Apr. 15—LIMA — Ohio taxpayers have been funding a public infrastructure bond since 1987, and every 10 years, voters are called upon to evaluate the return on that investment in the form of a bond renewal. This May, voters have the chance to say yes or no to keeping this initiative going for a fifth decade.
At stake in this vote are up to $2.5 billion in bonds, limited to $250 million per year over the next decade, issued through the State Capital Improvements Program and from which county and local governments statewide can draw to fund needed infrastructure improvements, including roadways, bridges, water and sewer projects.
“It affects us all directly in that it is funding that locals can apply for directly,” Allen County Engineer Brion Rhodes said during the Allen County Republican Party monthly luncheon held April 4. “I’m talking about counties, townships, cities, municipalities, all across the board. We all receive that funding.”
According to the argument in favor of Issue 2 published by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, the SCIP has funded more than 19,000 grants and loans since its inception.
“Issue 2 will help thousands more projects be completed that wouldn’t be otherwise and support tens of thousands of jobs throughout Ohio,” the argument reads. “An objective grant allocation process assures fairness so that communities both large and small receive funding.”
Rhodes also emphasized that this renewal would not result in any tax increase if passed, and because it has been passed in three previous elections — 1995, 2005 and 2014 — Allen County has benefitted from it for years.
“Allen County as a whole receives about $2 million per year,” he said. “That helps pay for our paving. It pays for water lines, sewer lines, bridgets and sewer projects, as well.”
While no organization has submitted an official argument against the measure, the Ohio Secretary of State’s office issued a contrary argument when it released the text of the ballot issue emphasizing the length of time it may take to pay the bonds off and maintaining that not all Ohioans would equally see the benefits of this program, depending on where the projects are located.
“These are community-based project from which many Ohioans may not see a direct benefit and which local governments should prioritize and pay for using locally-raised dollars,” the argument reads. “Though the newly-issued bonds will pay for projects over the next decade, it may take up to three times that long to pay them back.”
Auglaize County Commissioner David Bambauer maintained at the April 10 Wapakoneta Chamber of Commmerce State of the City, County and Schools that the investment does reap benefits locally.
“Our county, in the last 10 years, has received over $6.75 million,” he said. “How our county has determined how we split that up is we divide it in four. One year, the county engineer gets that money. One year the cities of Wapakonteta and St. Marys get that money. One year the municipalities split the money, which is Waynesfield, New Bremen, New Knoxville and Minster. And the one year, all that money goes to the townships.”
For an interactive county map from the Ohio Public Works Commission outlining projects funded by the SCIP, go to https://bit.ly/4jEpoaZ.
ELECTION COVERAGE
See election coverage at LimaOhio.com/election.
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