Click to download a copy of the Ohio House Committee Assignments-128th
We need to take care of all areas of Ohio
Ohio Senator John Carey wrote an article in January's newspaper to first, to express hope with the new dynamics in the Ohio General Assembly and the election of Armond Budish as the Speaker, second, to give thanks to the Administration for their efforts to ease the burden for rural Ohioans with the closing of the DHL Plant in Wilmington, Ohio and third to outline his some of his concerns with the Administration's redevelopment efforts.
Senator Carey recognizes that Ohio's big cities are the key to the economic vitality of the state however he also believes that focus on these cities should not come at the expense of the rural areas. Two activities that lead him to believe that this may be the case were the absence of representation from Appalachia Ohio on the 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force created by ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) as well as the recent Job Ready Sites program grants which left out funding for project located south of I-70 and east of I-71.
Senator Carey's concerns are valid and felt by numerous Ohioans. As the Restoring Prosperity to Ohio Initiative progresses, we have become aware of similar sentiments in multiple sectors of Ohio; townships, the agricultural community, Appalachia Ohio and even more urban areas, such as Piqua. Restoring Prosperity is a place-based, however, we believe that the state policy recommendations put forward will help Ohioans at every level and we have made strong efforts to increase our outreach to different sectors in Ohio to make sure they too, can contribute their input and become part of the effort to Restore Ohio.
Marion Rotary Club works to revitalize its city
After Greater Ohio's presentation to the Marion Rotary Club in January 2009, the club decided to make to heed the recommendations of teh Restoring Prosperity to Ohio Initiative by investing in its assets. The group made a donation to the Marion Palace Theatre in order to enable needy children to participate in events there. This is one example of the many ways communities can revitalize their cities. All it takes it some community pride, a realistic view of the assets you possess and a strategy to leverage those assets.
Restoring Prosperity goes to Hamilton
Lavea Brachman, Co-Director of Greater Ohio recently visited Hamilton Ohio to present the Restoring Prosperity Initiative to the Vision 20-20 Committee as well as to speak at the Hamilton's Annual Chamber of Commerce Dinner. Click here to open a pdf of her presentation to the Committee.
The State of the State
Governor Strickland spoke to Ohioans on Wednesday, January 28th as he gave the State of the State address. If you would like to read his speech it is available on Ohio.gov. Do you want to know what other people think about his address?
Check out these links to hear fellow Ohioans' opinions:
One Community wants Technology for All
One Community, a local nonprofit broadband provider in Northeast Ohio, has recently embarked on an initiative to put 50,000 computers in Northeast Ohio schools over the next five years. The Cleveland Plain Dealer highlights the logistics of the plan and potential benefits. Companies like One Community are exactly what Ohio needs to revitalize its economy. Not only is this organization at the cutting edge of technology, it is also dedicated to increasing the well-being of Ohioans. As broadband communication becomes a vital asset, cities and businesses will rely more on companies like One Community to set up the basics of online communication. However, the company takes it one step further by also teaching organizations how to effectively use their new high-speed connections.
One example of how One Community operates occurs in connecting area hospitals to each other.
They put hospital within the same system on a network which allows them to set up VPN connections through the 41 hospital sites without having a charge for setting up point-to-point sites. This results in secure, connected sites at a cheap price. The speed of the connection also allows them to use the internet to share remote diagnostics, live CAT scans, and view live surgeries.
A bitter taste of reality
For those of you who still believe that Ohio's economy will rebound on its own you may want to take a look at the U.S. News article, "Wave of Layoffs in U.S., Europe show severity of the recession." It is evident from this article that everyone is bearing the brunt as the international economy is taking nose dive.
During a time of crisis, it is those that embrace change and dare to try new things that come out on top.
Greater Ohio is working at the state level with Administration officials and legislative leaders to craft new solutions that will arrest these trends and restore prosperity to Ohio once again. We see that the drivers of prosperity can be boiled down into four buckets – innovation, human capital, infrastructure, and quality of place. We need to press at the state level for progress in all of those areas simultaneously.
The Restoring Prosperity to Ohio proposes policies recommendations that change the fundamentals of government by encouraging actions such as cluster development (geographic concentrations of interconnected firms/organizations); leveraging anchor institutions (universities and medical institutions); proposing a foreclosure action plan; transformative infrastructure investments; advancing workforce training; and governance reform to promote regional solutions. In order for communities to take advantage of the opportunities that come with this financial downturn, they will first have to take stock of their assets and then develop a strategy to build upon them. There are some communities in Ohio that are already on this path, such as Mansfield, Hamilton and Marion and it is vital that the rest of Ohio follow their lead before it is too late.
Don't Bail Out ODOT- an op-ed from Greater Ohio
Don’t Bail Out ODOT
By Gene Krebs
January 26, 2009
Last spring Governor Strickland appointed me to serve on the 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force. During the course of serving on the Task Force’s Economic Development Sub-Committee, we had dozens of meetings and hearings both in Columbus and around the state. We were enjoined not to engage in a management critique of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). But at no time did ODOT explain to the task force how or why they were running out of money.
Governor Strickland’s charge to the Task Force was clear: Envision and champion the optimum transportation system for Ohio’s future and recommend the resources and financial tools needed to build and sustain it and, to see the Task Force as an opportunity to ask what should be done...and what could be done.
Over the past year, the Brookings Institution and my organization, Greater Ohio, have also developed, as a part of the Restoring Prosperity to Ohio Initiative, policy recommendations that call for transformative infrastructure investments– with the goal of revitalizing the state’s core communities and reinvigorating their economic competitiveness. The Task Force’s report recommendations that call for aligning the policies and practices of state agencies, ensuring the policies and practices are business and user-friendly; launching a Making Regions Matter initiative; and expanding the use of alternative fuels, technologies, “smart growth” solutions and public transit all dovetail with the Brookings Institution and Greater Ohio Restoring Prosperity policy agenda. Specific Task Force-recommended actions with substantial benefits include: developing a “Complete Streets” pilot program; preparing a cost/benefit analysis for transportation projects; integrating multi-modal transportation and land-use plans; and aligning local land use policies by incentivizing and promoting smart growth. We applaud these efforts.
“Fix it First” – that is, dedicating resources to fix existing roads and streets before building new – is another action item that aligns with the ODOT report; however, if we are serious about “fix it first” then we also need to require ODOT to pay for the maintenance of state highways that pass through cities, instead of stopping maintenance at a city’s edge. This suggestion did not make the report. However, it was one of the main points made by Mayor Jay Williams of Youngstown at our Restoring Prosperity Summit held on September 10, 2008. Our initial findings and policy recommendations are contained in a preliminary report that was released at the Summit – Restoring Our Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing Ohio’s Core Communities. (You can find the full report at www.greaterohio.org.)
The primary funding mechanism recommended in the Task Force report is an increase in the gasoline tax, with the suggestion that the revenue from that special tax be used to secure bonds as part of a capital bond financing program run by the Ohio Transportation Finance Commission. Both the proceeds of the bonds and the revenue would be made available for all transportation modes. But gasoline consumption is going down; no surprise as Hummers are traded for Hondas. Every time you trade in a car that gets 20 mpg for one that gets 30 mpg, ODOT loses a lot of revenue from you. According to ODOT’s latest business plan there will be a $3.5 billion deficit by 2015 for transportation in Ohio.
Do we really want to increase taxes on a declining revenue source? ODOT would have an even larger vested interest in keeping us in cars and burning as much gasoline as possible. Furthermore, most other states are incentivizing reductions in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT’s). Once again, Ohio is heading down a regressive path here.
Since we did not examine ODOT’s management issues, how do we know that there are no cost savings in the ODOT system? How do we know that this increase in gasoline tax, expansion of toll roads and increases in car registration fees generates the right amount of revenue? What is the right amount?
The proof is in the funding. The funding mechanisms recommended by the Task Force will not put Ohio on the path to long-term prosperity. ODOT doesn’t need a bailout. What it needs is greater accountability and performance criteria on infrastructure investments so it is truly transformative in meeting Ohio’s economic, social, and environment/energy goals – all consistent with Greater Ohio’s Restoring Prosperity to Ohio Initiative.
Gene Krebs is Co-Director of Greater Ohio.
What is the right size for a city?
Greater Ohio attended the 2009 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference last week which focused on Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities. The conference addressed issues many states are facing today as they try to revitalize their economy and become internationally competitive. One breakout session particularly relevant to Ohio and the Restoring Prosperity Initiative was Best Practices: Downsizing Cities to Right Size Sustainable Growth.
The breakout session proposed that "Since vital communities are critical to sustainable growth, a number of older industrial cities are developing innovative planning strategies that downsize communities as the route to long-term economic sustainability and better quality of life." The panel, which included Hunter Morrison from Youngstown State University, discussed downsizing as a land use tool, implementation options, and best practices that are occurring in cities across the country.
Comment from speakers included:
Dan Kildee (speaker): "Population is not a true measure of quality." Qualitative and not quantitative measures are what matter.
Hunter Morrison: Cities that need to right-size are "weak-market cities" with a declining population. It's a regional issue, primarily in Great Lakes states and old industrial core cities. -AND- We need to look to assets and create civic engagement (i.e. accept that we are a smaller city, define our role in a new regional economy, improve communities' image of city, and make a call for action)
Although some cities, such as Youngstown, are embracing the idea of right sizing, it proves to be a controversial issue that requires deliberation and delicate handling. First we need to address the question,
Is it OK to aspire to be smaller?
If so, how can we communicate the concept? Is it effective to use terms such as “right sizing” and “resizing”?
An Inspirtational Message
As the Restoring Prosperity to Ohio initiative begins the new year, we are comforted to learn that Ohioans from all areas of society are in support of sustainable development and are eager to see changes in the way the government does business. Just recently, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article by the "Very Rev. Tracey Lind" who imagines the possibilities for Ohio and outlines how we can realize them. "Imagine a place where people, corporations and institutions thrive together. Imagine a metropolitan area where people are healthy because it is home to the world's finest medical care, recreation and local food; where children are well-educated because we boast outstanding universities, colleges and schools; where people are employed in sustainable jobs because we are surrounded by the power of water and wind; and where the quality of life is excellent because we have safe neighborhoods, vibrant faith communities and wonderful cultural institutions. In short, imagine a region that thrives because all of its abundant resources are working together for the common good." Read the full article