Ohio Democrats say Gov. John Kasich’s local government funding cuts are to blame for Cincinnati’s budget woes.
Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, mentioned Cincinnati’s potential layoffs in a statement released last week.
“Make no mistake, the only reason Cincinnati has been forced to debate firing hundreds of police and firefighters is because Gov. Kasich cut tens of millions of dollars to the city in his last state budget,” the statement read. “As communities like Cincinnati struggle to deal with the last round of cuts, Kasich’s at it again, proposing to steal another $200 million from local communities to help pay for tax giveaways to the rich. If Kasich gets his way and passes his proposed handout to his friends, more communities across the state will see layoffs, skyrocketing local tax levies and deep cuts to schools.”
Kasich’s local government funding cuts have caused Cincinnati to lose $40.7 million in state funding over two years, according to Policy Matters Ohio.
With the support of Democratic officials from around the state, Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld recently launched a website called ProtectMyOhio.com to organize efforts to restore local government funding cut during Kasich’s time in office. The website is collecting signatures for a petition that will be mailed to the governor.
In the past, Kasich spokesperson Rob Nichols told CityBeat that cuts in local government funding and elsewhere were necessary to balance the budget.
