Local Government Coalition Says Proposed Reductions Will Harm Ohio Communities, Pose Immediate Safety Services Concerns

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio's proposed state budget for the 2012-2013 biennium would reduce state revenue sharing through the Local Government Fund by nearly 50 percent, shrinking the Fund from $665 million in 2011 to $339 in state fiscal year 2013.  The Fund would be reduced by more than 20 percent in 2012 to $526 million, according to the budget release Tuesday.

The Local Government Fund Coalition (www.everyohioan.com), made up of leaders of municipalities, townships, park districts and Ohio's 88 counties, says the steep reduction will cripple already stretched local budgets that pay for a range of vital services from police, fire and ambulances, to parks and recreation to public health clinics, homeland security and natural disaster response.

Members of the Coalition and local officials know all Ohioans and local governments have to share the pain of the state's budget balancing process, but reducing the amount of state taxes going back to local community by such a drastic rate will have a monumental domino effect on local services that touch each and every resident of this state.

The Coalition will be meeting with state legislators and other policy makers throughout the balance of the budgeting process to convey the seriousness of the proposed reductions and the impact they will have on local government services.

In addition to the dollar cuts set for 2012 and 2013, the proposed budget would reset in 2014 the formula the state uses to determine how the LGF is split between the various counties and municipalities in the state.

The Coalition believes providing local services that prosecute criminals and keep them in jail, operating park programs and services for seniors and abused children and maintaining roads is a shared responsibility of state and local government.

County commissioners, mayors, township trustees and parks and recreation leaders throughout the state immediately called for a reduction in the cuts proposed by the Governor.  The magnitude of the cuts places a disproportionate amount of the state budget balancing burden on local governments and tax districts.  

The LGF represents up to 60 percent of local budgets in smaller municipalities across the state.  Funds are distributed through each county.  Franklin County, for example, is set to receive $76.9 million total from the LGF, with $23 million going to the county's general revenue fund and the balance to local municipalities and park districts.  Sixty-seven percent of the county's general fund budget is dedicated to providing public safety and justice programs. Franklin County commissioners say a 49 percent cut by 2013 would result in reductions in sheriff patrols to townships, a lower ratio of deputies to inmates in the county's jail and staff reductions in county courts resulting in larger dockets with longer process times.

The Coalition asks each and every resident of Ohio to contact their local representative or senator and tell them just how cutting the funding in half for local services is going to impact them. A 50 percent reduction is not proportional for this vital aspect of the budget.

Members of the Local Government Fund Coalition include the following statewide organizations: County Commissioners Association of Ohio, Ohio Association of Regional Councils, Ohio Municipal League, Ohio Parks and Recreation Association, and the Ohio Township Association.

The effort is also supported by: Coalition of Large Ohio Urban Townships, Cuyahoga Mayors' and Managers' Association, Hamilton County Municipal League, Licking County Planning Commission, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, Northeast Ohio Mayors' and Managers' Association.

SOURCE Local Government Fund Coalition