EDITOR’S NOTE: The following opinion/editorial was written by Mount Vernon mayor Matt Starr.
Being mayor of a rural Ohio community comes with a mix of challenges and victories.
Often, the wins feel fleeting, overshadowed by the constant need to fix long-neglected infrastructure. Water and sewer lines, bridges, utility plants, buildings, flood control systems, and transportation infrastructure — all vital to our residents’ quality of life — demand time, money, and talent to repair or replace.
That’s where true support from our state Legislature becomes essential.
While I had hoped for more, the substitute version of House Bill 96 (the operating budget) does offer some support to cities and villages across Ohio.
Programs like Welcome Home Ohio, site demolition grants, Historical Tax Credits, Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) radio funding, and the Cemetery Grant Program are examples of measures that help us keep the lights on and the city running.
These are meaningful steps.
Still, not all legislation is so friendly to municipalities. Too often, state-level decisions drag us back instead of helping us move forward.
Whether by design or oversight, some legislative efforts ignore the realities we face on the ground.
Regardless of the intent, the burden always falls on the citizens of Ohio’s 922 cities and villages.
Unfunded mandates present one of the most frustrating financial challenges we face. Last year, a law required cities to purchase, install, and maintain Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in all public recreational facilities — without any funding.
Other mandates include lead pipe inspections, phosphorus reduction in wastewater, stormwater management upgrades, ongoing utility plant improvements, and increased employer contributions to pension funds.
These are all critical issues, but the costs are pushed entirely to local governments, with no real discussion about how we’re supposed to pay for them.
Mayors and councils across Ohio are closely watching what comes out of Columbus. While laws governing cities increase, our means of funding those responsibilities seem to shrink.
Proposed legislation impacting replacement levies, short-term rentals, and annexation processes threatens to undermine our ability to grow and prosper. It’s as if we’re being asked to keep building while the state keeps taking our tools away.
Consider this: Two out of every three Ohioans — 8 million people — live in a city or village.
That’s where most of Ohio’s businesses are located. Our communities are where a large portion of the state’s economic activity is generated and, not coincidentally, where the most urgent infrastructure needs are.
As mayor of Mount Vernon, my job is to protect and advocate for our 17,000 residents just as my peers do in their villages and cities.
My message to the Legislature is simple: remember us. Keep municipalities in mind when proposing new laws and mandates. Local governments aren’t adversaries — we’re willing and ready partners.
We serve the same constituents. We’re on the front lines of the issues you debate, and we’re often the ones who have to make those ideas work in the real world.
Let’s swing this hammer together. The work ahead is too important — and too big — for us to do anything else.