Cuyahoga County Council to vote today on whether to put sin tax renewal measure on May ballot inspite of wind chill warning, below zero temperatures, and though public schools, county courts and offices are closed, and most of the city of Cleveland is nearly shut down, sin tax funds sports stadiums upkeep with a tax on alcohol, cigarettes, community activists suspect about why meeting has not been canceled, say county council does not want community input, Black community disproportionately impacted by the sin tax

By  Kathy Wray Coleman, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog,

Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper and Newspaper Blog. Tel: 216-659-0473. (Kathy Wray Coleman is a 20-year investigative journalist and legal reporter who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper, Ohio's Black press)

 (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio-In spite of a wind chill warning in effect across Northeast Ohio until noon Wednesday, and the closings of public schools, businesses, and county offices and courts , Cuyahoga County Council will go forward with scheduled meetings today at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center in downtown Cleveland, including its 5 pm regular meeting to vote on whether to put the 20-year extension of the sin tax on alcohol and cigarettes that would fund city sports stadiums upkeep on the May ballot. The regular meeting will follow scheduled meetings earlier in the day, county officials said yesterday. (Editor's note: Since this article debuted on Cuyahoga Council, on January 28, 2014, unanimously passed a resolution at its regular meeting to place the sin tax renewal on the May ballot for taxpayers to decide the issue)

Approaching record lows and arctic temperatures dropping from 5 below to 12 below zero Tuesday night have prompted a near shutdown of the city, while county council seems to be unfazed. And that has community activists, many against the sin tax, upset.

Cuyahoga County is roughly 29 percent Black and includes the largely Black cities of Cleveland and East Cleveland, impoverished municipalities disproportionately affected by the sin tax, which took effect in 1991 to help fund gateway baseball and basketball construction projects for Progressive Field for the Cleveland Indians and  Quicken Loans Arena for the Cavaliers. The tax was extended five years later for FirstEnergy Stadium for the Cleveland Browns football team and now it has come due for voters to decide its fate.

Community activists against the sin tax, which will generate up to $13 million dollars annually,  say the scheduling of meetings by county council, even in deadly weather, is in itself a sin, and suspect.

The pros and cons of the sin tax initiative have been discussed in brevity at recent county council meetings. But  
activists had planned to attend the more important sin tax-discussion meeting at 5 pm today, some saying that not enough discussion has been had around a major fiscal project that will cost taxpayers more than $60 million, if the tax is renewed.  The tax would add about three cents to a pack of cigarettes and a minimum of an addition sic cents to a bottle of alcohol.

At issue is whether county council will place the measure on the ballot as soon as this spring, which would likely bring out more voters during a year for election of the county executive, and a gubernatorial race for governor with Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald as the Democratic front-runner .

With Ed FitzGerald closing down the county corridors except for necessary workers, the decision by Cuyahoga County Council President C. Ellen Connally to go forward with today's meetings is even more questionable, activists said yesterday evening.

Clinical and experimental research studies on smokers and drinkers living in states with increases in tobacco and alcohol taxes tended to drink less. But in general, evidence that tobacco and alcohol taxes reduce drinking and smoking is relatively scarce. 

Activists say though that county officials should not balance the budget on the backs of the taxpayers and that more pressing issues such as unemployment, failing schools, heighten crime and deteriorating inner city neighborhoods should take precedence.

City officials, however, including Cleveland Mayor Jackson and Cleveland City Council, support the six tax, and say the city's pro sports team are an investment that must be nurtured.

Interested persons can watch the Council proceedings online. Previously, the 11-member county council sought to rescheduled its regular bi-monthly meetings from 5 pm to 3 pm but backed off following community outcry.  (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)