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Northeast Ohio leaders say local governments should stop competing
By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Friday, May 16, 2008
INDEPENDENCE: Northeast Ohio mayors voted Thursday to pursue joint land use planning and sharing of new tax revenue in a 16-county region, arguing that local communities must change their ''go-it-alone, winner-take-all'' mentality toward economic development.
The Northeast Ohio Mayors & City Managers Association is calling on local governments to support the proposals, which it said could boost the region's anemic economy and address other longstanding problems such as stagnant population growth, urban sprawl, retention of college graduates and poverty in the major cities.
''For too long communities in our region large and small have competed with one another as well as the rest of the country and the rest of the world for economic growth, new employers and jobs, and for maximum use of resources,'' said Hudson Mayor William Currin, chairman of the association.
''This has resulted in an inefficient and competitive environment where services are duplicated and valuable resources and funding is diminished.''
Currin, Richfield Mayor Michael Lyons and Pepper Pike Mayor Bruce Akers announced the association's support for the effort at a news conference at the Independence Civic Center. They called it a ''historic vote'' coming in response to a demand
by residents for more governmental cooperation.
The Regional Economic Revenue Study — an offshoot of the mayors association and a group of elected officials, business leaders and educators — has been analyzing the issues for a year. Modeled after an established, successful program in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the regional effort would discourage urban sprawl and protect rural, undeveloped land while offering a financial incentive to local governments for participating, the group said.
By cooperating, the region could see a rebirth of vacant commercial and industrial buildings in Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Warren and Youngstown, and reduce stress of overdevelopment in suburban and rural communities, according to a new report released by the group Thursday.
The group now plans to finalize specific details such as who would do the planning, research how to implement such a program, raise money for additional study and gather state legislative support. It also will seek to answer questions about how school funding and existing tax revenue sharing agreements such as Joint Economic Development Districts would be affected.
The region encompasses 487 cities, townships and villages and it will not be a simple task, the mayors said.
''If it were easier, it would already be done,'' Currin said about the work ahead of the group.
The goal is not consolidation or a way to raise additional taxes, the mayors said. Instead, it's an effort to correct a dysfunctional system that has neighboring communities competing against each other for development and even stealing companies to boost their tax base.
The regional land use planning would not override local zoning. It would instead encourage companies to locate in existing facilities with utilities and infrastructure, reducing unneeded development in suburban and rural communities, the group said.
Asked whether large cities like Akron and Cleveland would roll over smaller communities, Akers said everyone would benefit.
''You must have a strong core city for the suburbs to survive, whether it's Cleveland or Akron, Canton or Youngstown,'' he said. ''If not, the cancer that affects so many of our inner cities today will grow out and eventually take on all the suburbs — the Richfields, the Hudsons, the Pepper Pikes and all the others.''
The proposal doesn't call for new taxes or sharing of existing revenue. Instead, new commercial and industrial tax revenue would be pooled, with 40 percent of the new taxes and 20 percent of the income taxes being shared. The revenue would be distributed to communities based on the number of households and age of housing, according to the current proposal.
Currin said the group is still working on specific details.
Under the similar program in Minnesota, a seven-county region shared $600 million last year. That region also was able to boost its family income to fourth in the nation and has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, Currin said.
''Regions that combine their planning and revenue sharing are growing at a faster and more efficient rate than in Northeast Ohio,'' Lyons said. ''In order to compete nationally, internationally for business and industry and to attract high-quality jobs for working families in our region, we need to work cooperatively to improve our competitive position.''
For more details or to read the entire report, go online to http://www.revenuestudy.org/default.htm.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
INDEPENDENCE: Northeast Ohio mayors voted Thursday to pursue joint land use planning and sharing of new tax revenue in a 16-county region, arguing that local communities must change their ''go-it-alone, winner-take-all'' mentality toward economic development.
Get the full article here.
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