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Cincinnati
Enquirer
Localities
scramble to solve fund
woes
Ohio budget cuts reaching deeper
into local governments' pockets
Written by Sharon Coolidge, Carrie
Blackmore Smith and John Johnston
Jan
16, 2013
No
more trash collection.
Less
police and fire protection.
New
taxes and fees.
Borrowing
from savings.
That’s
how cities, villages and
townships in Southwest Ohio are dealing with continued efforts to wean
them off
state funding. The biggest cut yet is the elimination of the estate
tax, which
hit local municipalities this year.
That
tax, 80 percent of which by
law had gone to local governments, generated $208 million for local
governments
in 2010, the last available amount.
On
top of that loss: cuts to the
Local Government Fund, which dropped from $757.5 million in 2008 to
$465
million last year – a 38.6 percent decrease.
Communities
that made cuts in
preparation – like keeping vacant positions unfilled, laying people
off,
trimming department budgets and squirreling away surpluses during
better days –
are in better shape.
Local
governments and residents
will feel the pinch more intensely this year, even as some officials
warn the
worst is yet to come. Some are considering shutting parks or community
centers.
“I
would just be broken-hearted,”
if the Colerain Township community center closed, said Loraine Junk,
64. “I
would have to raise my concerns.”
Going
the pay-more route
To
help cover a portion of a
$600,000 deficit this year, the city of Cheviot has imposed a monthly
$12 fee
for trash collection, formerly a free city service. Officials there are
now
considering ending trash service all together, because of a resident’s
effort
to put the fee to voters this year…
Read
the rest of the article at
Cincinnati Enquirer
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