The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), in partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, has been studying how states can utilize smart growth policies to better support legacy cities. GOPC identified the MassWorks Infrastructure Program as an example of how state government can fund local public projects to address infrastructure needs, while also spurring economic activity and the production of critical housing options—all of which contribute to legacy city revitalization.
Vermont's Better Connections Program: Helping Guide Legacy City Decision-Making & Transportation Investment
GOPC research cited in support of maintaining Clean Water Regulations
Greater Ohio Policy Center is once again being recognized for our work, most recently being cited by the Columbus Dispatch’s editorial board for our work providing policy solutions to strengthen Ohio’s water and sewer infrastructure.
Legislature enacts new transportation budget – record funding for Public Transit moves forward
GOPC Testifies before Governor's Advisory Committee on Transportation Infrastructure
Investments and improvements to our state’s transportation system have been a priority for GOPC since our founding. We want to draw the attention of this committee to one of the more underutilized methods that we have at our disposal to alleviating congestion and reducing the damage inflicted upon our roadways – public transportation.
Facing a Transportation Budget Shortfall, New Coalition Suggests Ohio Look at the Gas-Tax
The State Motor Fuel Tax has not changed since 2005
GOPC Sponsors Table at OARC Gubernatorial Forum; Cordray, DeWine Address GOPC’s Policy Priorities
Earlier this month, GOPC was a table sponsor at the Gubernatorial Forum hosted by the The Ohio Association of Regional Councils (OARC). Speaking to a roomful of the state’s top political, business, and civic leaders, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray shared their campaign platforms related to transportation, infrastructure, job creation, and economic development.
The Water & Sewer Infrastructure Crisis and Potential Paths Forward
By Samantha Dawson, GOPC Intern, and Marianne Eppig, Manager of Research & Communications Our nation and its legacy cities are facing an impending infrastructure crisis: water and sewer systems are failing and require modernization as soon as possible. Most of these water and sewer systems were built following WWII, meaning that they are approaching the end of their useful life. In some places, the infrastructure is already beginning to fail, leading to water main breaks, housing floods, sewage overflows into the environment, and public health crises.
While the national bill to upgrade this infrastructure has been estimated at around $1 trillion, costs for addressing Ohio’s existing water and sewer system deficiencies are estimated to be around $20.84 billion, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
To meet federal clean water mandates, cities must find ways to finance these needed infrastructure overhauls in short order. So far, many cities around Ohio have been ratcheting up water and sewer rates. The city of Akron, for example, has increased rates by 71% in one year. Other cities around Ohio have raised rates between 30% to 50% or more within the last two years.
GOPC is currently looking into other financial tools that can be used to restore Ohio’s water and sewer infrastructure systems. We will be discussing these tools with a panel of experts at our upcoming 2015 Summit on June 9th during the following session:
Finding Solutions to Ohio's Water Infrastructure Challenges
Ohio cities, large and small, must address the critical behind-the-scenes challenge of modernizing their water and sewer infrastructure to avoid potential serious public health crises and environmental degradation, and to create capacity to attract and support businesses and residents. However, Ohio’s cities are struggling to find ways to finance the complicated infrastructure overhauls needed to address these challenges, comply with federal mandates, and even support on-going maintenance. On this panel, experts will discuss the scope of these infrastructure challenges along with innovative financing approaches and sustainable solutions necessary for Ohio’s cities to function smoothly and accommodate regrowth.
We hope you will join us at the 2015 Summit! For more information about the Summit agenda and to register, click here.
A Primer on State Issue One
By Raquel Jones, Intern On May 6th, voters will choose whether or not to renew the state’s program for funding public infrastructure capital improvements by permitting the issuance of general obligation bonds. If renewed, this vote authorizes the state to continue selling bonds (for another 10 years) to fund much-needed improvement projects all over the state, such as construction on local roads, bridges, and water-supply systems.
Since the program was approved by voters via a constitutional amendment in 1987, it has helped to rebuild more than 11,500 local road, bridge, sewer, water and solid-waste projects, in all of Ohio's 88 counties. The program provides up to 50 percent funding for new construction projects and up to 90 percent for repair-and-replacement projects.
The Ohio Public Works Commission currently allots $150 million each year to this program, however, under the new amendment, the state would increase the size of bonds to provide more money: $175 million in each of the first five years and $200 million in each of the next five years. That is a 39 percent increase in the money that local road and water-supply construction projects currently receive. Furthermore, it is projected that this program would create an estimated 3,500 additional construction and related jobs over the next decade.
The passage of this issue is especially critical at this time since the state’s current authorization to issue bonds against the state’s tax revenue expires in 2015 or whenever the state has maxed out the amount approved in the last bond issue. If this program were to expire, it would cut off a source of money for municipal construction projects and the estimated 35,000 workers employed on the projects.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, local governments, and nonprofits around the state have endorsed Issue 1. For more information, the Ohio League of Women’s Voters has provided non-partisan, in-depth information here.