Gov. Bob Taft signed a capital budget last month that quietly gave Hamilton County government the ability to sell bonds that are repayable over 35 years - instead of 30 years - on the Cincinnati Reds' new ball park.

That provision can significantly boost the interest costs borne by county taxpayers, said Bob Drake of Hyde Park, a Democrat running for county treasurer in November. The longer borrowing period was sought by local officials but applies to new sports facilities across Ohio.

The county tentatively plans to issue 32-year bonds in mid-October that will raise $250 million to $300 million for the ballpark, said Ted Ricci, the county's financial adviser. To try to ease cash-flow problems caused by cost overruns at the Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium, and for other reasons, officials plan to defer all principal payments for the first eight or nine years. The county would make only interest payments during that time, Ricci said.

Under that plan, the bonds would not be repaid until 2032. County officials have said the half-cent stadium sales tax, which raises the money to repay the bonds, will not disappear until the bonds are repaid. That means taxpayers likely will continue paying 50 cents of stadium sales taxes for every $100 of taxable purchases into 2032. Ricci said officials have considered 33-year bonds, and it's possible the loan period could be longer.

Deferral of principal payments also will prove costly to taxpayers, predicted Drake, a University of Cincinnati mathematics education professor who hopes to become the county official responsible for investing government's money.

"The interest is absolutely going to skyrocket," Drake said about longer-term bonds and deferral of principal payments. "It's definitely not a good thing for the taxpayers."

County Budget Director Suzanne Burke said county officials wanted the law change - which was among thousands of provisions tucked into the state's $1.8 billion-plus capital budget - to allow greater flexibility for the stadium funding.

Also, she noted that the county and Reds earlier this year extended their lease to 35 years from 30 years.

"If we have a commitment that the team's playing there for 30 years, it's a useful facility for 30 years," she said. "So why not just establish that?"

The stadium provision takes effect in mid-September, a month before the county plans to sell the long-term bonds.

But Ricci and Mrs. Burke said the law change is not the main reason the county is waiting until mid-October to sell the bonds.

Other factors, such as property acquisition and design changes were the primary reasons the county delayed the long-term bond issues, they said.

Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus and other sales-tax proponents predicted during the 1996 sales-tax campaign that the tax would disappear within 20 years. He was not available for comment.

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