BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
For some voters, representative government doesn't cut it when it comes to affairs of the wallet.
That's why Cincinnati voter Ellen Polak and thousands of others say they will gladly march to the polls on Nov. 3 to choose whether to cap the city's 3 percent ticket tax, levied on anything from professional sports to theater events and concerts.
"I want to have the citizens decide, not city council," said Mrs. Polak, a Madisonville resident.
Council has been toying with raising the tax -- adding up to a few pennies on the ticket -- to pay for its $100 million pledge to repair and build public school buildings.
Coalition formed
When it appeared earlier this summer that a majority of council again might support a plan to pay for schools by raising the ticket tax, a sports and entertainment coalition mobilized. While the council bloc crumbled, the coalition got to work on putting a charter amendment -- Issue 12 -- on the ballot.
Petitions were circulated and organizers obtained well over the 8,331 signatures of registered voters needed to put Issue 12 on the ballot. Meantime, opposition is slowly mounting.
The ballot measure calls for capping the tax at 3 percent. The only way to reverse that decision would be to go back to the voters through another ballot initiative.
Mrs. Polak, who signed the petition, said she hasn't made a final decision about how she'll vote. But if she follows her political leanings, she'll likely vote against anything that would call for more or higher taxes.
"There were all these tax increases that were supposed to go for fixing schools, yet they're crumbling around these kids' ears," she said.
The promise to fund the schools was made during the campaign to get public approval for a higher sales tax to build new stadiums. "I would like to cap it because I think city council has dropped the ball; this is just their way of correcting what they didn't do initially," said Ray Henderson, a Hyde Park resident who also signed the petition.
Oakley resident John Graf, who signed the petition, said: "We're taxed enough already. It just seems like there's another way to pay for this."
Several Cincinnati City Council members and representatives of the entertainment and sports industries are organizing the cap-the-tax campaign, which will include some television advertising, sending out fliers and possibly a mass mailing.
"We certainly believe the voters should have a say on how their taxes are raised and for what purpose," said one campaign organizer, Chip Hart, with Hart Productions. His company produces consumer trade shows, including the annual Cincinnati Travel, Sports and Boat Show at the Albert B. Sabin Convention Center; his events are subject to the ticket tax.
Councilwoman Jeanette Cissell agreed, adding: "Whether it's five cents or $50, it doesn't matter; it's their (taxpayers') money, and they should have a say."
Event organizers also have said that an increase in the ticket tax could raise ticket prices.
Under the current formula, the first $1.05 of a ticket is exempt from the tax. So if the tax is automatically added to a $30 ticket, the tax is roughly 85 cents.
In 1997, the ticket tax generated $2.6 million.
Monday night, the executive committee of the Hamilton County Democratic Party voted to oppose Issue 12.
Another opponent is the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati, whose membership includes 16 major religious denominations. "Our concern with this, first and foremost, is that this is not good government, for a special interest group to buy a charter amendment so they don't have to pay taxes," said the Rev. Duane Holm, director of the religious coalition.
He thinks the tax burden can be spread across the region. The Rev. Mr. Holm is also concerned that by going straight to the general fund, the inevitable budget cuts could cause a rift between the neighborhoods and the schools.
"Neighborhoods are going to see cuts, and they're going to blame it on the schools."
Councilman Tyrone Yates shares some of the Rev. Mr. Holm's sentiments.
"I think this is a bad way to manage municipal affairs -- by having initiatives and referendums on every matter that groups feel affected by," he said. "I'm disappointed that the special interest groups feel a need to take these steps to cap the tax."
Mr. Yates was among the council majority earlier this summer that favored a proposal to fund the schools by raising the ticket tax.
The plan, which would raise $5 million annually for 20 years, called for raising the current 3 percent admission tax to 4.25 percent from 1999 through 2010. The rate would decrease gradually through the next nine years, and by 2020 would return to the original 3 percent rate.
The plan also would have applied the city's 2.1 percent earnings tax, levied against those who work or live in the city, on visiting entertainers and athletes.
In addition, the city would have used $5.7 million surplus from the city's 1997 general operating budget to cover its 1998 commitment.
