Elections Board Tosses Ballot Questions

The Allegheny County Elections Board has eliminated two ballot measures dealing with the 10% drink tax enacted this year to subsidize public transit. Three county judges ruled that questions were not legal because only County Council can lower or raise taxes. The judges heard the case because the Elections Board' regular members had declared positions on the ballot measures and recused themselves. The proposed referendum by opponents of the drink tax, Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation (FACT), would has asked voters to reduce the tax from 10% to point-5 percent. Another referendum put forth by Democrats on Council would have asked voters if they wanted to eliminate the drink tax in favor of higher property taxes. Kevin Joyce, a board member of FACT, says the county code indicates that only Council can raise or lower property taxes but doesn't mention other levies like the drink tax. Joyce says their next step is to appeal to Common Pleas Court.

FACT Referendum Illegal Solicitor Says

Allegheny County Solicitor Mike Wojcik issued a legal opinion yesterday declaring that the referendum proposed by the group Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation (FACT) should not be placed on the November ballot.

FACT had gathered over 44,000 signatures on a petition for their question which asks if voters are in favor of slashing the the drink tax from 10 percent to 0.5 percent.

Allegheny County Council also issued their own referendum question to be placed on the ballot which reads, "Shall the county enact an ordinance to increase real estate taxes in order to repeal the alcoholic drink tax?"

Wojcik says FACT's referendum is illegal because it violates the Home Rule Charter and does not suggest an alternative source of revenue in place of the drink tax. He also ruled that the question proposed by council is legal. His opinion will be forwarded to the elections panel--which consists of Common Pleas judges Jill Rangos, Christine Ward, and Dwayne Woodruff--who will review both FACT's and county council's question.

FACT member and owner of the Carlton restaurant Kevin Joyce says he is not at all surprised by the solicitor's opinion. Joyce also expects a long legal battle between the two sides with the ballot question case potentially going all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Either side has a chance to appeal any election panel decision within 7 days.

Drink Tax referendum challenged

Councilman Chuck McCullough and Smithfield Cafe owner John Petrolias filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a referendum bill passed by County Council August 5th. Petrolias thinks it's tough times for any tax hike. He says like the way people do, government should "make do with what you have." Petrolias says the hospitality industry is always targeted and a broad-based tax to support the Port Authority is more justified.

However, the referendum asks voters whether they want to eliminate the 10 percent drink tax in exchange for increased property taxes.

Citizens Against Raising Taxes on Property (C.A.R.T.O.P.) analyze F.A.C.T.

A newly formed group wants to inform Allegheny County voters that there will be consequences to vote for the referendum on lowering the drink tax.

The people of Citizens Against Raising Taxes on Property, or CARTOP, believe that the question is incomplete and unfair to voters.

Shawn Flaherty of Flaherty Fardo says county property taxes are at their limit, but the drink tax lets a different group of people support the county.

Instead of property owners being burdened with additional tax, he asks if people who are willingly buying a drink to be willing to pay a little extra.

Flaherty says the other option to supplement lowered drink taxes would be to cut the county budget.

He speaks against FACT, who brought enough petition signatures to put a referendum question on November's election ballot to lower the drinking tax to 0.5%.

Deadline Looms for FACT Referendum

Monday, August 3rd, marks the last day over 200 Allegheny County bars and restaurants will have to collect petition signatures for a referendum concerning the county's 10 percent tax on poured alcoholic beverages. On Tuesday the petition will need to be submitted with 23,0006 valid signatures to add to the ballot the question of whether or not to cut the drink tax from 10 percent to 0.5 percent.

Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation (FACT) member and owner of The Carlton restaurant Kevin Joyce says he expects to have a enough signatures, but he does not know how many they have exactly to this point.

Voters will already see one ballot question concerning the drink tax in November. Allegheny County Council recently passed a bill adding the question of whether citizens would prefer a property tax hike in lieu of the drink tax.

County Chief Executive Dan Onorato has previously claimed that the only solution to an elimination of the drink tax would be a raise of property taxes.

But FACT members, disagree with the county's question and Onorato's claim. Joyce says that the deficit caused by a smaller drink tax could be covered through more strict management of county resources and tighter budgeting.

Onorato has also said that he believes the potential FACT ballot question could be illegal because it would unbalance the budget.

Currently the drink tax is estimated to raise over $25 million more than the necessary $30 million needed to subsidize public transportation.

Onorato says Ballot Question Illegal

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato says the petitions being passed around the county calling for a repeal of the poured drink tax would create an illegal ballot question. Onorato says the home rule charter stipulates that the county must have a balanced budget and anytime the budget is amended with either additional spending or revenue cuts an offset increase in revenue or cut in spending must also be enacted. He says the question being circulated by the group “Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation” only removes the tax. It does not propose new revenues or spending cuts. The county council is to review a few ballot questions of its own Tuesday night that are expected to all past legal muster. Onorato says he is not sure if he would launch a legal challenge to the F.A.C.T ballot question if members gather enough signatures but he says he will fight against any ballot question that would force property taxes to be raised.

County Council Could Have Multiple Referendums On Novembers Ballot

Allegheny County may see multiple referendum questions on this years ballot all revolving around the same issue, the port authority and the controversial drink and car rental taxes county council's committee on government reform has approved two bills that would put referendums on the November ballot. One calls for the reduction of the drink tax from 10% to .5%, and the car rental tax to be reduced from $2 dollars to 50 cents a day. The second bill sponsored by councilman Chuck McCullough calls for the elimination of the port authority, and the privatization of mass transit. McCullough says that move would bring much revenue to the county because the current land owned by the port authority is worth $1 billion and is not taxable, but would be if privatized. Council president Rich Fitzgerald is also proposing a bill that would require a raise in property taxes as a result of any reduction in the drink and car rental taxes. Council will discuss those bills during a special meeting Tuesday.