Primary is tomorrow - predictions for winners in Executive race, Democrat & Repub?

 

HOw about some other races, Ronayne vs Brady, District 3 County Council?

^ I'd say that the party frontrunners - Fitzgerald and Dolan - will win nominations.  But the closer and closer it gets to the general election, Ken Lanci seems to be the candidate to beat.  (I've grown to really like Ken Lanci by watching his reality show.)

 

I'm in District 7.  My guess is that James Levin will take the primary here.

Really hoping Julian Rogers wins district 10 - I think he has a pretty good chance.

Anybody else in District 2? I am looking for opinions on Jordan vs Miller.

I think Fitzgerald wins the Exec position for the Dems and in the overall this fall.  I think Terri Hamilton Brown is going to surprise him though and pull alot of votes from the East side.  I hope he can find a way to include her in the new administration somehow, she's too talented to not be.

 

I confess, I do not know much about Ken Lanci other than he's a private business man with no political experience. 

Any insights on the election results?

 

 

Any comments on the winners?

 

 

Sad commentary on the voters of the county for such a low turnout.  Sad day for the residents of County District 3...

I'm not surprised by the executive race.  I'm probably voting for Ken Lanci in November. 

 

However, the council is interesting.  Probably the biggest shocker is that Chris Ronayne was defeated.  In my district, James Levin didn't make the cut.  But there's still hope because Jeff Kipp, director of LIVE Cleveland! and fellow Old Brooklyner, is running as an independent.  And I was disappointed that Mike Piepsny, who is director of the Cleveland Tenants Organization and a good person, lost his race in the Berea area.

 

So some of the people that are Cleveland boosters and have accomplished some great things are shut out.

Is Ken Lanci the guy who wants to shut down the CC and MM?

^ No.  Ken Lanci is the guy who is suing Cuyahoga County so that the commissioners and auditor do not make major decisions that are negative to the county (i.e. selling the Ameritrust Tower for a substantial loss) while they are in lame duck mode. 

The number 1 thing I want to hear from any county exec is consolidating services with the overall goal of regionalism.  Anyone who is weak in the knees about that topic or thinks it won't work should get out of the way right now.

Fitzgerald has done a good job and made some tough cuts during his short tenure as Lakewood mayor, but he wears his ambitions openly on his sleeve. He seems to be a very effective adminstrator but I am concerned that he sees this position as a launching pad for a seat in congess.

I'm not surprised by the executive race.  I'm probably voting for Ken Lanci in November. 

 

However, the council is interesting.  Probably the biggest shocker is that Chris Ronayne was defeated.  In my district, James Levin didn't make the cut.  But there's still hope because Jeff Kipp, director of LIVE Cleveland! and fellow Old Brooklyner, is running as an independent.  And I was disappointed that Mike Piepsny, who is director of the Cleveland Tenants Organization and a good person, lost his race in the Berea area.

 

So some of the people that are Cleveland boosters and have accomplished some great things are shut out.

 

I hate to say it, but this is basically what I expected- the same establishment names with a different office.  I actually thought Nelson would beat Conwell, but Levin never had a chance, IMO.

 

I wouldn't hold my breath about Kipp beating Conwell unless he does some major campaigning, but even then...

Dolan hasn't even lived in Cuyahoga County for one year (plus his father is the terrible owner of the Cleveland Indians).  Can you say carpetbagger?  And Fitzgerald is a Democrat, which speaks for itself in this area.  Lanci, by the process of elimination, should get the nod.

 

Plus his plan on the most important local issue is spot on:

 

http://kenlanci.com/issues/taxes.html

Lanci's ideas on reducing taxes and streamlining govt sound great, but what exactly does he plan to do?  You can't cut taxes without reducing services or adding some other type of user fees....  And I wonder how his plan would go over with the new council ward members, would they support such a plan?  Seeing how the primary voters went, I see Fitzgerald cruising...

Lanci's ideas on reducing taxes and streamlining govt sound great, but what exactly does he plan to do? You can't cut taxes without reducing services or adding some other type of user fees....   And I wonder how his plan would go over with the new council ward members, would they support such a plan? Seeing how the primary voters went, I see Fitzgerald cruising...

 

And more of the same for CuyCo. :(

After Dan Brady won in District 3, I'd say most definitely more of the same for CuyCo.  Really sad too, considering what a great opportunity we have to make real changes for the future

Can anyone find a breakdown of Cuyahoga County's sales tax?  I know it's the highest in the state, so there may indeed be room for trimming, but I don't know how much of it goes where.  Other than 1% to RTA (don't want to cut that) and 0.25% to convention center/med mart.  Some portion of property taxes also go to the county, but I believe it's a pretty small portion of most people's bill.

^^^I'm a little more positive.  I see it as taking the cream of the scum, if you will, off the top.  The people on the lower rungs will learn not to be as slimy.  A new county government with a central executive will be on the hot seat and will not be so easy to pass the buck.  I see a new regionalism taking place more so with the Summit County executive than anyone else since the counties alone share the same structure more or less.  I would think sewer district, water district, park systems, bordering fire and police districts, school districts, and more could be possible negotiation points.

 

I feel a 3 commissioner system is fine for rural counties of Ohio but counties that have medium-sized cities or larger really should move to a strong executive system so they are not run by Moe, Larry Curly/Shemp..

5.5% to the state

1% to RTA

1.25% to the county (includes 0.25% for the MM, not sure about the breakdown for the remaining 1%)

 

http://www.tax.ohio.gov/divisions/tax_analysis/tax_data_series/sales_and_use/documents/salestaxmapcolor.pdf

 

From that link, the remaining 1% is on the low end for counties.  The real difference between Cuyahoga Co. and the rest of the state is RTA.

From the info below, it looks like the whole 1.25% county sales tax goes into the general fund, but the 0.25% is earmarked for the CC/MM.

---

2010 Budget Plan

Cuyahoga County, Ohio

 

Sales and Use tax revenues are estimated to be $195.6 million and Other Taxes are estimated

at $28.4 million in 2010. The two sources combined constitute 15.1% of the total anticipated All

Funds revenue. (See Figure RA-7). The General Fund is anticipated to receive $195.6 million in

the form of the Sales and Use Tax. The County Engineer’s department generates motor vehicle

license taxes and gas taxes that represent 97% of the Other Taxes category. In 2007, the Board

of County Commissioners increased the sales tax by a quarter percent (0.25%) and earmarked

the increase for regional economic development projects. The Sales Tax for the General Fund

actually drops from $215.8 million in 2008 to $195.6 million in 2010. This decrease of $20 million

in the region since 2008 is a refl ection of the economic recession.

 

http://www.obm.cuyahogacounty.us/pdf_obm/en-US/10BudgetPlan.pdf - Page IV-2

---

Revenue Analysis

IV-8

 

Other Taxes

General Overview

 

Excluding property taxes, the largest source of tax revenues come from the Sales and Use Tax

category, which is paid into the General Fund. The sales and use tax is applied to the retail sale,

lease, and rental of tangible personal property and selected services. The use tax on motor

vehicles is a tax on the storage or use in the County of motor vehicles acquired by a transaction

that is subject to the state sales tax. The purpose of the provision is to prevent the avoidance of

the tax on the purchase of a motor vehicle. This prevents a resident of a taxing county from going

to another county or state in which the sales tax is not levied or in which it is levied at a lower rate

than in the taxing county.

 

Cuyahoga County residents currently pay Sales and Use tax of 7.75%. Of this amount, the

State receives 5.5%, the Regional Transit Authority receives 1%, and Cuyahoga County receives

the remaining 1.25%. Of the County’s 1.25% tax, the Board of County Commissioners imposed

0.5% in 1969 and 0.5% in 1987. The most recent increase of 0.25% was imposed by the Board

in October 2007 and collections began in January 2008. The Board and now the County Council

have the statutory authority to adopt a resolution increasing the sales tax up to an additional

0.25% for a total of 1.5%.

 

The Sales and Use Tax is estimated at $195.6 million, which is a projected slight increase of $2.3

million or 1.2% (See Figure RA-7). The 2010 estimate is based on the 2009 second half sales

tax collection. The 2009 sales tax collections, at $193.3 million, were 10.4% lower than 2008

collections. The 2008 collections were higher because they refl ected the sales tax expansion

on telecommunications and various services that were not taxed in prior years. Additionally, the

0.25% increase in the sales tax for targeted development projects began in 2008.

 

When the reserve for development projects is removed, the balance of the Sales and Use Tax

for 2008 amounts to $179 million and drops to $155 million in 2009, which is a 10% decrease

from the 2007 actual. The adjusted sales tax revenue began to decrease in 2009 from the full

impact of the recession and the housing sector crisis and its negative impact on all sales. While

the economy is expected to improve nationally, Cuyahoga County and the State of Ohio continue

to yield sluggish sales tax collections in 2009 and 2010. The County will continue to monitor tax

receipts and the 2010 estimate will be adjusted as needed.

 

http://www.obm.cuyahogacounty.us/pdf_obm/en-US/10BudgetPlan.pdf - Page IV-8

 

Thanks guys for the info.  I'm all for making country government for efficient, but from that info, I guess I'm pretty skeptical that county spending cuts can result in any meaningful tax relief.  On a per household basis, the real spending (and taxing) seems to be at the school district, municipal and state levels.

The easiest way to "cut taxes" in North East Ohio is to combine services at the County level... the opposition to this is bewildering.  Unfortunately you have the fifedoms trying to scare their constituencies into thinking that if we have county level cooperation on services and tax sharing that somehow the boogeyman will show up. Boo.

 

And of course all of this is done to protect their own hides... while we remain the highest taxed region in the country to support it.

while we remain the highest taxed region in the country to support it.

 

Agreed with your overall point... but is this ^ true?  I have never heard that we were the highest taxed region in the "country".  Were you quoting something?

Looks like Council will be 8 Democrats and 3 Republicans, although I think party-politics is not nearly as divisive on the local level... outside of campaigns.

Looks like Fitzgerald is filling out his staff and seeking out some new faces, lots of job openings posted http://www.cuyahogacounty.us/home/employment.asp

What power does the new Cuy County admin have over RTA?  Could there be a push to improve the rail infrastructure in the county?

What power does the new Cuy County admin have over RTA?  Could there be a push to improve the rail infrastructure in the county?

 

RTA is a state agency.

 

The only entitlement the Country has is to appoint three members to the RTA board of trustee's and at least one of  these three appointees must be a resident of  the City of Cleveland.

^Technically it's not a state agency, but a county authority, but you're right about the county's limited influence on RTA.  Anyone know how the RTA board appointment powers will work under the new county structure?

^Technically it's not a state agency, but a county authority, but you're right about the county's limited influence on RTA.  Anyone know how the RTA board appointment powers will work under the new county structure?

 

No.  It's a state agency

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit  Authority is an independent political subdivision of the State of Ohio.  It was created in December 1974 by ordinance of the City  of Cleveland, Ohio, and by resolution of the Board of County  Commissioners of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Operations at GCRTA began in  September 1975. The GCRTA provides  virtually all mass transportation within the County. The North Olmsted  and Maple Heights transit systems merged with GCRTA in March 2005 to  form a single transit system  that will meet the needs of the public in Cuyahoga County. It is a  multimodal system delivering bus, paratransit, heavy rail and light rail  services.

Sorry, MTS, but you are totally wrong. While the Ohio Revised Code grants counties the authority to establish a regional transit authority (see: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/306), it is not a state agency in any way, shape, or form. It neither takes direction from the governor nor the state legislature, and is no more a state agency than metropolitan park systems are. It is independent from Cuyahoga County, even though the commissioners (and now, presumably, the executive and county council) appoint board members; how this will now take place will be determined.

 

(EDIT: It is like saying that counties are "state agencies." These are political subdivisions of the state, but are not controlled by the state.)

Edit: I'm slow

 

To me, by that definition all school districts, municipalities, and counties among other entities would also be state agencies. I think GCRTA is just about as much of a State agency as ODOT is a Federal agency. There's a lot of money flowing downstream but it doesn't mean they're actually connected so directly as to be considered an agency of the funding body.

RTA is a "special district" like the local sewer system.  That's why it can call itself independent.  ODOT, for example, couldn't call itself "an independent politcal subdivsion" because ODOT is a state agency.

Ugh, I HATE off-topic bickering. But for the sake of accuracy, RTA is not a state agency.  It's a county authority.  Yes, it's a political subdivision of the state, and so are the City of Cleveland or, to be more on topic, Cuyahoga County.  They aren't state agencies either.

 

EDIT: oops, I see people scooped me- thanks, folks.  This all sounds like a technical difference, but as Avogadro points out, it's crucial because it means that RTA is not controlled by the state.  Which as we saw with the 3Cs, is probably a good thing:)

Thanks for the clarification, I've always thought it was a state agency, since it was funded by the state gov in the early years.

 

Moving on.......

What power does the new Cuy County admin have over RTA? Could there be a push to improve the rail infrastructure in the county?

 

Back to my original question before the little diversion.  I only pose this question because it is such an obvious aspect of county responsibility the state of rapid transit system and how it works and could be improved throughout the county.  It may have not felt like as strong a responsibility spread over three different commissioners when each could have a different viewpoint in how to go forward with anything. 

^As MTS pointed out, the county government appoints only 3 of RTA's 10 trustees, so I wouldn't expect its new form to impact RTA so much.

OK, moving on:

 

Cuyahoga County Council elects C. Ellen Connally as president

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/01/county_council_picks_connally.html

 

I'm still not sure just how scandalous the private meeting really was.  Certainly tone def, but I don't really get why it was any different from any other partisan legislature.  Boehner being chosen as speaker in a closed door GOP congressional rep meeting, for instance. 

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/11/17/boehner-elected-house-speaker.html

Wow, the manufacture outrage pumped out of the PD never ceases to amaze me.

 

Investigator hired for Cuyahoga County integrity audit lacks CPA license, state says

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/01/post_413.html

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,25188.msg544628.html#msg544628

 

Which is why all these burbs need to merge.  It's tragic to see them beating each other over the head with redundant big box plazas.  This proposal would be a non-starter if CH/UH/SE were all one entity.

 

If all of these governments really are redundant, why not merge all the cities in the county?  Bay, River, Cleveland, Shaker, East Cleveland and Solon -- why should they duplicate services and compete on tax rates?!?  One city, one region = more power to lure business to NEO?

Well, yeah.  That would be ideal.

Baby steps.  I think we'll start to see some progress in the next year.  Fitzgerald is on board with this and most of the local mayors know they have to be too.  Sharing some basic services with your neighbor may become a requirement for getting some projects approved.  Those who do more sharing will get more development projects.  Those who don't, don't.

Since the other discussion on this topic was killed, I'll start it back up over here.  As a resident of UH, I would not want my city to be merged with SE and CH.  The only thing that would make that even remotely palatable would be if some combination of Lyndhurst, Beachwood, and Shaker Heights were also included in the merger.  But then again, those residents would probably want nothing to do with such a merger, either.  And merging all of Cuyahoga County together?  That would be absolutely terrible, we'd see an exodus out of the county by those with the means to leave that would mirror the exodus out of Cleveland that started in the 1960s and is still continuing to this day...

That doesn't seem to have been the result of other recent city-county consolidations.  What's so unique about our county, as compared to those?

That is strictly an opinion and not based on fact that I dont believe to be true. Please tell me why people will flee the county because of mergers.  If that's the case please explain your theory why dwinding city core and its suburbs should not merge and save residents dollars from redundant services

And if it is discussed any further... Discuss it in the regionalism thread.

Haha.  Well, uh...okay, 327, meet on the regionalism thread in five.