January 18th, 2013
We are proud of the accomplishments we have made in 2012. To fill you in on what’s been going on at GOPC’s office and throughout the state in the past year, below is a list of our accomplishments within our three priority policy areas: Urban Core and Neighborhood Redevelopment, Transportation and Sustainable Growth, and Regional Governance Reform. Together, redeveloping our urban centers, expanding our transportation options, and fostering regional cooperation will contribute to smarter, more sustainable growth, improving our quality of life and economic competitiveness in Ohio.
URBAN CORE & NEIGHBORHOOD REDEVELOPMENT
Raising Our Statewide Profile:
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Ohio Properties Redevelopment Institute. GOPC hosted this innovative two-day forum that promoted solutions to vacant and abandoned properties. Nearly 200 local leaders from municipalities and non-profit community development organizations across the state attended.
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Moving Ohio Forward Grant Program. The Ohio Attorney General’s office contracted with the GOPC to provide technical assistance to communities for the Moving Ohio Forward Grant Program, which supports Ohio’s communities undertaking activities to demolish abandoned and vacant residential properties.
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Panels and Keynotes. GOPC presented on urban revitalization issues over 20 times to a variety of audiences including Ohio code enforcement officers, Cincinnati’s Foreclosure Group, Cleveland’s Vacant and Abandoned Property Action Council (VAPAC), and Heritage Ohio workshop attendees.
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In the Media. In 2012, GOPC was quoted or cited over 50 times in Ohio’s major newspapers and other publications around the country. In one article about vacant properties, The Columbus Dispatch relied heavily on data and graphs produced by GOPC.
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Posted in Budget, Economic Development, Latest News, Legislation and Testimony, Regionalism, Smart Growth, Transit, Vacant and Abandoned Property | 1 Comment »
December 27th, 2012
By Lavea Brachman, Executive Director, Greater Ohio Policy Center
With the aftermath of the election barely behind us and the so-called “fiscal cliff” looming, political polarization seems unabated. But beneath the surface and beyond the drama of the national election in “battleground Ohio,” Ohio is less divided in ways that matter to economic progress. As a bipartisan state policy organization, we are privileged to observe the similarities of governing and good policies among policymakers of both parties.
First, the urban-rural divide characterizing Ohio for decades has quietly and gradually begun to fade away. Seven major regions in the state exist now, centered around cities. Rural places are increasingly economically dependent on the urban areas and their satellites. But benefits extend in both directions- for example, urban Columbus-ites enjoy the proximity of the Hocking Hills while those in the Appalachian region benefit from health care and spin off jobs from the city.
Second, for over a decade, policymakers have been turning these regions into the building blocks of the new economy. Democratic and Republican governors alike embraced the concepts found in a seminal report completed in the mid-2000’s during the Taft Administration, identifying key economic regions in the state and critical industries. A regional economic development approach was initiated under Governor Strickland with now Governor Kasich working on economic redevelopment through on-the-ground regional organizations. While implementation scenarios vary, regional economic growth efforts – corresponding loosely to metropolitan regions — are starting to take hold.
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Posted in Economic Development, Governance Reform, Innovation, Latest News, Quality of Place, Regionalism, Vacant and Abandoned Property | No Comments »
November 9th, 2012
By John Gardocki, Greater Ohio Intern
I attended the 2012 Ohio Kentucky Indiana (OKI) Regional Conference in Columbus, Ohio on September 19. Experts from around the Midwest gave insight into how their cities and partners are striving for economic growth based around places of value during the “Economies of Place” workshop.
Bringing back value into communities to spark economic and population growth is of key importance in the 21st century where millennials are getting into the workplace and housing market. The baby boomers are retiring at growing rates and want to move to more urban areas where they have amenities and public places to visit.
Strong Towns is a group that supports models for growth that allow town’s to become financially strong and resilient. Charles Marohn, the Executive Director of Strong Towns talked about his hometown in rural Minnesota that had built a strong community with valuable areas for the town people. High density was visible along main roadways with pedestrian amenities and a park right in the middle of the town for people to congregate. Today, that town is mainly one story commercial buildings with parking lots for each of them. He hopes his hometown will see the potential in putting value back into the once strong town.
Columbus is home to a new investment into community value, the Columbus Commons project developed by Columbus Downtown Development Corporation. Phase 1 has been completed with an urban park located in the urban core of downtown. Phase 2 has broken ground to complete an apartment style complex along one of the busiest streets downtown. Columbus is following New York’s example of Central Park. The edges of the park are set to be developed just like Central Park’s edges were built up over the years that sustained high values of buildings.
The event ended with a push to bring back the placemaking education we learned to our own communities. People from the age of 18-retirement age at the conference are making a difference in how we view our communities. It is now my turn as a millennial to start making a difference and bring back a feeling of “place” into the Columbus community.
Posted in Economic Development, Quality of Place | No Comments »
October 8th, 2012
On October 3, 2012, Greater Ohio Policy Center spoke at the Central Ohio Association of Government Accountants about the potential for service sharing among local jurisdictions and the importance of such collaboration in paving the way towards local governance reform and regional economic development.
Joined on the panel by Hugh Quill of Public Performance Partners and Steve Campbell, Director of Regional Growth Initiatives at the City of Columbus, Greater Ohio spoke to the benefits of shared services and other collaborative relationships, such as increased service delivery, lower costs and the creation of a more regional culture throughout Ohio.
Greater Ohio Policy Center strongly believes that Ohio must reduce duplication within our local government activities—in a thoughtful and strategic way. In streamlining how local government delivers services, natural regions can form among former local competitors and excess funds can be direct back into our communities and schools.
As one important route toward sustainable statewide prosperity, reforms among local governance structures and regional approaches to economic development must occur if Ohio wants to compete in the 21st century.
Posted in Economic Development, On The GO, Regionalism | No Comments »
September 13th, 2012
Greater Ohio Policy Center is again collaborating with Center for Community Solutions and the Buckeye Institute, two other think tanks that span the political spectrum, renewing the call to examine the issue of tax expenditures, commonly known as “tax loopholes.” Last week, the three partners issued a Press Release once again advocating for a Joint House-Senate Tax Expenditure Review Committee to examine and vet tax expenditures and subject these loopholes to “sunset revisions,” which would allow certain tax expenditures to expire after several years unless re-enacted by the General Assembly and approved by the Governor.
“In the absence of guidelines for demonstrating effectiveness, and a schedule for periodic evaluation, these cannot be considered good public policy”, the three groups said in their Press Release.
This unique tripartite partnership began during last year’s debate over Ohio’s 2012-2013 budget, when the groups joined together to propose ways that Ohio policymakers could address the issue of tax expenditures. This partnership attracted extensive state and national attention and spurred the highly successful “Across the Spectrum” conference, raising the level of public discourse by facilitating thoughtful discussions that avoided partisan platitudes and instead explored a range of policy solutions available to the state and nation.
GOPC and their partners commend Governor Kasich for his recent comments on the need to examine expenditures and the Ohio House of Representatives for convening a tax review committee last year. These policymakers have brought back into public view the importance of adopting a comprehensive process for assessing Ohio’s loopholes.
Evaluating the costs and benefits of specific expenditures will ensure a transparent and defensible decision-making process. In improving Ohio’s competitiveness and quality of life, any future expenditures—new or renewed—must have transparent criteria that ranks projects and clearly demonstrates a net benefit to tax payers.
“Our organizations often take different positions on how best to raise and allocate public resources, but we share the common goals of eliminating ineffective, counterproductive or outdated tax expenditures, and assuring that those remaining in Ohio tax law receive periodic scrutiny.”
The collaboration between Greater Ohio and their partners have already received attention by Trib Today, Salem News, the Akron Beacon Journal, and been featured on WVIZ NPR.
Posted in Budget, Economic Development, Governance Reform, Latest News | No Comments »
July 26th, 2012
This four-page guide from the Ohio Department of Development and JobsOhio provides a description of every economic development finance tool available at the state level. These finance tools include tax credits for job creation and retention, research and development, historic preservation, and more. There is also a loan program that aims to help small businesses grow and expand.
This catalog of resources is useful for communities that have catalytic projects that may be experiencing funding gaps. An easily accessible collection of resources available from the state can help communities identify economic and community development programs that can assist in the realization of these projects.
Tags: Community development, Economic development, JobsOhio, ODOD, Ohio Department of Development, Tax credits
Posted in Economic Development, Resources | No Comments »