CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish announced plans Wednesday to fund a new corrections center, which would house as many as 1,900 inmates. 

What You Need To Know

  • Cuyahoga County Executive Budish announced a plan to pay for a new jail

  • The new corrections center would cost $550 million

  • The jail would be paid by extending a .25% sales tax slated to expire in 2027

  • Cuyahoga County Council would have to approve an indefinite extension of the sales tax

The .25% sales tax, which would expire in 2027, would be made permanent under Budish’s plan. The sales tax primarily currently goes toward bonds for a convention center. 

The county approved the .25% increase to the county’s sales tax in 2007 with the intention to finance a new convention center. The tax adds $2.50 for every $1,000 in taxable goods.

Budish said extending the sales tax past 2027 would not constitute a “tax increase” and likened the extension of the tax to a renewal.

According to the state of Ohio, Cuyahoga County has the highest sales tax rate in the state at 8%.

Budish’s office estimates that a new corrections center would cost $550 million. The funds from the sales tax would be used to pay back bonds in order to open the center by 2025.

Budish said that the plan would require approval from Cuyahoga County Council. 

The county estimates that the county earned $52 million off the sales tax in 2020.