Ohio Issue 1 has earned your support
By Jim Surber

The capital improvements program of the Ohio Public Works Commission has been, and continues to be, the most efficient state program for the replacement of local infrastructure.

Ohioans voted to create this highly successful program in 1987 and have overwhelmingly renewed it by their votes in 1995 and 2005. It will be up for renewal again on May 6.

The program is funded by bonds sold by Ohio for capital improvements. The bond proceeds are used to substantially fund local infrastructure projects on roads, streets, bridges, waste water and potable water projects. The only recipients are Cities, Counties, Townships, and Villages.

Applications for funding are submitted, reviewed and selected locally. The projects then compete in their respective districts for approval and funding. Plans to build new facilities may be funded at a 50 percent maximum rate, while those to replace failed or deficient infrastructure may be funded at up to 90 percent. Both grants and no-interest loans can be awarded.

Over the past 27 years, the program has benefitted local governments in all 88 Ohio counties by helping to complete over 11,500 projects, creating thousands of jobs.

I urge your support for this program because of its fairness to all local governments, regardless of size. A per-capita allocation in the structure assures that even the smallest Ohio communities share in program benefits. Over the years I have been involved with very small villages and townships that have completed projects through the Ohio Public Works Commission. Without this program, these projects could have happened only at a huge cost to the residents.

I also believe that the program has been successful because project submission and ranking is controlled locally, and because there is very minimal interference and oversight by state agencies. Money is put into construction, not red tape.

Renewal of this program is especially crucial at this time due to recent, and possibly continuing, drastic cuts in funding by the Ohio Legislature to local governments.

There will be no increase in any tax by the renewal on State Issue 1. It is also totally bi-partisan and the bill to place the renewal on the May ballot received a virtual unanimous vote by both houses of the Ohio Legislature.

I encourage you to speak with your local Township Trustees, and City, County and Village Officials to learn their specific experiences and opinions of this program.