Stark County Passes Sales Tax Increase By Nearly 10,000 Votes

The Stark County Jail may now operate at full capacity after the passage of , a county-wide sales tax increase of 0.5 percent.

Stark County voters passed the issue with 66,279* votes for it and 52,280 votes against it, according to unofficial election results from the Stark County Board of Elections Tuesday night.

The issue saw little opposition from officials in North Canton, as the , North Canton City Schools Board of Education and all endorsed it.

Police Chief Stephan at a City Council meeting last month, saying the Stark County Jail would operate at 122 beds for inmates when it once operated at 501. That means many arrested individuals would not be jailed, but sent home and given a summons to appear in court.

North Canton City Council members then drafted a resolution of support to be sent to the Stark County Commissioners. In it, members said they supported Issue 29 because of the decreased revenue in county government and more expected cuts to the jail, courts and prosecutor’s office.

They said the sales tax rate in Stark County is 5.75 percent, while 5.5 percent goes to the state and .25 percent goes to Stark Area Regional Transit Authority. That means none goes to Stark County government.

And, after the passage of Issue 29, Stark County still has the lowest sales tax rate in Ohio.

Most supporters felt the eight-year, 0.5 percent increase was a small price to pay to ensure the safety of Stark County residents.

Meanwhile, others, like , said they believed the increased sales tax was just another way to squeeze more money out of taxpayers when county officials could be taking a pay cut instead.

*Editor's note: This story, published early this morning, was updated at 9:10 a.m. to reflect current election results.