The quarter-cent sales tax that Franklin County commissioners enacted to pay for a new jail and morgue is supposed to end on Dec. 31, 2018, but County Administrator Kenneth Wilson recommends that the commissioners make it permanent to keep the county's finances stable.

"With this, we can look at preserving the level of services we have," Wilson said.

Commissioner John O'Grady supports making it permanent.

"The alternative would be to cut budgets and services, which we have had to do continually over the years," O'Grady said Thursday.

O'Grady said he thinks the two other commissioners — fellow Democrats — would support making the sales tax permanent.

Commissioner Kevin Boyce isn't so sure. "There are so many questions to be answered," he said Thursday.

Commissioners have to look at the proposal, hold public hearings and listen to staff opinions before deciding, Boyce said. "I am open to the conversation."

Boyce, unlike his two colleagues, was not a commissioner when the temporary tax was unanimously approved in 2013.

Commissioner Marilyn Brown wouldn't comment on making the tax permanent, but issued a statement saying she lacks the information to make a decision.

A tax critic said that temporary taxes too often aren't.

"They need to justify that need," said Greg Lawson, senior policy analyst for the Columbus-based Buckeye Institute, a conservative research group.

"You can't convince me there aren't areas in county government" that could be cut to avoid extending the sales tax.

The commissioners adopted the five-year sales tax so the county could pay cash for the new jail and forensic-science center and other specified services. The tax ends in 14 months unless the commissioners adopt Wilson's recommendation.

Wilson stressed that taxpayers are already paying the $60 million per year generated by the tax, and extending it would mean that the tax rate wouldn't change.

But if it's allowed to end, consumers would keep a total of $60 million in their pockets.

It's unfair, Lawson said, to change a temporary tax intended for specific purposes into a permanent tax intended for the general use of running county government.

"We have no idea where it goes," Lawson said of revenue from an extended sales tax.

"Don't make it permanent. If there's something specific we don't have, justify that need ... But this (proposal) is 'We can do whatever we want with it, and nobody's ever going to know.'"

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Wilson's recommendation calls for completing years earlier as one project what was to be a two-phase project of building the new jail.

The first phase of the jail being built on Fisher Road on the West Side is planned for 870 beds. The second phase would increase that to 2,400 beds but was supposed to be built later. Combining the two phases, Wilson said, would save $50 million.

The additional money from the proposed permanent sales tax is needed to continue Franklin County programs, Wilson said, including:

• Promoting alternatives to expensive jail stays for those who need addiction or mental-health treatment as the opioid epidemic rages.

• Providing food, housing, charitable pharmacy and other human services as a "safety net."

• Continuing the promise to provide environmental stability for the county.

Franklin County, with 1.3 million residents, is Ohio's largest, and it's expected to continue growing. "In general," Wilson said, "more people, more services."

State cutbacks also forced Wilson to make his proposal.

"We're also dealing with a situation we didn't foresee," O'Grady said.

One-third of the $60 million annual revenue from an extended sales tax would replace $21 million that Franklin County lost when the federal government told the state it no longer could charge sales tax on Medicaid managed-care organizations.

The commissioners have the power to make the temporary sales tax permanent without going to voters. Under Ohio law, however, county voters could petition for a referendum to remove the tax.

O'Grady said that Wilson's recommendation also is prudent because it helps with planning, prepares for economic downturns and keeps Franklin County competitive in attracting and growing business.

Wilson is preparing to finalize the budget for next year. The 2017 budget shows that Franklin County spends $440 million to provide services to the public and has $177 million in cash reserves. Without extending that sales tax, the cash reserves would be gone by 2022 and there would be a $15.8 million deficit.

By law, commissioners have to hold two public hearings before deciding on Wilson's recommendation. The commissioners plan to hold three: on Nov. 28, Dec. 5 and Dec. 19. Each will be on Floor 26 of the Franklin County Administrative Building, 373 S. High St. They are expected to be held after 9 a.m. commission meetings, but that hasn't been finalized.

kperry@dispatch.com

@kimballperry