Sunday, August 13, 2006
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
 Failing County Commissioner Phil Heimlich would have us believe that his regressive, long-term sales tax increase proposal for funding the new jail will have a bulk paid by people from outside of Hamilton County. Is this true? According to Butler County, Heimlich may be speaking too soon.
According to this editorial at the Middletown Journal, Butler County residents have less reasons to shop in Hamilton County given recent growth in their region:
“I would say it favors Hamilton County residents,” he [Heimlich] said at a public hearing last week. “Forty-five percent is paid by people who live outside the county.”
But if Hamilton County commissioners are expecting Butler County residents to foot the new jail bill unknowingly, as they did with the riverfront stadiums, they may be in for a rude surprise. Unlike several years ago when Hamilton County upped its sales tax to pay for new Cincinnati Reds and Bengals facilities, Butler County residents have fewer reasons to shop in Hamilton County. The emergence of Union Centre Boulevard and Bridgewater Falls—just two examples—means there are fewer reasons for Butler County residents to leave the county to shop, dine and do business.
Sometimes, it seems to me that Team Heimlich is actively trying to drive people out of Hamilton County. When I’m feeling particularly conspiratorial, I hypothesize that this is to drive down property values. That way, his crony developers can buy things on the cheap, and rebuild for wealthy people—effectively pushing the poor to outlying regions.
Maybe even to Butler County.
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