Collaborative Planning

Creating a sustainable future for Northeast Ohio may require collaborative planning to find solutions for the issues and challenges facing all of our communities. There is growing interest in developing practices of collaboration that strengthen the entire region. Some elected officials, planning agencies and business leaders are beginning to look beyond their own municipal and county boundaries to craft solutions to the challenges we all face. Meanwhile, there are those who question the need for “regionalist” solutions. We as citizens should voice our opinions on collaboration, so we can craft solutions that suit all of our needs.

Individual Impact
We live in a region of interconnected communities. We might live in one and work, shop and enjoy recreational amenities in others. In that light, our individual quality of life is connected to the prosperity of all the communities in Northeast Ohio. With increasing costs and diminishing tax revenues some communities in Northeast Ohio are having difficulty maintaining a high level of service for residents. In lieu of tax increases, some communities have looked for other innovative cost savings measures, such as shared purchasing, shared dispatch services and other shared municipal services. These efforts have allowed communities to maintain services without significant tax increases to its residents. Advocates of far-reaching proposals--such as regional land use planning and tax base sharing--say they could help thriving and struggling communities alike. These proposals would affect every community in Northeast Ohio in different ways, but, in theory, would provide benefits to all communities.

Bones of Contention
While talks are in motion locally for collaboration, action is required by the state to make many of these ideas a reality. Municipalities and counties operate through powers granted in the Ohio Constitution and Ohio Revised Code. Currently, the state law does not allow for many of the regional collaboration efforts being put forth. Also, the idea of local tax revenues shared beyond municipal borders is a major sticking point for some local leaders. Also leaders in some currently thriving communities object to both the idea of giving away revenue and allowing other municipalities to have a voice in local planning decisions.

State of the issue
With the current state budget crisis, most communities are taking a “wait and see” stance in terms of their own budgets. Municipalities receive funding directly from the state; however with the impending state deficit this funding will surely be cut. Additionally, the Governor Kasich has proposed eliminating the estate tax in Ohio. Municipalities currently receive 80 percent of the estate tax with the remainder going to the state. The elimination of this tax will create another funding gap, which municpalities will need to fill. The Regional Prosperity Initiative is a regional land use planning and tax revenue sharing proposal for Northeast Ohio. The initiative has the support of local elected officials, but still faces an uphill battle.

Created On: 01/14/2011