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Commissioner’s race a rematch

WARREN — Both candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for Trumbull County commissioner said they would support a sales tax increase only if it came recommended by the county auditor and it was put first to voters.

“I listen to the auditor, he is the expert. If he were convinced we need a sales tax increase, I would have a public hearing, put it on the ballot and educate the public about the need, so they understand why they should vote ‘yes.’ A lot of the time, people don’t understand that the state, not the county, takes most of the money collected in the tax,” said Frank Fuda, who is seeking a fourth term as county commissioner.

Fuda is up against Lisha Pompili-Baumiller, a rematch of a 2014 race that Fuda won, to see who goes up against Republican Mary Williams in the November election.

“I would exhaust all other means, except layoffs or cuts to services, but if there were no other means, it would be my duty as a public servant at that point to go out and explain how imperative the tax is to move forward and explain what we want to do with the money,” said Pompili Baumiller, Hubbard’s 3rd Ward councilwoman for 18 years.

The sales tax rate is 6.75 in Trumbull County. The county keeps 1 percent, the state collects 5.75 percent.

The county soon will be missing about $2 million per year from sales tax paid by Medicaid Managed Care Organizations, which they’ve been allowed to collect since 2009. A 2014 decision from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services declared the practice to be no longer permissible.

Ohio’s county governments and local transit authorities collectively face a shortfall of more than $200 million because of the decision.

The state has made some payments to Trumbull County and other counties in the situation, but is not expected to continue doing so.

“Our tax base is shrinking, we need more of the kinds of jobs that keep people in an area,” Fuda said. “We need someone like me, who watches how we spend every penny. And we need to expect a lot of our employees, to hold them to high standards so we know tax payer money is being used wisely.”

Pompili-Baumiller said while serving on the economic development committee on city council she has helped bring jobs to Hubbard.

“If there is an empty building or land, I don’t just wait around and hope someone wants to move in and start a business. I go out and look for people myself, to find someone to fill it,” Pompili Baumiller said. “We are losing population, and the way we are going we are going to continue to lose our children, and their knowledge, we have nothing for them here.”

Getting rid of blight and attracting jobs are one way to do that, Pompili-Baumiller said.

Fuda said a big part of attracting business is making sure the area’s water and sewer infrastructure is up to standards.

“Companies are not going to come here without sewer or water. They don’t want to be responsible for that,” Fuda said.

Fuda said his efforts, in conjunction with lawmakers and county employees, have led to $135 million in projects since he took office.

“If I hadn’t got involved and pushed, some of these projects wouldn’t have happened,” Fuda said.

Pompili Baumiller said the county is ready for a new direction and more diversity.

“The county needs unity, or maybe not unity but professionalism. There are three commissioners for a reason, there should always be discussions and differing opinions. We don’t need a ‘yes man’ but we need someone that can leave their personality out of it,” Pompili-Baumiller said.

Pompili-Baumiller said she is in favor of the commissioners’ recent move to hire Rebecca Gerson to serve as county administrator, purchasing director and transit administrator, which is something Fuda opposed.

She said she was not pleased to see the commissioners’ first pick for the job, Michael Matas, was given the top paid tier, $95,000.

“I would have liked to see more negotiation,” she said.

But, it appears the county got a better deal the second time they extended the offer to Gerson, Pompili- Baumiller said, because Gerson took on the additional role as transit administrator, something Matas was not slated to do, for $85,000 a year.

Fuda said he believes it was a bad choice to hire a person without transit experience to be transit administrator. He said he doesn’t believe the county needs an administrator and the commissioners and current employees can handle the responsibilities — as they have done for the 12 years it has been without one.

Commissioners Mauro Cantalamessa and Dan Polivka voted in favor of Gerson’s hire.

rfox@tribtoday.com

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