COLUMBUS Hagan criticizes inequity in funding

In the community projects portion of the bill, Mahoning County got $1.5 million; Trumbull and Columbiana counties got nothing.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Troubled by the lack of capital dollars for his district, state Sen. Robert F. Hagan blasted the capital appropriations process and the "great disparity of funding levels of the various metro areas of the state."
"We need to get rid of the politicization that plagues the distribution of our tax dollars," Hagan, of Youngstown, D-33rd, told senators Tuesday.
"We need special help in our area," Hagan said as senators voted 28 to 3 to approve the two-year, $1.27 billion capital bill.
"This is not about Democrats and Republicans," said Hagan, who voted "no." "We need help."
Democratic senators Leigh E. Herington of Portage County and Mike Shoemaker of Bourneville joined Hagan in voting against the bill.
Amount of funding
The bill Hagan blasted was the so-called "bricks and mortar" budget that pays for capital facilities. Mahoning County got $1.5 million in community projects in the bill. Trumbull and Columbiana counties got nothing.
The Mahoning County community projects funded are: $1 million for the Youngstown Business Incubator; Powers Auditorium and Stambaugh Hall renovations each received $200,000; Western Reserve Ballet improvements received $100,000 in the bill.
In total, Mahoning County received $12.7 million in the capital bill with the remainder made up of funding for Youngstown State University.
In the education portion of the bill, Trumbull County received $1.5 million, all of it for Kent State University Trumbull Campus. Columbiana County received $1.6 million, all of it for Kent State University satellite operations.
Hagan marveled that among the Cincinnati projects funded was $10 million for the Reds Hall of Fame. The Reds project was among the $76.3 million in funding Hamilton County received in the bill.
Among other urban areas, Montgomery County, which is home to Dayton, received $12.2 million in the capital bill; Lucas County, which is home to Toledo, received $33.2 million in funding; Cuyahoga County, which is home to Cleveland, received $49.1 million; Summit County, which is home to Akron, received $22.6 million.
Senate President Richard H. Finan of Cincinnati, R-7th, said all areas of the state were taken care of in the capital bill. "They all think they got shortchanged," Finan said.
The House approved the capital bill last week. Gov. Bob Taft has indicated he would sign it, spokesman Joe Andrews said.