Ohio’s 1,308 Townships Receive Support for Inclusion in ARP Funding from U.S. Sen. and Reps.
The Ohio Township Association (OTA) applauds and appreciates the efforts of its state and federal partners to urge U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to determine Ohio’s 1,308 townships as eligible for direct relief under the funds passed through the ARP – due to language inconsistencies between bill versions, a change in the definition of “nonentitlement units of local government” may exclude Ohio’s townships from this crucial funding. Ohio townships have received invaluable support for inclusion in ARP funding via a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen from U.S Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan (OH-13), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) and Joyce Beatty (OH-03). Townships’ predicament was also included in communication sent to Secretary Yellen from U.S. Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Steve Scalise (R-LA), James Comer (R-KY), and Republican members of the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Oversight and Reform; those members included Ohio Representatives Bob Gibbs (OH-07), Jim Jordan (OH-04) and Brad Wenstrup (OH-02).
The ARP allocates $350 billion to states and local governments, and was recently passed by Congress and signed by President Biden. The minor language inconsistency that occurred between House and Senate versions of the bill has caused confusion regarding Ohio’s 1,308 townships – whose communities make up at least four million Ohioans, according to the 2010 Census – and their eligibility for the funding.
“The Ohio Township Association is immensely grateful for the support our townships have received at the state and federal levels,” said Heidi M. Fought, OTA Executive Director. “Being determined ineligible for this funding would leave townships and their communities struggling to recover from the pandemic’s effects, while other local governments would receive the ARP’s immensely helpful financial boost. All of Ohio’s forms of local governments are in need of this funding – Ohio townships are no exception.”
Ohio’s townships are a unit of local government and provide services such as road maintenance, cemetery management, police and fire protection, emergency medical services, solid waste disposal, and zoning. They are also responsible for maintaining over 41,000 miles of road and 2,400 cemeteries.
More updates will be provided from the OTA as new developments take place.
Senator Sherrod Brown, US Reps Tim Ryan, Marcy Kaptur and Joyce Beatty Letter