Dates to Remember
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March 29, 2021 Allen County Commissioner Cory Noonan gives testimony in support of substitute House Bill 74 DATES TO REMEMBER APRIL 2, 2021 ELECTRONIC FILING OF BALLOT ISSUES AND QUESTIONS WEBINAR APRIL 9, 2021 CEBCO ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING APRIL 9, 2021 COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND COUNCIL MEMBER PROCUREMENT TRAINING APRIL 14, 2021 2ND WEDNESDAY WEBINAR APRIL 15, 2021 GENERAL GOVERNMENT AND OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 29 - 30, 2021 CEBCO RETREAT 1 ASSOCIATION NEWS Commissioner Noonan provides testimony in support of substitute House Bill 74 Allen County Commissioner Cory Noonan last week testified before the Ohio Senate Transportation Committee in support of substitute House Bill 74, particularly the language that increases force account limits. Under the bill, the limits would increase to $150,000 per mile for road work and $300,000 per mile for bridges. “For many years, state law has recognized that certain projects can be done more efficiently and effectively without resorting to competitive bidding. In order to accomplish this policy goal, projects with estimated costs below certain thresholds are exempt from competitive bidding,” Noonan said in his testimony. “For counties, these thresholds, or force account limits, are $30,000 per mile for road work and $100,000 per mile for bridges. Unfortunately, these limits were established in 2003 and have not been adjusted since, despite significant increases in construction inflation.” CCAO President Tim Bubb also wrote a letter to Senate President Matt Huffman expressing support for increasing the force account limits. “CCAO members believe that the quality of our infrastructure has a tremendous impact on the economic development potential of our state. This change, which is long overdue, will improve counties’ ability to manage our constituents’ tax dollars in the most efficient manner possible,” Bubb said in his letter. Click here for Noonan’s complete testimony. Click here for Bubb’s letter. Transportation Budget Update: County Engineer Force Account Limits The Ohio House of Representatives last week concurred in the Senate amendments to H.B. 74, thereby enacting the state transportation budget for the next two years. After negotiation between the two chambers, the original Senate provision that raised county engineer force account limits was removed. Instead, the final version includes an inflation adjustment that occurs on July 1 of each odd-numbered year. The adjustment is based on the ODOT construction cost index for the preceding two years, with a maximum increase of three percent. Also, the bill establishes a Joint Committee on Force Account Limits that will study the issue and report to the General Assembly no later than May 15, 2021. This timeframe leaves open the possibility of further legislative action before the General Assembly’s summer recess. The committee is comprised of six legislators and five representatives of interested parties. One member will be appointed by CCAO. CCAO thanks Senate President Huffman and the members of the Ohio Senate who brought the issue forward and supported local governments. We also thank all of the CCAO members who reached out to their Senators over the past week and to Allen County Commissioner Cory 2 Noonan, who came to Columbus to testify. The indexing of force account limits has been a legislative platform issue for CCAO for many years. CCAO will provide information and support for the new Joint Committee in the coming weeks. We look forward to your continued participation and advocacy on this issue. For further information, please contact Senior Policy Analyst Jon Honeck, [email protected], 614-600-8900. Commissioner Holliday appointed to DeWine’s Council on Juvenile Justice Lawrence County Commissioner DeAnna Holliday was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Juvenile Justice. Holliday will serve a two-year term (March 19, 2021 – Oct. 31, 2023). “I am honored to serve on the Governor DeWine’s Council on Juvenile Justice, as it offers another opportunity to advocate on behalf of our children,” Holliday said. “As a county commissioner, I am constantly looking to improve the quality of life for the people I serve, and there is no better way to build a brighter future than by investing in our youth today.” The federal Office of Justice and Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides annual Title II Formula Grant Funding to Ohio to assist the state in preventing and reducing delinquency as well as address juvenile crime. The Department of Youth Services awards this funding, through a competitive process, to community-based youth- servicing agencies to provide direct services to youth. Programs selected for funding must intend to prevent or reduce delinquency and must promote positive youth development. As a condition of the award, the state must convene a state advisory group to over the administration of the Title II Formula Grant by acting as a supervisory board. In Ohio, the group is the Governor’s Council on Juvenile Justice. As part of the council’s responsibilities, they review applications and select programs that will receive funding. “Since I have known her, Commissioner Holliday has been an active and dedicated commissioner and CCAO member. Her involvement as a CCAO board member has been invaluable as we work to build stronger counties for a stronger Ohio,” CCAO Executive Director Cheryl Subler said. “I have no doubt she will flourish in this new role as county leaders continue to improve the state-county partnership.” Save the Date: County Commissioner and Council Member Procurement Training – April 9 Join the County Commissioners Association of Ohio for a session on procurement on April 9 at 1 p.m. 3 County government must be transparent and use specific processes when purchasing goods with taxpayer dollars. In this session you will learn about competitive bidding requirements and exemptions, notice and publication requirements, bid bonds, performance bonds, purchase contracts, certificate of availability of funds by the county auditor, purchase orders, “debt-check” requirements, and the authorized use of credit and procurement cards for making purchases. The presenters are: Megan Perry-Balonier, director, Purchasing Department, Franklin County Tyler Small, assistant county administrator, Montgomery County Register by contacting Robin Garrett, [email protected]. Kids Voting Ohio seeks to learn more about county officials CCAO members are encouraged to participate in Kids Voting Ohio (KVO), a nonpartisan, nonprofit voter education program for Ohio public schools. KVO is creating a “Meet Your Representatives” video library that will offer a way for students to get to know their government officials and understand the role of local, state and federal governments. The Meet Your Representatives video library serves to teach students about their government officials in a more personal way than a standard internet search. It will also allow educators to create assignments using these videos. Videos featuring Ohio’s statewide executive officials, congressional delegation, General Assembly lawmakers and judiciary officials have already been featured, and the invitation for further videos is being extended to Ohio’s county commissioners. You can access the full video library at the Kids Voting Ohio website: Kids Voting Ohio | Ohio Voter Education | Ohio Civic Education. Videos are simple to create, are short in duration (less than 5 minutes) and can be uploaded directly to the Kids Voting Ohio website. We encourage all members to submit videos to support this educational effort and to promote the important work of county government. Members looking for more information can contact Kids Voting Ohio Program Director Matina Bliss at [email protected]. STATE NEWS ODJFS extending weeks and issuing $300 payments to Ohioans receiving traditional unemployment The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has begun issuing the supplemental weekly $300 payments made possible by the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for claimants in the traditional unemployment program. Additional weeks of extended benefits, from 24 to 53, also made possible by the act are now available to claim. 4 System updates are underway in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, as well, to make it possible for eligible individuals to claim all available weeks provided by the new legislation. The third stimulus package extended weeks from up to 50 to up to 79, ending on Sept. 4. While this work is under way, those with PUA weeks remaining from the previous extension can continue to claim them if they remain unemployed, through April 10. The American Rescue Plan Act, signed on March 11, extends many of the pandemic unemployment programs and benefits created by the federal CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This includes but is not limited to the continuation of the Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation Program and full federal funding of Ohio’s premier layoff aversion program, SharedWork Ohio. ODJFS is posting updates with target implementation dates at jfs.ohio.gov/caa. As a reminder, Ohio offers many self-service options for unemployed individuals: • Online claim filing at unemployment.ohio.gov. This website is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. • Answers to frequently asked questions at unemployment.ohio.gov in three categories: o “Employee” – for those receiving traditional unemployment benefits. o “Expanded Eligibility” – for those receiving PUA benefits. o “Employers”