No. 14                                                                       May 27, 2005

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS BULLETIN TO YOUR COUNCIL,  DEPARTMENT HEADS & STAFF

SENATE VERSION OF BUDGET BILL UNVEILED.

This week, the Ohio Senate unveiled its version of HB 66, the state budget bill.  It is important that you contact your members of the Senate quickly with your concerns related to the budget, as it is expected the full Senate will vote on the budget this Wednesday, June 1^st.  From there it is expected the budget will be in conference committee for two to three weeks.

 Ohio’s villages and townships fare relatively well and would receive local government funds at the freeze level. Under the Senate proposal, all villages and townships in Ohio would receive the same number of dollars from July, 2005 until June 30, 2007 that they received in equivalent months of calendar year 2004.

Local government funds for counties would be reduced to 10% below the freeze level. Unlike the House version, the Senate version of the bill would not require the counties to turn in an ungraded “term paper” on collaborative service efforts to get that 10% cut.

In the Senate version of the budget, Ohio’s cities were not treated as well. Under the provisions of the Senate’s proposal, the first $1 million of local government funds received by a municipality would be subject to a 10% cut from the freeze level. This exemption only applies to dollars received from an “income tax” city’s direct local government funds and from that city’s share of the county undivided local government fund. For cities, all funds from the county undivided “Local Government Revenue Assistance Funds” (L-GRAF) would be cut 20% from the freeze. Thus, a city which received $2 million from the Local Government Fund and Direct share and $300,000 from L-GRAF in 2004 would receive $1.7 million (10%/20% cut) from LGF and Direct share and $240,000 (20% cut) from L-GRAF for 2006 and an equivalent amount for the first six months of 2007. The local government fund freeze we are currently under would remain in effect until December 31, 2005.

THE CITIES WHICH WILL HAVE SOME OF THEIR LGF AND DIRECT SHARES CUT BY 20% INCLUDE:

Akron

Ashtabula                                 .

Barberton

Bowling Green

Canton

Chillicothe

Cincinnati

Cleveland Hts.             

Cleveland                                 

Columbus

Cuyahoga Falls

Dayton

Delaware

E. Cleveland

Eastlake

Elyria

Euclid

Fairborn

Fairfield                                   

Gahanna

Garfield Hts.

Grove City

Hamilton                                  

Kent

Kettering

Lakewood

Lancaster

Lima

Lorain

Mansfield

Maple Hts.

Marion

Mason

Massillon

Mentor

Middletown                              

N. Olmsted

Newark

Gainesville

Parma

Portsmouth

Reynoldsburg

S. Euclid

Shaker Hts.

Springfield                                

Steubenville

Stow

Toledo

Troy

Upper Arlington

Warren

Wesleyville

Whitehall

Wickliffe

Willougby

Wooster

Xenia

Youngstown

Zanesville        

All cities will have their share of the L-GRAF cut by 20% without exception. Villages will remain under the freeze for all local government funds.

In other budget news, the Senate’s version:

·          Keeps the Taft tax changes pretty much intact. There are some changes to the phase-out of the tangible personal property tax, but the reimbursement schedule for revenues lost by local governments is adjusted  to reflect those changes.  This does not mean reimbursement will be for a longer period of time or that the amount of the reimbursement will be larger. 

·          Eliminates the changes made in the area-wide TIF law that were included in the House version.

·          Makes no change to the reduction in state estate taxes, as proposed by both the Taft and House versions of the budget

·          Eliminates the House proposal to index the limits on force account work.

·          Removes the House provision reauthorizing municipalities to levy income taxes to be shared with overlapping school districts.

·           Retains cut to the Police Fire Pension Fund.

·           Retains the House's disposal fee of $1.50 per ton for EPA.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON PERS BILL.

As we mentioned in our last Bulletin, HB 272, with its many proposed changes to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), has been introduced in the House. Though we explained the change that would bump the minimum salary for full retirement credit, the bill also makes other changes to the system. Those changes include:

·          Changing the remittance period for paying to PERS retirement contributions by employers from quarterly to monthly and to change the penalties for late payments. To minimize the financial impact of these early payments, employer contributions for October 2005 would be due no later than December 31, 2006. Contributions for November, 2005 would be due no later than December 31, 2007. Contributions for December, 2005 would be due not later than December 31, 2008.

·          Makes a number of changes to PERS health care and medical savings accounts options.

·          Allows “service credits” to include service credits from the Cincinnati Retirement System.

·          Makes certain accounting changes within the system.

·          Makes changes in the PERS/Law enforcement program. Under the proposal, those active in enforcing laws as a primary duty would be eligible for retirement at age 48 with 25 years service and would also be given a 1.1% increase in their contribution rate. For those law enforcement officers whose primary duties are other than enforcing laws the system would establish a PERS/public safety division where eligibility for retirement is 52 years of age and 25 years of service.

·           Makes several other amendments of clarification and correction.

House Bill 272 has been referred to the House Financial Institutions, Real Estate and Securities Committee.

 

LEAGUE TESTIFIES ON CIVIL SERVICE BILL AND ISSUE 2.

League staff testified in House committees this week on proposed changes to the state civil service rules (HB 187)and on State Issue 2 (HJR 2 – SJR 2 – Testimony on both is the same content). Copies of those testimonies are available on our website at www.omunileague.org. 

 

DANGEROUS OR VICIOUS DOGS.

HB 189 proposes to amend Ohio's vicious dog law to remove from the definition of “vicious dog” the specific reference to pit  bulls and the language that ownership, keeping or harboring of pit bulls is prima facie evidence of ownership, keeping or harboring of a vicious dog.  The bill is currently in the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.  City and county officials have expressed serious concerns with HB 189.