Leaders from Ohio’s 88 counties are calling on two gubernatorial hopefuls to help mend the relationship between state and county governments.
A report shows counties have lost more than $350 million in annual revenue. Commissioners say that relationship has been eroding for a decade.
The county commissioners’ association says the state relies on local government for many services, such as public safety and infrastructure.
However, as Lake County Commissioner Daniel Troy notes, they’ve been asked to do more with less money. The group wants the restoration of hundreds of millions of dollars lost from the local government fund, tangible personal property tax, and the Medicaid managed care sales tax.
“We basically have services we have to provide that you folks are making us do. And we need the revenue to be able to provide that service,” Troy says.
Another proposal is to broaden the sales tax to include more services.
The group says gubernatorial candidates Mike DeWine and Rich Cordray said they would bring commissioners to the table during budget talks.
