About 70% of voters approved increasing the cigarette tax funding the arts in Cuyahoga County Tuesday.
A 30-cent-per-pack tax was first passed by voters in 2006, but revenues have dropped by about half as fewer people light up. Issue 55 more than doubles the tax per pack to 70 cents. The funds are distributed by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Ideastream Public Media receives a portion of its funding from CAC and also contributed to the Issue 55 campaign.
“What this vote does tonight is extends the feasibility to make grants until 2035,” said CAC head Jill Paulsen. “That really means we've got a dependable source of funding so that… the nonprofits doing good work in every single zip code in this county can continue to serve residents.”
Arts leaders and organizations campaigned for Issue 55, touting the educational and economic benefits of the arts in the community, with seemingly no organized opposition.
In 2015, 75% of voters passed a renewal of the 30-cent tax, which was set to expire in 2027. Political Strategist Jeff Rusnak with Cleveland-based R Strategy Group has been involved with the campaigns supporting the cigarette tax for almost 20 years.
“There is a public health benefit here that the number one reason that people quit smoking is because of price,” he said. “As prices go up, fewer people smoke, and it's a good deterrent. So, there's an additional public benefit.”
Since February 2007, CAC has received from the cigarette tax nearly $250 million, distributed to support everything from the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to neighborhood mural projects and afterschool arts programs. In recent years, individual artists have pushed for more funds. While CAC only grants directly to nonprofits, the agency’s board voted this year to increase the amount allocated to Assembly for the Arts to support individual artists.
For the last several years, arts leaders have been exploring ways to expand or supplement the tax since cigarette smoking has declined. Last year, Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill that would have allowed a tax on vape products, but the idea was later rescinded. Assembly For the Arts’ CEO Jeremy Johnson said taxing something other than cigarettes could be an option.
“Those other issues are firmly on our plate,” he said. “We haven't forgotten about them. But today, it's really about celebrating Cuyahoga County voters’ vision to see this paying forward that they started 20 years ago.”
A property tax issue that also would have provided arts funding failed with voters in 2004. At one point, arts advocates considered a tax on video rentals. The cigarette tax supporting the arts in the county is separate from the 1990 “sin tax” on both alcohol and cigarettes, which funded the construction of sports venues.
