10/23/2013

Local projects will be funded in next state capital budget

Funding for selected local community projects, such as recreation and arts facilities, will be reinstated in the next state capital improvement budget to be adopted by the Ohio General Assembly in 2014.

At a recent press conference with Governor John Kasich, Office of Budget & Management Director Timothy S. Keen said the administration will again entertain proposals for "critical community projects across the state," thanks to what he termed "Ohio's renewed economic well-being."

Much to the chagrin of local government officials, funding for local projects was omitted from the $1.74 billion capital budget passed by the legislature in 2012, due to a tight state budget. In 2010, when a massive state budget deficit was looming, the legislature opted not to pass a capital budget at all, something that hadn't happened in decades.

As was the case two years ago, Keen said the presidents of the state's institutions of higher education will work together to develop a consensus list of projects that should be funded at their various campuses.  The capital bill enacted in 2012 for the 2013-2014 biennium provided $400 million for higher education construction and that number is likely to be somewhat higher in the coming budget bill.

That capital bill allocated $675 million for local school construction projects, and Keen said that is likely to be the case in the bill now under development.  The Ohio Public Works Commission was funded to the tune of $365 million and state agency construction received $288 million.

Keen said the size of the capital budget bill for the 2015-2016 biennium has not been established, but added he hoped it could be more than the $1.74 million appropriated for 2013-2014.

"We don't have specific dollars in mind.  That is something that will develop as we move through the process," he said.

“We would expect – we’re at the beginning of the process here and there’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of information to be received from you all, from the state agencies – but we would expect that school facilities, renovation/repair and new construction will be a major component of the bill.”

While he did not estimate how much funding would be available for local community projects, he did say the process for selecting projects will be similar to the collaborative effort being used to produce the priority list for funding of higher education projects.

Governor John Kasich has asked chambers of commerce in the state's eight major metropolitan areas to develop recommendations for projects with the "most significant regional economic importance," then come together to develop a priority list for state funding.  Other groups outside the eight metro areas also are invited to submit proposals.

Leaders in the arts throughout the state also have been asked to undertake an effort to identify and prioritize arts projects around the state that could be considered for state funding.

Keen said he hopes a capital bill can be submitted to the General Assembly early next year and enacted in the spring so that it can take effect on July 1, the start of the 2015 fiscal year.