Cleveland
Plain Dealer...
Mayors want Kasich
budget reforms restored
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Mayors and city managers in Northeast Ohio greatly appreciate the
efforts by The Plain Dealer to call attention to the impact of proposed
cuts to local communities by state legislators. While we acknowledge
the difficulties the state’s budget crisis has created, local
governments are fighting a similar battle with our own budgets. That is
why we are asking the General Assembly to restore many of the reforms
proposed by Gov. John Kasich in the as-introduced version of the bill.
These reforms are essential to helping local government leaders manage
the impact of the proposed cuts on the delivery of essential, basic
services in our communities. For example, the 2 percent reduction in
employer contributions to the pension systems would immediately assist
local governments in offsetting the impact of the cuts in funding. The
governor’s budget included additional reforms, such as updating Ohio’s
public notice laws and allowing us to explore regional health care
pooling for public employees that can, over time, result in dramatic
savings for our communities.
Finally, the as-introduced version of the budget did not include
elimination of the estate tax. That loss of this revenue would remove
an additional $40.5 million in funding from local governments in
Cuyahoga County and $269.4 million statewide.
Given the state’s budget outlook, local government leaders fully
expected to experience some level of reduction in state support in this
budget. The severity of the cuts proposed is, however, much too deep.
We respectfully ask for the restoration of some of the tools originally
proposed by the governor to help strike a more appropriate balance
between the need to address the state’s budget situation and the
potentially devastating effect these cuts would have on communities
across the state of Ohio.
John M. Licastro, Bratenahl
Licastro is the mayor of Bratenahl and the president of the Cuyahoga
County Mayors and City Managers Association
Read it at the Cleveland Plain Dealer
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