There they go again

If it seems like deja vu whenever Mahoning County Commissioners talk about their sales tax, that's because it is.

Commissioners Tuesday agreed to place their half percent sales tax that expires next year on the ballot this year, only as a permanent measure instead of a renewal.

A similar effort was approved by voters in 2007.

Yet, in Mahoning County, the fickle whims of the voters often hold the tax hostage. Indeed, it was very surprising then that commissioners were able to that measure passed.

In the 1990s and the early part of this decade, trying to keep track of the status of the different sales taxes was trying to keep up with the latest mishaps from Braylon Edwards, as measures passed, then failed, then passed again.

But since Ed Reese and Vicki Sherlock left county government, things have seemed to calm down. They were not bad people -- although they did make sime mistakes -- yet there was always a cloud of controversy around them.

But gone now is Debbie Taylor and her Accountabilty Tax Force, and John McNally and Anthony Traficanti, while going to the matteresses with each during the Oak Hill saga, seem to bring some semblance of balance to county government.

Yet, asking voters to approve any tax measure in this economy is no easy task. This November, it is more than just the whim of the voters that will decide this sales tax measure: It will most likely be their pocketbook.