WASHINGTON, D.C. — Even before Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) floated the idea of states filing for bankruptcy instead of getting more coronavirus relief money from Washington, some Ohio Republicans were making clear that the need for help at the local level is there.
- Bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers say more funding for local governments likely needed
- Because Ohio governments rely on income tax revenue, funding has sharply declined
- Rep. Jim Jordan says reopening economy is best solution
“I’d like to see that money flow straight through to cities and counties and towns, regardless of size,” Representative Steve Stivers (R, 15th Congressional District) said in an interview over Skype on April 21.
As I reported last month, the coronavirus legislation passed so far will only send relief money directly to Ohio governments with populations above 500,000 — so the city of Columbus and five counties.
Every other local government across the state is hoping to receive some slice of about $2.8 billion Governor Mike DeWine, and his team will hand out — but that process hasn’t started.
Some lawmakers said they are hearing more is already needed.
“People in my district, it’s a legacy of being forgotten in Columbus, being forgotten in Washington, D.C.,” Rep. Bill Johnson (R, 6th Congressional District) said in an interview on April 23. “We can’t let that happen in this case.”
Then came McConnell’s comments about bankruptcy, which prompted some strong responses from Ohio Democrats.
“Does he know what civil unrest is?” Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D, 9th Congressional District) said in an interview on April 23. “I mean if the police aren’t paid? If the firefighters aren’t paid? What is he thinking? Where does he live — mentally? I don’t know. I couldn’t imagine an America like that.”
Rep. Tim Ryan (D, 13th Congressional District) also weighed in on the 23rd.
“Any police and fire who are going to get laid off in the next few weeks, they can call Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump because they are directly responsible for people losing their jobs,” Ryan said.
Ohio relies heavily on income tax revenue to fund local government operations, and that has dropped significantly because people are losing their jobs.
Some cities have started to furlough workers to keep their budgets balanced.
Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said in a recent phone interview that another problem is the current legislation is written so that local governments can only receive federal dollars for expenses related directly to the coronavirus — not for keeping city operations running like normal.
So he’s trying to convince his colleagues in the Senate that more flexibility should be allowed.
“I think that is an argument that has actually got a lot of resonance when I’ve been talking to people,” Portman said back on April 22. “A lot of people are nodding their heads and saying yeah, that makes sense. So my hope is that we can get at least more flexibility and in the next round, we’ll have to see where we are. But I think we are going to need more funding at the municipal level.”
But at least one Ohio lawmaker feels more funding for local governments is unnecessary.
“The best thing we can do for state and local governments, I mean I’ve said it a couple times, but the best thing we can do is to get the economy open,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R, 4th Congressional District) said in an interview on April 23. “And that’s what I’m focused on.”
On Tuesday, I checked back in with two Ohio mayors I spoke with in my last report about this.
The mayors of Zanesville and Chillicothe told me they had not received any guidance from the governor’s office on whether their cities will receive any money.