Funding from the state of Ohio to cities like Lima and Findlay have been slashed because of the change in the formula for local government funds, but with a change in governors next year, mayors are hoping for a change in attitude.
Over the past several years, the amount of income tax dollars being funneled from the state back into local communities has decreased. Now with a fresh face about to occupy the governor's office, the Ohio Mayor's Alliance is asking for change.
Mayor David Berger says that the City of Lima has lost $3 million in income tax revenue a year and that other local governments like Allen County and the townships have also seen significant losses. The state government has a large fund set aside for a rainy day but Berger says that money could be put to good use now.
"It is time, particularly when state government is now boasting of a record $2.7 billion in rainy day funds," says Berger. "We all need these resources at the local level. These are our resources that have been taken away and we need them restored in order to be able to provide services at the local level."
The Ohio Mayors Alliance plans on talking to the Democratic candidate Richard Cordray and Republican candidate Mike DeWine about their concerns before the November election. As a non-political group, they will not be endorsing either candidate but they will be looking to forge a new partnership with whoever Ohio picks.
"We just want to be a partner," says Findlay Mayor Lydia Mihalik. "Mayors represent a vast amount of the economic growth that we've seen in the state. Things are happening in cities. We don't operate in vacuums and/or silos, and so we need good quality partners across those city borders to help us do our job."
To strengthen that partnership, the Ohio Mayors Alliance is also proposing state assistance for local governments working to fight the opioid crisis as well as the creation of a state office of drug policy to shoulder some of the responsibility.
