WASHINGTON, D.C. — Local governments across Ohio lost a lot of tax revenue in the last year as the pandemic reduced business activity and travel.
What You Need To Know
- After being left out of latest COVID-19 relief bill, Treasury Department says Ohio townships will get relief money
- Ohio Township Association says the delay has left local leaders unable to plan for the year ahead
- Like larger communities, townships have lost significant tax revenue during the pandemic
- Ohio’s entire congressional delegation wrote to Treasury asking for this to be fixed
The $1.9 trillion stimulus bill President Joe Biden signed in March was supposed to address that, but the legislation never explicitly allocated money for what’s known as “non-entitlement units of local government,” which in Ohio means townships of as many as 50,000 people, as first reported by Spectrum News it last month.
“We see this as a terrible injustice and really an equal protection of the law issue,” Barry Tiffany, the administrator of Sugarcreek Township, said in a virtual roundtable on March 31.
The problem left local leaders unable to plan for the year ahead, potentially affecting services like police, roads and parks.
“They haven’t been able to do it because they have no idea if they’re getting funding and support and how much it will be,” said Marisa Meyer with the Ohio Township Association.
After weeks of confusion, Myers said some clarity is at hand, thankfully.
The Treasury Department now said the townships will be getting aid.
On Monday, the White House launched a portal for state and local governments to request their share of the money.
Ohio is receiving roughly $10.7 billion, which will be divided among four groups:
- State government: $5.4 billion
- Counties: $2.3 billion
- Metropolitan areas with 50,000+ people: $2.2 billion (includes 3 of Ohio’s 1,308 townships)
- Rest of townships: $844 million (breakdown of how much each will get hasn’t been released yet)
“So there’s 1,305 still wondering what they’re getting,” Myers said. “So we’re eagerly awaiting those numbers.”
Ohio’s entire congressional delegation sent letters to the Treasury Department asking that this township issue be sorted out, and several lawmakers told Spectrum News they did receive responses.
If all goes according to plan, the full list explaining how much money each township will get should be released next week.
“This is a large amount of money that we’re talking about and it will be very helpful for these communities,” Myers said.
