Ten days ago nine Ohio Chambers of Commerce jointly released a report for Gov.-elect John Kasich and the incoming 129th Ohio General Assembly that Public Performance Partners believes will help frame the debate about Ohio’s next biennial budget.
The report, Redesigning Ohio, offers numerous suggestions to the new governor and lawmakers about how to tackle a state budget that is currently projected to contain a multi-billion dollar hole. Local governments and educators around the state will be paying close attention to the issue of state financial support for schools, counties, cities and other publicly funded entities.
“There is no doubt that public finances at all levels are under extreme stress and what we know so far from state government is that major cutbacks to local support are expected. Redesigning Ohio contains important information and concepts that I would encourage any public official to familiarize themselves with. This report is likely to at least in part frame the upcoming budget debate,” said Hugh Quill, CEO of Public Performance Partners.
The recommendations in the report included among others:
- Budgeting for outcomes
- Various measures to increase flexibility and creativity for state managers
- Regular review of tax credits, deductions and exemptions
- Reduce or cap real property tax rollbacks
- Public pension reforms
- Civil Service reforms
- Establish new governance structures at the state and county levels to promote sharing of services, consolidation and maximizing purchasing power
The nine chambers participating in the report with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce are: Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce, Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Dayton Areal Chamber of Commerce, Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce.
