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Gov. John Kasich unveils his first state
budget
By Damon Sims, The Plain Dealer
Published: Sunday, March 27, 2011
Complete, indepth analysis with links at the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Gov. John Kasich’s state budget proposal swings the wrecking ball at
the state’s Local Government Fund, blowing open an unprecedented hole
in a funding stream handed down to locals for generations.
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Gov. John Kasich’s budget
proposal will shape his legacy
Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer
Analysis
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Gov. John Kasich’s budget proposal arrived on day 65
of the blunt-talking Republican leader’s four-year term. But it figures
to be the one item that permanently shapes Kasich’s legacy as governor
and dictates where his political career goes from here.
The proposal is the blueprint for how Kasich plans to lead the state
through 2014. Read between the small print and dazzling array of
numbers and Kasich’s vision for Ohio comes into sharp view. The winners
and losers align perfectly with his conservative viewpoint.
Local governments will no longer be able to count on the state to bail
them out of tough fiscal binds. Private businesses will be pleased,
public employees generally won’t be.
Selling off state assets, like prisons, to raise money is favored.
Hospitals will be frustrated, but not nearly as much as the nursing
home industry will be when it comes to Medicaid reimbursement. There
are no calls for new taxes. Charter schools will grow exponentially,
but public education won’t fare as well across the board.
If you have listened closely to Kasich, you could have guessed long ago
where he was headed. He’s talked openly about firing union workers who
strike over labor disputes and ending the status quo. He promoted a
charter school movie during his State of the State speech and has said
that government should run much like a business.
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Medicaid reforms are a key
piece of Gov. John Kasich’s budget proposal
Chris Russell, Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The poorest Ohioans will continue to get access to
most health care services under Medicaid, but medical providers will
see their payments cut, under a Gov. John Kasich’s budget proposal.
While Medicaid spending in Ohio would increase under the governor’s
proposal, the measure does call for restructuring the health care
system and potentially saving $1.4 billion over the next two years
compared to what had been projected.
“If we do nothing Medicaid will grow 30 percent over three years,” said
Greg Moody, director of the Office of Health Transformation. “That is
unsustainable and puts at risk access and benefits to the program for
the future. Doing nothing is not an option.”
Medicaid, a state and federally funded health care system for the poor
and disabled, is the single largest expense in Ohio, accounting for
about $1 in every $3 spent. More than 2.1 million Ohioans are on
Medicaid.
Kasich proposed spending $38.7 billion over the next two years, with
nearly $10 billion of that state funds and the rest federal matching
dollars.
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Gov. Kasich plans to sell
prisons, privatize state liquor profits for now, Turnpike lease could
be in near future
John Kuntz, Plain Dealer file
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio will continue shifting state services toward the
private sector under Gov. John Kasich’s new budget plan, just not as
suddenly as some expected.
Kasich, a Republican, announced Tuesday he wants to sell five Ohio
prisons and lease lucrative state liquor profits to JobsOhio, his new
private economic development corporation that replaced part of the
Department of Development.
The governor is still considering privatizing other valuable assets
such as the Ohio Turnpike and the state lottery, although he did not
include those plans in his budget proposal.
“There are more privatizations to come,” Kasich said at a news
conference to discuss his two-year budget. “We don’t want to leave any
money on the table.”
But Kasich’s plan to privatize prisons already has raised questions
from a Democratic state representative. The governor’s hand-picked
director of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Gary Mohr,
used to work for Corrections Corporation of America, a Nashville-based
private prison
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Schools, local governments
take hit in Gov. John Kasich’s budget proposal
Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Local governments and schools districts are hit hard,
facing nearly $2 billion less in total payments from the state in 2012
and 2013 under Gov. John Kasich’s budget proposal, according to details
released shortly after noon.
The Local Government Fund is cut by $555 million in the $120 billion,
two-year budget which amounts to a 25 percent cut in the first year and
a 50 percent cut in the second year. Additionally, the Kasich budget
makes tax policy changes raiding a trio of reimbursement fund payments
that local governments and schools receive, costing the entities
roughly $1.3 billion.
The tax changes quicken the pace of phase-outs of payments to local
governments and school districts for previous changes in state policy.
The changes were made during electric deregulation in 1999 and when
lawmakers overhauled business taxes in the 2005 budget. That $1.3
billion is then moved into the state’s general revenue fund to pay for
state government programs.
Read more...
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