Morrow County

Impact of the 2012-13 state budget (HB 153)

Ohio’s budget for 2012 and 2013 cut local government aid by a billion dollars.  This means cuts in services we depend on, from road repair and emergency services to crossing guards, senior transportation and child protective services. What are the implications for Morrow County?

The state cut the Local Government Fund to the county, forcing Morrow County to make cuts to jurisdictions within the county. The state also cut direct funding to municipalities, and slashed reimbursements for taxes it had eliminated, taxes that businesses and utilities had paid to local governments. School districts and the public library fund were also cut. Losses in calendar years 2012 and 2013, compared to 2010 and 2011, include, among others:

• Public Library Fund………………. -$41,000
• Schools……………………………. -$3.2 million
• County operations……………….. -$694,000  (includes LGF for townships and parks)
• Cardington………………………… -$111,000
• Mt. Gilead………………………… -$43,000
• Big Walnut Fire District…………. -$12,000

Loss to health and human service levies:

• County mental health/developmental disabilities……….. -$67,000
• County health……………………………………………….. -$47,000
• County senior services…………………………………….. -$21,000

Notes and quotes

“To date, no alter­na­tive, effec­tive sug­ges­tions have been offered that will save the dis­trict sig­nif­i­cant money. It is a tremen­dously dif­fi­cult deci­sion for this dis­trict to do; how­ever, to look at not doing some­thing and wait­ing would impact twice the num­ber next year. What we are doing today has to be dif­fer­ent than what we were doing five years ago because the money has changed. These cuts are proac­tive; they have to be because the state is not giv­ing us any more money”