Keary McCarthy · November 10, 2014

Bipartisan Group of Mayors Call for Ohio’s Attacks on Cities to Stop

We recently attended an eye-opening meeting of over a dozen mayors — Republicans and Democrats — from Hamilton County and the editors of the Cincinnati Enquirer to discuss the continued impact of deep cuts to Ohio’s cities and their impact on local services. As the resulting editorial explains, communities hit by drastic cuts in the past two state budgets and are facing yet another attack in the form of House Bill 5:

But the totality of the pressures on local governments are beginning to take a toll, and state officials should restore at least part of the cuts they’ve made. The cuts have been indiscriminate, hurting the places that need to share services as well as those that are already doing a good job. Strengthening the state at the expense of local services is no victory at all. – Enquirer editorial 11/8/14

Many communities have already had to raise taxes or cut services to cope with these threats. IO will continue to work with local mayors to research the statewide impact of these policies including the potential damaging effects of HB5.