Nothing that we all don't already know, but glad to see the press:

 

RTA needs to find $254 million to bring entire network to state of good repair

 

 

Given GCRTA's huge, $500+ million state-of-good-repair needs and the lack of funding for them, and despite the excellent cost-effective rating of a Red Line extension from East Cleveland to Euclid, there's no way GCRTA can afford to come up with half of the $1 billion cost of extending the Red Line -- or even pursuing an interim extension to a proposed "Noble District" of advanced manufacturing. Or reroute the Blue Line to University Circle. Or any other meaningful expansion. So many wasted opportunities.

 

If we increased the county sales tax by a half-cent OR a county payroll tax of 1 percent, AND the state embraced Laketran's plan to use taxes from online and catalog sales for transit, then we would have funding for transit expansion.

 

IIRC the article you forwarded last week indicated that Phoenix (or is it Houston? ... too lazy to look up) is increasing its sales tax to extend its Light Rail... I'm pretty sure some of the counties around Atlanta are also looking to increase their funding bases to extend MARTA extensively into their counties as well... It can be done with a coordinated civic and political campaign.  P3 is also an option that Denver and other cities are using with FasTracks... I'm just skeptical that the political will and motivation to pony up to extend rail in Greater Cleveland exists.  Extending freeways and highways in this city and county is just sexier as some officials have a 1950s mindset despite this being 2015 and other cities are expanding rail... I'd love to be proven wrong, but ...

What freeways and highways are being extended? If anything, there will be fewer freeway-miles after the West Shoreway is downgraded to a boulevard.

 

Utah is expanding its transportation funding, including for rail in the Salt Lake City area. So is Phoenix and Seattle....

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,25329.msg768954.html#new

 

And what do these cities have in common? They are growing, thus their taxbase and financial capacity to support rail expansions is growing.

 

The City of Cleveland's population is shrinking. Cuyahoga County is shrinking. State subsidies are still helping our metro area expand its physical land area thus spreading population density more thinly -- Greater Cleveland hasn't increased its population since 1960. Birth rates aren't outpacing deaths. We aren't aggressively drawing immigrants here. The labor market is soft. Maybe we can start growing our own employers again to stir things up and turn the stagnation into economic and population growth.

^Didn't the state just break ground on the insanely expensive "Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway"  (the Portsmouth bypass)?

 

Oops, sorry, I was focusing on the thread title and forgot Clvndr's comment was about "this" city (Cleveland). I guess he was referring to the Opportunity Corridor? Otherwise, yeah, maybe some lane additions, but not extensions.

^Didn't the state just break ground on the insanely expensive "Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway"  (the Portsmouth bypass)?

 

Oops, sorry, I was focusing on the thread title and forgot Clvndr's comment was about "this" city (Cleveland). I guess he was referring to the Opportunity Corridor? Otherwise, yeah, maybe some lane additions, but not extensions.

 

I was also thinking of the Jennings Freeway which was built within the last 20 years (1998).  I've been on it several times, including during rush hour, and have never seem much traffic on it.

I was also thinking of the Jennings Freeway which was built within the last 20 years (1998).  I've been on it several times, including during rush hour, and have never seem much traffic on it.

 

I drive on it regularly as my sister lives in Parma. I often see heavy traffic on it, including morning traffic backing up to get into downtown and afternoon traffic backing up to get on I-480. My sister works downtown and has to take detour routes on city streets in the mornings, and she does so more often than she drives on the Jennings.

 

There are no plans for new or lengthened freeways in Cuyahoga County. Thus nothing is likely to be built in the next decade or more.

^We just saw this huge community effort, helped largely by our governor/presidential candidate, John Kasich, to cobble funding for the Opportunity Corridor (including raising Turnpike tolls).  Where is the similar effort for a major and important transit line?

 

And now there are individuals and officials who are questioning the validity of OC claims of TOD and transit growth along the OC, esp since 3 nearby rail station were slated to close until community protests -- largely of the people live in the neighborhoods, motivated officials to find money to rebuild the stations.  The OC will just be another commuter roadway for West Siders, but somehow money was found for it... (and btw we see University Circle is doing just fine without the OC)..

 

Why not a joint effort for the Red Line extension to Euclid, KJP?  You could even head the effort; I'm sure you great at it.

Thanks, but the obstacles to the Red Line extension are more fundamental than its proposed route or the agency overseeing it. To capitalize on it will require a rethinking of transit not only in Cuyahoga County but all over Northeast Ohio (and statewide too, but I have no hope for the gubernatorial and legislative leaders in Columbus from either party and the special interests who run them).....

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30302.msg769606.html#msg769606

^Amen to that!

State funds for transportation in Ohio have evaporated since 2000

http://www.streetsblog.net/2015/11/04/state-funds-for-transit-in-ohio-have-evaporated-since-2000/#more-353763

Great read! And even better considering who wrote it!

 

Millennials: We need to lead on transit

Erika Fiola, Kristine Frech and Dan McCarthy 10:18 a.m. EST December 2, 2015

 

THE AUTHORS: Erika Fiola is strategic initiatives manager for Agenda 360 at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber; Kristine Frech is vice president at Skyward; and Dan McCarthy is project executive for Carter and chair of the Urban Land Institute Cincinnati.

 

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s Agenda 360, Skyward and the Urban Land Institute Cincinnati recently released a Regional Indicators Report on Transit called The Connected Region. The Regional Indicators Reports are a series of reports that benchmark the 15-county Cincinnati Metropolitan Statistical Area against 11 peer regions that we compete with for talent and jobs.

 

In Cincinnati, just over 21,000 workers use transit to commute on a daily basis. For some people it’s a choice; for some it’s a necessity. Many parts of the Cincinnati region are inaccessible by transit, placing almost half of our jobs out of reach of transit users. As our region continues to grow, both in geography and in population, we need to remember that transit plays an important role in connecting people to work.

 

MORE:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/12/02/millennials-need-lead-transit/76659378/

Stricter emissions standards threaten financially-strapped public transit agencies

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/09/stricter_emissions_standards_t.html

Ohio's economy or population will never grow until the state's leaders realize that cities are Ohio's economic driver...

 

No #Ohio city cracked the top 25

https://t.co/z1hwU5YAQL 15-25% households in Ohio's 3Cs have 0 car. Can't reach #jobs? Can't fight poverty.

 

Kasich offers NO SOLUTION for $200M tax loss to #Ohio counties & #transit agencies https://t.co/qgq12zg2ZC

https://www.policymattersohio.org/press-room/2017/05/30/funding-losses-loom-over-ohios-transit-agencies

 

Funding losses loom over Ohio’s transit agencies

Contact: Wendy Patton

614.221.4505

 

Ohio’s transit system provided 115 million rides in 2013, making it one of the more frequently used systems in the nation. But when it comes to state spending on public transit, Ohio is at the bottom of the barrel— 44 states spend more on a per-person basis. Not only does Ohio underinvest in transit, state policymakers underuse potential revenue from the flexible federal highway funds and fail to fix a looming loss of sales tax revenue to public transit agencies – a loss that could force service cuts and fare hikes.

 

As the Ohio Senate works on its version of the 2018-2019 state budget, Policy Matters Ohio releases a new handbook that offers a comprehensive overview of Ohio’s public transit funding sources, threats and opportunities.

 

In its 2018-2019 budget, the Ohio House of Representatives reduced state transit spending to $6.5 million a year, the lowest level since 1976. According to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s 2015 Ohio Statewide Transit Needs study, to meet demand, Ohio should spend $185 million a year on transit by 2025. Including federal dollars, the 2018-2019 state budget plan would spend only $40 million a year.

 

“People depend on transit to get to work, the grocery store and doctor,” said Victoria Jackson, State Policy Fellow with Policy Matters Ohio. “But Ohio not only underfunds transit, there aren’t proper structures in place to support it.”

 

Ohio lacks a dedicated revenue source for transit and the state underuses flexible federal highway funding. Moreover, unless policymakers find a solution, in 2019 Ohio’s eight largest transit agencies that levy a local sales tax will lose nearly $40 million as the state moves certain managed care services from the sales tax base into the insurance tax.

 

“Ohio’s transit system is hugely important to hundreds of thousands of people, but our state policy doesn’t reflect that," said Wendy Patton, Senior Project Coordinator with Policy Matters Ohio. “We hope this handbook serves as a guide for transit workers, riders and advocates who are working to correct years of state neglect.”

And yet I get attacked in the RTA thread by numerous people for complaining about how much RTA sucks. Rude service, reduced service, having to pay twice to connect in the same direction since transfers don't exist, a large portion of their buses being too crowded from infrequent service and lacking air conditioning in the sweltering heat on multiple routes all around the city are all just coming from some some Columbusite who just doesn't like the new city he moved to. RTAs ridership numbers are high and the statistics make NEO look good in news articles and apparently that's all that matters to alleged pro-urban Clevelanders. Not quality of life for people who rely on the service that aren't tourists.

 

Since RTA is so wonderful, these budget cuts from the state shouldn't be that big of a deal.  :roll:

 

^FYI, you get free transfers if you pay with a 5-trip card. It's only paying cash at the farebox or buying one trip Red Line/Healthline ticket that don't get you free transfers.

^^ I don't think anyone is arguing that RTA is perfect.  You claimed that the rider numbers weren't real.  Even after you were provided with the audited numbers you decided they aren't real.  Then moved the goal post to the buses all suck, every driver is rude and it's always hot on every bus.  You just didn't like that other people don't share the same experiences that you have. 

 

I am an everyday RTA rider because we are a car lite family.  RTA is not perfect but it is not the hellscape you describe either.  And the fault lies almost entirely with the state's funding.  Did you know that ODOT spends more money cutting grass along freeways than they do funding transit?

And yet I get attacked in the RTA thread by numerous people for complaining about how much RTA sucks. Rude service, reduced service, having to pay twice to connect in the same direction since transfers don't exist, a large portion of their buses being too crowded from infrequent service and lacking air conditioning in the sweltering heat on multiple routes all around the city are all just coming from some some Columbusite who just doesn't like the new city he moved to. RTAs ridership numbers are high and the statistics make NEO look good in news articles and apparently that's all that matters to alleged pro-urban Clevelanders. Not quality of life for people who rely on the service that aren't tourists.

 

Since RTA is so wonderful, these budget cuts from the state shouldn't be that big of a deal.  :roll:

 

 

 

Copy, paste, repeat. Blah.

^^ I don't think anyone is arguing that RTA is perfect.  You claimed that the rider numbers weren't real.  Even after you were provided with the audited numbers you decided they aren't real.  Then moved the goal post to the buses all suck, every driver is rude and it's always hot on every bus.  You just didn't like that other people don't share the same experiences that you have. 

 

I am an everyday RTA rider because we are a car lite family.  RTA is not perfect but it is not the hellscape you describe either.  And the fault lies almost entirely with the state's funding.  Did you know that ODOT spends more money cutting grass along freeways than they do funding transit?

 

I was skeptical about the ridership numbers being real because I just couldn't imagine those numbers when from my experience the service is so lousy but I admit I'm not always right in my assumptions... but I was influenced by RTA propaganda proclaiming it's the best transit city in America. Of course I called B.S. I think the fact is, if people rely on public transit, they'll put up with whatever because they have no choice. They're poor and they rely on public transit.. I still don't see how they can realistically estimate ridership on lines that don't require proof of fare but I'll accept the numbers they put out, if they're audited and assume that they're able to produce realistic estimates on lines like Health and Red. In the grand scheme of things, it's neither here nor there, though.

 

I just think Clevelanders deserve so much better and think they are being deceived into thinking that it's first rate transit service by RTA. I just know that fooling people doesn't actually solve real problems. I don't think you should have to pay (what seems to be the highest fares in Ohio, overall) to wait an hour for a bus and then have to stand on said bus instead of sit, due to infrequent service, in the sweltering heat because the air conditioner is broken down as they can't afford to fix it . Yeah, I live in Cleveland Heights where service is known to be particularly sh!tty but I also experienced that several times on the 51 all the way on the west side, in addition to other east side routes. It's anecdotal but real experiences, none-the-less. Real experience shared with dozens of other riders on the same bus.

 

I hope you know I'm not just hating on things in Cleveland for the sake of hating. This is my new home and I really love it here and care about it a lot. I really care about the well-being of my neighbors in the city. I don't want an old lady to experience hypothermia in the blistering cold waiting an hour for a bus to arrive. Or have a heat stroke on the bus because it's 100 degrees and so stuffy. The 32 (Cedar Rd.) bus stops right in front of my house so I take it pretty frequently. I got on it a couple weeks ago and a woman got on a few stops away, who was really frustrated and sad and said she was waiting for the bus for almost two hours and honest to God very politely asked the driver what was going on. The driver got really defensive and p!ssed and yelled at her and asked if she called RTA to tell them about it - trying to prove a point that it wasn't actually the case that a scheduled bus never came. The woman responded, explaining that she couldn't call RTA to tell them about it because her phone didn't have any minutes left on it. The driver just continued to go off on an obnoxious tangent and when passengers would board, she would ask them how long they've been waiting as if the answer proved her point, since people all arrive at bus stops at different times. Especially late at night. The RTA driver didn't give the passenger any dignity at all when said passenger is partially responsible for the driver's paycheck. Stuff like that and knowing people sometimes have to waste two hours at a bus stop because they have no choice p!sses me off and that's why I keep preaching about it. I feel like no one is listening to me or if they do, they don't care.

 

I'm really p!ssed off right now that the state is reducing funding for public transit when per person, 44 states (ALMOST ALL OF THEM)spend more on public transit. Ohio is a relatively very wealthy state! I'm not going to lie, it causes me give credence to all the hype behind NEO becoming it's own state but realistically, the best thing right now is being very vocal about public transit issues and how Cleveland and other cities in Ohio deserve much, much better.

 

We should all be writing letters to the Ohio Senate right now! Anyone care to create a list of addresses? Email or otherwise?

I've encountered crank drivers on occasion but I've encountered cranky cashiers and customer service people.  Humans are rude sometimes.  No one in Cleveland thinks we have awesome transit.  But rural state legislators don't want to fund transit.  Fortunately,  we have county sales tax to fund transit which is also diminishing.   

 

In my dream, the state would fund transit but our legislature wants us to all be hillbillies.

Sales tax is already ridiculous. 8% is pretty high. I wasn't used to that when I moved here. That has to be the highest in the state. With big purchases, it can make a big difference. In Columbus I think it was 6.75%. I don't know exactly what is going on but in addition to state funding, with RTAs pretty high fare prices coupled with a high sales tax funding it, I think riders deserve much better than what they're getting with RTA.

 

Also, I think we really would benefit from a high speed train connecting the 3 Cs. Our cities trade much more than people realize. I'm dreaming, though.

Franklin county is 7.5%. 

Ohio governor and state pols keep cutting transit funding to nearly zero... But we Ohioans love our Republicans!!

Franklin county is 7.5%. 

 

Yeah, I just looked it up. It seems it changed since 2015 when I last lived there. I'm pretty sure it was 6.75 when I left or last paid attention. A portion of their sales tax also goes to public transit.

 

I think it's time for everyone to pay less to the state and leave certain urban and rural issues and their funding sources to individual counties instead of everyone contributing to a state-held fund where Republicans decide who gets what, when. I don't expect rednecks to care about public transit but I don't really care about their corn fields either.

Then support the state of Western Reserve.  Lol.

 

Franklin county provides 0.5% of sales tax to transit and cuyahoga provides 1.0%.  That's the difference between the 2 counties. 

 

 

^Cleveland, WR works for me!!

Franklin county is 7.5%. 

 

Yeah, I just looked it up. It seems it changed since 2015 when I last lived there. I'm pretty sure it was 6.75 when I left or last paid attention. A portion of their sales tax also goes to public transit.

 

 

It went from 6.75 to 7.0 for a very short time in 2013. Then a state sales tax of 0.5 percent hit for 2014 bringing the total in Columbus to a whopping 7.5. When you add our high sales taxes to our rediculous property taxes Columbus is one of the most highly taxed places in the USA -- all done at the local level. This is due to having to provide big city level infrastructure to cornfields, flood plains and quarries. Also very limited state funding.

There is a massive amount of land in the city limits that has literally two residents per acre in the Uncool Crescent. Very low earnings tax density

Franklin county is 7.5%. 

 

Yeah, I just looked it up. It seems it changed since 2015 when I last lived there. I'm pretty sure it was 6.75 when I left or last paid attention. A portion of their sales tax also goes to public transit.

 

I think it's time for everyone to pay less to the state and leave certain urban and rural issues and their funding sources to individual counties instead of everyone contributing to a state-held fund where Republicans decide who gets what, when. I don't expect rednecks to care about public transit but I don't really care about their corn fields either.

 

It isn't even Farmer Jack who is really frustrating.  It's those so-called exurban expatriates that really anger me-- those folks who want to live far enough away from cities to live in homogeneous, isolated, conservative areas -- away from people who are different from them; but close enough to enjoy various urban fruits: like driving long commutes to work within the city or near it, drink at it's from time to time and, most importantly, root for its sports teams, basking in like, say, the Cavs' 2016 championship... Places like, say Medina or Avon Lake or Brunswick.. These places are rock-solid red/GOP. 

 

... and of course the LAST thing these folks want is quality public transit to allow those "others" from the big city to hop a bus or train for trips into their communities...

 

These folks want it both ways -- use the central city while, simultaneously, doing everything politically to hamper and even destroy it.

I hear ya'

 

I know it's really frustrating.

 

We need to work together to find a real solution. We need to make NEO more united. We need make everyone realize we're ultimately on the same team.

I knew there must be a thread about this already!

 

I recently reviewed the AASHTO report, Survey of State Funding for Public Transportation, that was published in April 2017. It is a survey to the state DOTs about their funding for public transportation using data from FY2015. It is useful to compare what we are doing in Ohio to what other states are doing, specifically states with similar populations.

A summary:

Ohio spent $10.6 million FY2011, then decreased to $7.3 million in FY2012 and stagnated there through FY2015. Cross referencing the Governor's budget recommendations for FY17/18, Ohio stood pat on $7.3 million in FY2016 and recommends $7.3 million in FY2017 and FY2018. This budget proposal was accepted from the House but with revenue projections down since then, the Senate is expected to make across the board cuts before approval, so this amount could decrease.

How does $7.3 million stack up to other states? Ohio ranks 28th out of 51 DOTs in total spending. 5 states don't contribute anything to public transportation. Ohio ranks 40th out of 51 DOTs in funding per capita.

Examples of funding for states with similar populations (around 10 million people): Illinois-$3.536 billion, Pennsylvania-$1.532 billion, Michigan-$263 million, North Carolina-$73 million, Georgia-$3 million.

These numbers are staggering! Besides Georgia, other similar states are funding at a rate of 10-500 times more!

Where is the $7.3 million going? According to the report, Ohio allocates $1.7 million to Urban Transit Program, $3 million to Rural Transit Program,$2.2

to Elderly and Disabled Transit Program and $350,000 to admin.

 

Note: The above funding only includes state contributions, most funding comes from the Feds.

 

Help #publictransit contact @OhioSenateGOP tell them to support @ElectMattDolan's amendment to fix loss of Managed Care Organizations (MCO) sales tax

http://ohiosenate.gov/members/contacting-your-senator

 

See the bill with the summary here:

http://freepdfhosting.com/66d57d79f8.pdf

 

SYNOPSIS

HIC franchise fee: county/transit authority payments 76 R.C.5168.76 and 5168.85

 

Beginning in FY 2019, distributes $17,250,000 each month (or $207,000,000 each fiscal year) of health insurance corporation (HIC) franchise fee proceeds to counties and transit authorities that levied a permissive "piggyback" sales tax on Medicaid HICs before such tax was discontinued. The payment to each such subdivision equals the proportion of total Medicaid HIC piggyback sales tax receipts collected on the basis of that subdivision's piggyback sales tax during calendar years 2015 and 2016.

 

Requires the Director of Budget and Management to determine an amount by which the HIC franchise fee is to be increased for the purpose of generating the monthly $17,250,000 to be so distributed to counties and transit authorities. Retains the original executive proposal to make one-time payments to counties and transit authorities in FY 2018 based on their prior revenue from sales tax on Medicaid HIC premiums and their ability, according to OBM's calculations, to absorb the loss of such revenue.

 

Medicaid Local Sales Tax Section 387.10

Increases the appropriation to Permissive Sales Tax

Distribution (Fund 7063, appropriation item 110963) by $207 million in FY 2019.

Here is more information....

 

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-ohio-representatives-to-support-dolans-amendment-nocutsnohikes

 

The eight largest Ohio transit agencies (in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Lake, Mahoning, Montgomery, Portage, Stark and Summit counties) will take a hit of up to 10 percent from the loss of the Managed Care Organizations sales tax. The franchise fee will replace it. Without it, the loss will be made up by painful service cuts and/or fare increases, thereby reducing Ohioans' access to jobs, education, health care, shopping, etc.

 

PLEASE CALL SENATOR SCOTT OELSLAGER TODAY AT 614-466-0626!

 

Sen. Oelslager is chair of the Ohio Senate Finance Committee.

It isn't even Farmer Jack who is really frustrating.  It's those so-called exurban expatriates that really anger me-- those folks who want to live far enough away from cities to live in homogeneous, isolated, conservative areas -- away from people who are different from them; but close enough to enjoy various urban fruits: like driving long commutes to work within the city or near it, drink at it's from time to time and, most importantly, root for its sports teams, basking in like, say, the Cavs' 2016 championship... Places like, say Medina or Avon Lake or Brunswick.. These places are rock-solid red/GOP. 

 

... and of course the LAST thing these folks want is quality public transit to allow those "others" from the big city to hop a bus or train for trips into their communities...

 

These folks want it both ways -- use the central city while, simultaneously, doing everything politically to hamper and even destroy it.

 

This is exactly right. Farmer Jack has been living in Medina/Lorain/Geauga/Portage County his whole life and so did his parents and his grandparents. It's the people whose ancestors were industrial-era Clevelanders who built homes on the land that once belonged to Jack's grandparents who annoy me.  They are simultaneously harming both the existing rural culture of those outlying places, and the urban culture of Cleveland. They generally all make some kind of comment referencing getting shot anytime going into Cuyahoga County (let alone the City of Cleveland) is mentioned. I say we build a wall at the county limits, make them pay for it. They can pay an entry tax at the border if they want to go to a Cavs game.

Last chance to save access to jobs, health care, school this year? Please speak up by Monday to help save Ohio transit services.

http://allaboardohio.org/…/last-chance-to-save-ohio-transit/

From the Ohio Public Transit Association....

 

Budget Update

 

The legislature's scheduled conference committee on the budget voted last night and INCLUDED Senator Dolan's amendment .  This is a huge recognition from the legislature on the importance of Transit and for a Managed Care Organization(MCO) sales tax fix. The amendment directs the Kasich administration to talk to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that would need to okay the change, and if CMS approves resetting the franchise fee, the amendment directs the administration to distribute the proceeds to counties and transit. After the Governor receives the bill he has until July 1 to act, including issuing any line-item vetoes to portions of the bill.

 

Stay tuned for additional communications on this issue as we continue to lobby the Governor's office.

 

Meanwhile we continue to talk to the administration on fixes for the reduction of funding for the Office of Public Transit.

 

We encourage all OPTA members (and friends) to reach out to Senator Dolan's office and Representative Seitz's office to THANK them for their work on the MCO sales tax fix.

Please ask @johnkasich to support Sen. Matt Dolan's MCO sales tax fix to retain funding for Ohio counties & transit! https://t.co/HOzaPUoGbd

Tell @JohnKasich not to veto the General Assembly's fix to the looming revenue cliff for transit! #OHBudget https://t.co/vbSEbzPXtq https://t.co/BsfrsFfYkW

MCO fix made it through Conference Committee. Great work! Governor Kasich has said he may veto though... https://t.co/HoDg4voTyW https://t.co/yRCFVqBoIS

 

..We need YOU to call Gov Kasich TODAY at 614-466-3555. Tell him to support the Dolan amendment to fix the MCO tax!

https://t.co/gmDaQ1EaGw

Call Gov Kasich TODAY (last chance!) at 614-466-3555. Tell him to keep the Dolan amendment to fix MCO tax for #transit!

More info: https://t.co/hvyfCVpeY3 https://t.co/OA3G715iRr

Call Gov Kasich TODAY (last chance!) at 614-466-3555. Tell him to keep the Dolan amendment to fix MCO tax for #transit!

More info: https://t.co/hvyfCVpeY3 https://t.co/OA3G715iRr

 

Looks like he vetoed the freeze on Medicaid expansion but allowed this amendment if I'm reading right?

No, Kasich voted the MCO fix too, that would have saved counties and transit agencies from losing up to 10 percent of their sales tax revenues and having to cut services to compensate.

 

Please contact your senators and representatives (especially Democratic Senate leaders) before July 6 and ask them to override Kasich's veto of the Dolan/Seitz Amendment to fix the painful loss of Managed Care Organization revenues. July 6 is when the legislature will go through Kasich's list of vetoes and decide which ones, if any, to take votes on to override.

 

http://www.ohiohouse.gov/

http://www.ohiosenate.gov/

ACTION ALERT!

 

Dear friends,

 

Thanks to you, the Ohio budget was passed with an amendment to prevent large funding cuts from transit agencies around the state due to loss in the Medicaid MCO tax.

 

BUT ON FRIDAY, GOVERNOR KASICH VETOED THIS CRUCIAL AMENDMENT...

 

Members of the State House and Senate are considering overriding the Governor's harmful decision. They may return this Thursday July 6th to vote. They need to hear from you TODAY!

 

** Click here to send a message to Ohio lawmakers to override Kasich's veto: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-ohio-officials-to-override-kasichs-veto-nocutsnohikes/

 

Also... Please contact the House and Senate leadership directly. Let them know that transit is crucial for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans to get to work, medical care, school and shopping. Tell them briefly why you think transit is important.

 

+ House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger: 614-466-3506

+ Senate President Larry Obhof: 614-466-7505

 

Your action by Thursday July 6th is critical. Thanks for your help!

 

+++++++++++++++++++

 

MORE INFO: WHY ARE TRANSIT AGENCIES LOSING MONEY?

 

Check out this Plain Dealer Editorial here for more information: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/07/ohio_lawmakers_should_override.html

 

Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) in Ohio pay sales tax on the health services they provide. If MCOs are removed from the sales tax base, as currently planned in the state budget, transit agencies statewide could lose nearly $40 million a year starting in 2019.

 

GCRTA would take the largest hit, losing over $20 million each year, with up to 10% service cuts and lay-offs.

 

Cincinnati-area State Senator Bill Seitz joined with Cleveland-area State Senator Matt Dolan to create a fix known as the Dolan amendment that would replace the tax with a franchise fee paid to transit agencies through 2024. It was included in the state budget but vetoed by Governor Kasich.

 

We are reaching out to members of the House and Senate to ask them to override the Governor's veto.

 

###

It was surprisingly easy to send those letters through the website.

 

 

Thanks for doing so. I hope they're listening on the other end.

Reminder -- During lunch (or any time today!), please ask Ohio legislators to override Gov Kasich's veto of Dolan/Seitz amendment to fund transit!

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-ohio-officials-to-override-kasichs-veto-nocutsnohikes/

^Done.

What's sad is that Kasich was my favorite Republican during the presidential primaries. The debates were a total sh!t show and I remember thinking, "Wow, Kasich is the smart and logical one up there who acts like an adult." Even though he was my favorite, I still can't stand him. He's a douche and this is an attack on Ohio cities.

 

ACTION ALERT!

 

Dear friends,

 

Thanks to you, the Ohio budget was passed with an amendment to prevent large funding cuts from transit agencies around the state due to loss in the Medicaid MCO tax.

 

BUT ON FRIDAY, GOVERNOR KASICH VETOED THIS CRUCIAL AMENDMENT...

 

Members of the State House and Senate are considering overriding the Governor's harmful decision. They may return this Thursday July 6th to vote. They need to hear from you TODAY!

 

** Click here to send a message to Ohio lawmakers to override Kasich's veto: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-ohio-officials-to-override-kasichs-veto-nocutsnohikes/

 

Also... Please contact the House and Senate leadership directly. Let them know that transit is crucial for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans to get to work, medical care, school and shopping. Tell them briefly why you think transit is important.

 

+ House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger: 614-466-3506

+ Senate President Larry Obhof: 614-466-7505

 

Your action by Thursday July 6th is critical. Thanks for your help!

 

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MORE INFO: WHY ARE TRANSIT AGENCIES LOSING MONEY?

 

Check out this Plain Dealer Editorial here for more information: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/07/ohio_lawmakers_should_override.html

 

Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) in Ohio pay sales tax on the health services they provide. If MCOs are removed from the sales tax base, as currently planned in the state budget, transit agencies statewide could lose nearly $40 million a year starting in 2019.

 

GCRTA would take the largest hit, losing over $20 million each year, with up to 10% service cuts and lay-offs.

 

Cincinnati-area State Senator Bill Seitz joined with Cleveland-area State Senator Matt Dolan to create a fix known as the Dolan amendment that would replace the tax with a franchise fee paid to transit agencies through 2024. It was included in the state budget but vetoed by Governor Kasich.

 

We are reaching out to members of the House and Senate to ask them to override the Governor's veto.

 

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I copied and pasted almost all of this and put it in the Living in Shaker Heights Facebook group. They tend to be liberal and active support stuff like this...I think.

 

We should all be sharing this info and link on Facebook and other social media outlets until the Statehouse's e-mail servers crash. They make it so easy to send the emails :-D

Thank you Ohio House of Representatives for voting 87-10 to override Gov. Kasich's veto of the MCO sales tax fix for counties and public transit!

 

Now on to the Senate. If victorious, the Kasich Administration must follow through and negotiate with the federal government for a new Medicaid MCO franchise fee to replace sales taxes that will be lost starting later this year. Without this replacement, Ohio transit agencies will lose $40 million per year in revenues and force service cuts, fare increases or both.

These folks want it both ways -- use the central city while, simultaneously, doing everything politically to hamper and even destroy it.

 

Yeah, you just summed up the core reason why suburbs don't work. They promise the best of both worlds -- lots of green space like rural areas, but access to culture and the amenities of cities. But the reality is that the existence of suburbs causes tremendous harm to both rural areas and cities. Rural areas get paved over for highways, have farm land eaten up for the endless sprawl of new subdivision and big box stores. Cities see their populations decline, resulting in fewer people paying in to support city services, and businesses leaving the city to be closer to where the people have moved. And on top of it all, transit agencies have to cover way more territory to serve the same number of people since the population density has decreased, all while there is less money coming in to pay for that transit.

^Yeah, the federally-funded demolition of the West End destroyed Cincinnati Transit's most profitable area.  All of those people moved to less dense, less-profitable areas.