Restoring Prosperity
The Greater Ohio Policy Center Blog
The following is testimony Greater Ohio provided last week before the House Commerce & Labor Committee in support of House Bill 669 (Swearingen / LaRe), which would make a number of changes related to the sale and delivery of spiritous beverages by liquor permit holders.
You can view the video of the May 28th hearing on the Ohio Channel Website.
On June 3, PFM and the Greater Ohio Policy Center facilitated a presentation and discussion regarding re-forecasting governmental budgets in an uncertain COVID-19 economy as well as how to address the Crisis’ impacts on tax revenues, non-tax revenues, and expenditures.
Nationally-recognized, planning consultants shared best practices and answered participant questions. The webinar intended to prepare Ohio’s cities, towns, and villages for being resourceful and making informed budget decisions in this challenging time.
View materials from the first webinar:
Webinar 1: Budgeting in a Crisis 101, Presentation Slides
Part I - Balancing the Budget in Bad Times, The Government Finance Officers Association
Part II - Balancing the Budget in Bad Times, The Government Finance Officers Association
On June 17, Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) and City Managers from the Cities of Hamilton, Cleveland Heights, and Sandusky presented on how to plan for recovering from the impacts of COVID-19. Local governments will need to prepare early for how they will move forward; planning for the future will, more than ever, be essential to a community’s success.
To assist attendees in charting their path forward, GOPC facilitated a presentation and panel discussion with City Manager Joshua Smith from Hamilton, City Manager Tanisha Briley from Cleveland Heights, and City Manager Eric Wobser from Sandusky. Presenters discussed creating and affirming community visions and priorities as well as introduced strategies for local communities.
View the presentation and materials from the second webinar:
On June 30, Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) and Enterprise Community Partners facilitated a presentation and discussion regarding strategizing to receive State- and Federal-pass through money and how to effectively use those resources in the short-term to advance long-term community goals.
GOPC and Enterprise Community Partners’ national Policy Team gave a presentation followed by a Q&A session with presenters. Additionally, GOPC guided a group discussion on ways to attract funds into legacy communities and other areas that were already fragile before the COVID-19 pandemic. Ohio will face significant challenges post-Crisis, this session intends to help communities strategize for digging out from the pandemic’s fall out.
View the presentation and materials from the third webinar:
OSRN is part of the National Resource Network, which empowers local leaders from economically challenged areas to take on their toughest problems by partnering with them and providing technical assistance regarding their economic turnaround. Ohio’s Network is made up of experts with varying capabilities to serve the state’s communities, including PFM, Enterprise Community Partners, and Greater Ohio Policy Center. The OSRN is generously funded by Arnold Ventures and the Just Transition Fund.
To learn more about OSRN, visit:
In many weak-market neighborhoods, public investment is often required to catalyze private development. However, in legacy cities, local governments often do not have the resources to take this first step towards revitalization, which presents an opportunity for states to support local municipalities.
Earlier this week, HB675 was introduced in the Ohio House by Rep. Hillyer (R – Uhrichsville) and Rep. Swearingen (R – Huron). This legislation provides dedicated funding to the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF). CORF was highly successful, providing the state with a four-to-one economic return. CORF is recognized as a community-responsive tool for brownfield redevelopment efforts.
The New Jersey Transit Village Initiative is an excellent example of how states can utilize policy to support local communities in providing residents with an enhanced quality of life and transportation options. It supports legacy city revitalization by incentivizing growth and economic activity in existing urban centers, supporting public transportation, and promoting sustainable land-use practices.
