Local government leaders believe municipalities are taking some big hits in the latest state budget proposal. Those advocates say this could create a domino effect for cities and towns around the state.
Local governments are likely to see a loss of $150 million in funding from just the local government fund distribution and projects. The Ohio Municipal League's Kent Scarrett says there are a lot of seemingly small changes in the Senate budget bill that could result in big cuts.
“These are all sort of a storm of great uncertainty for our communities and the most challenging part of uncertainty is our financial stability. It puts the pressure on our taxpayers to make up for those differences or suffer the consequences of decreased services.”
Republican Senate President Larry Obhof acknowledged their budget was tight and that many groups were going to see substantial cuts.