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Cuyahoga County Council, which will likely debate later this month on whether to send an extension of the "sin tax" on alcohol and cigarettes to the May ballot.

(Lisa DeJong, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County voters might be asked in May to renew countywide taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, collectively known as the sin tax, past their scheduled 2015 expiration date.

County Council President C. Ellen Connally plans to introduce legislation later this month that would pave the way for the ballot issue. Eight of council's 11 members would have to vote yes in order to put the issue before voters.

Connally, a Democrat, said she has no personal position on the tax extension, and that council won't be advocating for it.

"I think it will be up to the powers that be to push it," she said. "But we’re required to do this if they’re going to get it on the ballot."

If approved by voters, the renewal would raise money to maintain FirstEnergy Stadium, Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena, said Joe Nanni, council's chief of staff. This is in contrast to "upgrades" like the ones that will cost Cleveland taxpayers $30 million over the next 15 years under a deal backed by Mayor Frank Jackson to update FirstEnergy Stadium, Nanni said.

"Those could not be included in this legislation. This is for maintenance. Upgrades will be the teams' responsibilities," Nanni said.

An early version of the legislation, which was provided to the Northeast Ohio Media Group in response to a public records request, would request from voters a 20-year extension of the sin taxes. (scroll down to read the current proposal.)

The proposal would renew the county's tax on cigarettes at 4.5 cents a pack, 16 cents per gallon on beer, 32 cents per gallon on wine and mixed beverages and $3 per gallon of hard liquor.

The proposed ballot language within the legislation says the taxes would be used for "constructing, renovating, improving, or repairing sports facilities and reimbursing a county for costs incurred by the county in the construction of sports facilities."

But Nanni said the legislation is still incomplete and details, like the length of the requested extension, could change. The first of the three public hearings legally required before the issue can be put before voters is scheduled for Jan. 14, Nanni said. Council also has placed legally required advertisements with The Plain Dealer for hearings on Jan. 21 and Jan. 28.

The filing deadline for the upcoming May election is Feb. 5.

"I think right now they [council] are interested in putting it forward to begin public discussion," Nanni said.

In a last-minute change to the state budget bill last summer, legislators added a provision that allows County Council to ask voters to extend the sin tax for up to 20 years. Without the budget amendment, which was backed by the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the local chamber of commerce, the tax would have expired in 2015 and could not have been renewed under a state law that had been in place since 2008.

County Executive Ed FitzGerald has not yet responded to a message left earlier today with his spokesman.