The following is testimony Greater Ohio provided this afternoon before the House Finance Committee in support of Senate Bill 310 (Dolan), which will distribute federal CARES Act funding to local governments.

You can view the video of today’s hearing on the Ohio Channel Website.

Chairman Oelslager & Callender, Vice Chairman Scherer, Ranking Member Cera and members of the House Finance Committee, thank you for providing Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) the opportunity to provide proponent testimony in support of Senate Bill 310, which would disburse federal funds to Ohio’s local governments that did not receive a direct distribution of federal dollars in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The distribution of $350 million through SB310, which uses the Local Government Fund (LGF) formula to be used only for non-budget COVID-19 related expenses is important for local governments throughout Ohio, and especially critical for Ohio’s small and mid-sized legacy cities. These scrappy, gritty and determined communities that were once the engines of Ohio’s prosperity have over the past several decades experienced population loss and economic shifts, yet still today are the home of millions of people and remain important contributors of new economic activity.

We join with the many other groups you have heard from, including The Ohio Municipal League, the Ohio Mayors Alliance, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, the Ohio Township Association, the Northeast Ohio Mayors and City Managers Association and the Cuyahoga County Mayors and City Managers Association in support of the swift enactment of SB310. The allocation of these resources will provide local governments with much-needed relief at the continue to navigate the challenges imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

GOPC knows from early conversations that leaders from all sectors in their cities are doing as much as they can in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. We also know that the perennial challenges that these cities were tackling will be exacerbated by the crisis and its expected recession, and could persist for years.

Assisting Ohio’s legacy cities respond to the COVID-19 crisis and be prepared for new economic realities must be a partnership between local and state leaders, with local leaders making and executing revitalization plans that guide state investments and support. That is why we encourage and support any and all efforts to work with leaders at the federal level to provide these communities with greater flexibility for the use of CARES Act funding or any future funding which may be made available for these entities. We also believe that any future funding should be needs-based, ensuring that communities that have been hardest hit are able to recover in an expedient manner.

GOPC would like to express our gratitude to Sen. Matt Dolan for his leadership in sponsoring SB310 and to you, the Members of the House Finance Committee for your consideration and for allowing us to provide proponent testimony.