Michael Beazley, Oregon City administrator and caucus facilitator, called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone present. Introductions were made by everyone present. Mr. Beazley suggested turning the discussion into a local government agenda which the cities can ask the gubernatorial candidates their opinions on and request commitments from them.
Caucus members in attendance included:
·
Cecelia Adams – Council Member At-Large, City
of Toledo
·
Kevin Aller – Director, Public
Safety/Service, City of Sylvania
·
James Bagdonas – Municipal Administrator,
City of Waterville
·
Kimberly Baker – Manager of Policy
Operations, City of Toledo
·
Michael Beazley – City Administrator, City of
Oregon
·
Lori Brodie – Mayor, City of Waterville
·
Chris Delaney – Council Member, District 6,
City of Toledo
·
Richard Edwards – Mayor, City of Bowling
Green
·
Alice Godsey – Director, Public Utilities,
City of Perrysburg
·
Paul Grahl – City Auditor, City of Fremont
·
Robert Gross – City Administrator, City of
Fremont
·
Yvonne Harper – Council Member, District 4,
City of Toledo
·
Cody Holbrook – Intern, City of Toledo
·
Gary Johnson – Council Member At-Large, City
of Toledo
·
Bridgette Kabat – City Administrator, City of
Perrysburg
·
Timothy Pedro – Council Member, City of
Waterville
·
Paul Rasmusson – Director, Department of
Public Service, City of Toledo
·
Tyrone Riley - Council Member, District 1, City of Toledo
·
Angie Ruiz – Council Member, City of Fremont
·
Daniel Sanchez – Mayor, City of Fremont
·
William Sanford – Economic
Development/Administrative Services, City of Sylvania
·
Sandy Spang – Council Member At-Large, City
of Toledo
·
Craig Stough – Mayor, City of Sylvania
·
Mary Westphal – President of Council, City of
Sylvania
Non-caucus members in
attendance included:
·
Brian Dicken – Vice President, Advocacy & Public Policy, Toledo Regional
Chamber of Commerce
·
Bob Mockenstrum – Retired
·
Homer Wilson – Director of Government
Affairs, Jones & Henry Engineers, Ltd.
TMACOG support staff in attendance included:
·
David Gedeon – Vice President of
Transportation
·
Dana Doubler – Transportation Planner
Introduction of
Discussion Topics – The following topics were discussed by the
caucus.
·
Tax Abatement
Incentives for Economic Development – Mr. Beazley asked the members of the caucus
if there are changes we need in the structure of JEDD (Joint Economic
Development District), JEDZ (Joint Economic Development Zone (proximity issue),
or Enterprise Zones, and what support do cities need when working with townships
in relation to tax abatement incentives in their area? Discussion included
proximity issues of businesses located in townships receiving city amenities
(ex. Maumee fire department being called to Andersons headquarters).
·
Annexation Laws – Discussion
included the benefits and draw backs of Townships annexing vs establishing
Economic Development Districts. Planning for future urban development and
managing urban sprawl was also discussed. Resources at the Greater Ohio Policy
Center website were mentioned for local Cities to utilize.
·
Permissive License
Plate Fees – It
was asked of the caucus which counties
enacted the license plate fees, and if city leaders have asked for a portion of
the funds received from those fees. TMACOG’s Transportation Council reviewed it
and is on record with supporting it.
·
Regional Water
Discussion –
Toledo will draft a new proposal for cities to review. Suburban cities restated
the 3 goals: all jurisdictions pay the same amount, Toledo cannot unilaterally
change the rates, and there should be redundancy in the system. Toledo having
only one intake was a concern. Proposed contracts will be reviewed.
·
State Budget
Implications for Local Governments & Availability of Grant Funds – Discussion
included having the state budget reviewed in order for cities to receive
adequate funding for the services they provide to unincorporated areas.
·
TARTA Shift to
Sales Tax Funding –
Sylvania Township turned down the TARTA sales tax proposal. Discussion included
whether the rules governing how communities vote on TARTA related issues could
change in the future in order to prevent it from being turned down again.
Concerns about TARTA’s current business along with their future were raised.
·
Possible County
Roads in Cities –
Mr. Beazley made everyone aware that County Commissioners can designate a city
road as a county road, and that city officials should work with their county commissioners
if they wish to designate a city road as a county road.
·
Criminal Justice
and Court Funding –
The caucus briefly discussed the distribution of the county sales tax in
relation to the Department of Justice, and how unincorporated areas use the
court system.
·
Jail Prisoner
Transport Issues – Not
discussed.
·
Legislative Update
(Transportation Funding/Gas Tax, Election Year Issues) – The gas tax has
not been raised in a long time, and many in the caucus felt that it should be
raised in order to reflect inflation and economic growth. Some raised concerns
about how funds received from the gas tax would be handled and if cities would
receive an equitable share of the additional revenue.
Roundtable Topic Discussion – Highlights from
the roundtable topic discussion included the following.
·
Waterville
is doing a study on how to best structure fire safety and rescue services. They
are also working with Waterville Township and the Village of Whitehouse on
managing cemeteries.
·
TMACOG
is beginning their 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan Update. Dave Gedeon, TMACOG
vice president of transportation, mentioned upcoming events and encouraged the
caucus members to connect to TMACOG on social media.
·
Toledo
council members mentioned the Water District meeting on August 2nd,
progress on the opiate epidemic plan, TARTA, police relations with the
community, the county jail issue, and Lake Erie algae concerns.
·
Sylvania
is considering a downtown outdoor recreation district.
·
Perrysburg
is hiring a law director and building a 2nd fire station.
·
Fremont
mentioned progress on the Ballville Dam demolition, a new rehab center, and
they are working on annexation issues.
·
Bowling
Green, Waterville, and other suburbs reflected on the need to have a good water
district plan.
Generate questions to
present at the Forum – Mr. Beazley
asked about the distribution of taxes between cities and unincorporated areas,
along with how the panel would vote if presented with a gas tax.
Next Steps – The caucus showed interest in forming a city-based local government
agenda for the gubernatorial candidates to review and/or commit to. The
following were discussed to be a part of the Legislative Agenda.
·
Proximity rules for tax incentives.
·
Reconsideration of the distribution of taxes between
the cities and unincorporated areas.
·
As the economy recovers from the recession,
shouldn’t the funds that cities receive reflect this economic change?
·
We should plan better for urban development. One
area of concern was urban townships receiving city public services. Planning
based on successful urban cities across the country was also discussed.
·
Cities should oppose the permissive license plate
fee unless funds are shared with the city. Cities often are population and
occupation centers in counties, so funding should be applied to roads in cities
as well if they are the largest contributors.
·
Legislators should reconsider how the TARTA service
area is designated and make it easier for jurisdictions to enter/leave the
service area.
Adjourn – There was no further business. Mr.
Beazley adjourned the meeting.
Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments | www.tmacog.org
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