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Ohio’s War on Local Governments
By Dusty Rhodes, Hamilton County Auditor
The Kasich administration has declared war on Ohio’s local
governments. The drastic reductions in the Local Government Fund
have forced cities, villages and townships across the state to seek
additional levies just to provide minimal services.
If the levies don’t pass the money runs out and the services
stop. Or local taxes have to increase to maintain them.
Cuts of this magnitude in state funding were neither necessary nor
equitable. State revenues are up and State spending continues to
rise. But they are literally stashing the money in their savings
accounts while local governments struggle.
The Local Government Fund was established to replace local revenues the
State took over the years and to provide resources for services the
State required. Now all bets are off as the current regime works
to put local communities right to the wall.
Some of it may be the result of the “metro government crowd” that seems
to have Governor Kasich’s ear. Some if it may be the same disdain
for our service and safety providers as seen in the effort to enact the
ill-fated Senate Bill 5 in 2011.
State legislators backing this attack on localities urge “shared
services” ignoring that most have been sharing the services they can
for years. Others suggest “hard choices” but their only “hard
choice” was to raid local governments funding.
Adding insult to injury the new State Budget raises individual property
taxes by ending reductions begun with the State income tax and limiting
the Homestead Exemption for seniors and the disabled.
It sets up the absurd new reality of one senior property owner getting
about a $400 property tax reduction while their neighbor who turned 65
a few years later will not. Good luck explaining the obvious
injustice.
It is truly ironic that Governor Kasich wants the Legislature to expand
Medicaid by accepting future federal funding pledges. If local
communities can not depend on the State to keep its promises, how can
Ohio depend on the feds to keep theirs?
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