Ohio Chamber, Metro Chambers Update 'Redesigning Ohio'
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Chambers of Commerce reported Tuesday that much progress has been achieved since their 2010 release of Redesigning Ohio: Transforming Government into a 21st Century Institution.
In updating Redesigning Ohio, the chambers recommended a series of steps aimed at continuing to make government more effective and efficient. The updated report will be presented to Gov. John R. Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly for their reference as they begin the budget-writing process.
“Since the initial Redesigning Ohio report was released in 2010, many of our recommendations have been implemented. This has helped Ohio eliminate an $8 billion budget shortfall without raising taxes and put us on the path to prosperity,” said Ellen van der Horst, president of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber and chair of the Metro Chambers of Commerce. “However, there is more work to do to make the state as job-friendly as it can be.”
The report cites the progress that has been made in reforming Ohio’s regulatory climate, and achieving local government efficiencies through shared services and cost-cutting. Reforms have helped slow the increasing cost of Medicaid and reigned in the cost of the state’s criminal justice system. Recently enacted public pension reforms are identified in the report as an important first step toward stabilizing these systems. In addition, Ohio’s economic climate has improved considerably, with unemployment decreasing from 9.2% in December 2010 to 6.9% in August.
In the updated report, the chambers suggest an ongoing commitment to all of the initial recommendations and give priority to:
- Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of local governments;
- Helping state and local governments become more results-driven;
- Performing a dynamic analysis of Ohio tax expenditures;
- Improving healthcare outcomes and related Medicaid costs;
- Apply government reform concepts to public primary and secondary education system for continued educational improvement.
“The Metro Chambers and Ohio Chamber stand ready to work with Gov. Kasich and our elected officials at every level of government to ensure that change continues so that Ohio becomes the prosperous state that we all want it to be,” said Tom Humphries, president & CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and chair of the Metro Chambers’ group when Redesigning Ohio was first released.
The initial report resulted from a year-long project that engaged chamber members, civic leaders and industry experts to make recommendations regarding Ohio’s 2012-2013 budget and projected $6 billion to $8 billion deficit. It identified the need for state and local governments to become more effective and efficient and offered a road map for long-term, transformational change and recommendations to address the state’s fiscal crisis. The chambers worked with author and public policy expert David Osborne and former state budget director Greg Browning to produce the 2010 report.
The coalition of chambers includes the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and these chambers representing Ohio’s largest metropolitan areas: Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Columbus Chamber, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, Greater Akron Chamber, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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