Dusty Rhodes favored the increased sales tax to build new baseball and football stadiums when it was put before voters in 1996.

Now the Hamilton County auditor is throwing a flag for piling on.

Mr. Rhodes' office has produced a report about how much money has been brought in and spent on the stadiums to date.

If use of the sales tax is expanded to pay for other things, Mr. Rhodes said, the property tax rollback that was promised to garner support for the sales tax is vulnerable.

Massive riverfront development, parking garages and expansion of the convention center or Fort Washington Way weren't part of the original deal.

Mr. Rhodes said there just isn't enough money to go around.

Although the county hasn't agreed to sales tax funds going toward the convention center or the proposed Banks development along the riverfront, there are discussions and studies under way.

"What we're seeing in these numbers is that the money is doing a heck of a lot more than stadiums," Mr. Rhodes said. "And I just wonder how much more will go into this.

"All of these visions are wonderful things, but it's time the visionaries meet the taxpayers. The sales tax can't be expanded to cover the entire universe."

More than $169.3 million has been generated by the half-penny sales tax increase since August 1996. That money has been used to leverage more than $338.4 million from the sale of bonds.

An additional $73.4 million has been generated by other means, such as stadium seat licenses, sales tax distributions, investment earnings, interest from bond sales and money from the state.

Here's how much money has come and gone so far:

Paul Brown Stadium:

More than $251.2 million has been spent, including $96 million for construction, $70 million for land, $22 million in trade contracts, $19 million for architecture and design, and $18 million for interest on bonds.

Reds baseball stadium:

More than $20 million has been generated from sales tax distributions, with $4.3 million spent. The largest expenses have been $2.5 million for architecture and design, and $620,000 for insurance.

Fort Washington Way:

More than $33.8 million has been collected from sales tax distributions, the city's sanitary sewer lines, and county road and bridge funds for public improvements. Of that, $10.3 million has been spent, $10 million on Fort Washington Way.

Parking:

The sales tax has generated $10.5 million with $126,000 spent, mainly for environmental consulting and legal fees.

The county planned a conservative 2 percent economic growth rate for the bonds it sold to pay for Paul Brown Stadium. It is forecasting a 3 percent growth rate when it sells the bonds for the Reds ballpark.

A funding proposal floated for the Banks development would raise the necessary growth rate to 3.56 percent.

Hamilton County Commissioner John Dowlin agrees the county can't afford it all.

Mr. Dowlin said each of the commissioners has been approached privately regarding the sales tax being used for expanding the convention center. The county's legal and financial advisers are studying the feasibility of using sales tax to help along the Banks development.

He's not in favor or any of it.

"We are in an unparalleled extension of good times, and our savings rate as a nation is a negative number," Mr. Dowlin said. "At some point, even if the economy doesn't slow down, people will have to slow down spending."

Tim Mara said he saw it coming.

An attorney who headed the fight against the increased sales tax, Mr. Mara said some officials see the sales tax as an endless supply of money.

"It's been my fear all along," Mr. Mara said. "The promise to rescind the tax means nothing if they keep adding projects to it. All the taxpayers ever said is, 'Let's stop the Bengals from leaving town.'

"They didn't expect a riverfront development project."