Czack added that unavoidable expenses have also contributed to the budget increase, including $500,000 in lease obligations, replacement of 67 bulletproof vests at up to $3,000 each, higher-than-anticipated jail medication costs, mandatory staffing increases for medical coverage and a 3% contractual wage hike. County officials had hoped that the revenue would allow the county to cap its general fund contribution to the Sheriff’s Office at $7 million annually, freeing up resources for other priorities such as infrastructure, mental health services and addiction recovery programs as the county grapples with anticipated shortfalls of its own. Of the county’s 6.75% total sales tax, Lorain County receives just 1%, with the remaining 5.75% going to the state. Commissioners noted that relying on a sales tax would have meant that both residents and visitors who shop in the county would help support local law enforcement. The Lorain County Deputies Association actively advocated for Issue 1 in the weeks leading up to the election. In a press release issued Monday, the group assured voters that the revenue from Issue 1 would have been carefully managed and provided more details on how it would be used. “The need for the increase is real. Unfortunately, we are short on manpower. Deputies are working overtime weekly to maintain at least four deputies on the road to respond to your calls,” the association said in the statement. “Issue 1 would allow the Sheriff’s Office to have the untouched funding to maintain a safe level of road deputies. The politics would be removed from our staffing levels.” In an October 27 statement, the association detailed the county’s rapid population growth that’s led to the heightened demands on deputies. Lorain County is Ohio’s ninth-largest county and the 12th fastest-growing. With Issue 1’s defeat, the county maintains one of the state’s lowest sales tax rates, tied with four other counties.
