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Columbus Dispatch Editorial…
Test of leadership
Local officials, taxpayers will have to find new ways to provide, pay
for services
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Ohio, along with other states, is entering a new era in which the old
assumption that government can continue to spend more and do more every
year no longer applies.
That doesn't mean, however, that Ohioans necessarily are going to like
getting less in the way of services from local and state government.
This sets up a challenge for public officials everywhere: The coming
years of leaner revenues and smaller budgets will test governments
statewide.
Ultimately, the challenge will reveal Ohio's best leadership.
Those who are creative, determined and open to new ways of doing
business will fare better than those whose only response to a drop in
tax revenue or state support is to fight to get it back.
The response of many mayors, county commissioners and township trustees
to Gov. John Kasich's $55.5 billion, two-year budget proposal, unveiled
Tuesday, isn't surprising. They're loudly protesting the proposal for a
25 percent cut in the Local Government Fund for next year, followed by
a further 25 percent cut the year after that. That will drop the total
payments to cities, counties and townships from $665 million in the
current fiscal year to $526 million in fiscal year 2012 and to $339
million in fiscal year 2013. Some local officials, especially those who
rely most heavily on state subsidies, say the cuts will cripple their
ability to serve their constituents.
That's true only if they don't change anything about their operations.
Along with the cuts in state revenue, Kasich's plan suggests ways for
local governments to cut costs, too.
Chief among them is for townships, cities and governments, along with
public schools and universities, to pool resources and share costs.
Studies have shown that communities could save money and, in some
cases, improve service by consolidating common functions such as
police-and-fire dispatching, garbage collection and health-care plans
for employees.
The cut in state aid, especially for smaller and poorer communities
that can't easily raise local taxes, may force local leaders to act on
efficiency measures they should have adopted long ago. The best leaders
will do so sooner rather than later.
Separate from the budget, but directly related to it, is Senate Bill 5,
which reforms state collective-bargaining law to shift the balance of
negotiating power back to taxpayers. Under its provisions, local
governments have new power to rein in the galloping costs of salaries
and benefits, which are the bulk of their budgets.
Change such as that demanded by Ohio's budget crisis is painful, but it
was inevitable, as is evident by the fact that many states are in the
same boat. It isn't a product only of the severe recession of the past
two years. It's the result of decades of steady growth in what
Americans expect government to do, coupled with an unwillingness to pay
the costs.
Local governments are complaining that the cuts to their aid would
simply force Ohioans to pay more in local taxes. Again, that is true
only if local governments don't change anything about the way they do
business.
And asking local taxpayers to pick up the tab for the services they
demand would provide a dose of reality to taxpayers, making them decide
what they really are willing to pay for.
Read it at the Columbus Dispatch
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