Economy victimizes Ohio cities

One of every two U.S. cities is struggling to pay for services, a new survey says.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The economy continues to take a toll on cities and other Ohio municipalities, with additional cuts and cutbacks coming.

Officials at Sugarcreek Township in southwest Ohio announced Christmas Eve they are slashing firefighters’ hours and closing one firehouse at night.

Warren Mayor Michael O’Brien warns of possible layoffs in the water and wastewater departments because of cutbacks by major local employers including General Motors.

Warren’s water and sewer revenues have been hurt by cutbacks at the Severstal steel mill and GM’s Lordstown plant. The city has already laid off police officers and firefighters because of declining tax revenues.

The Clark County Department of Jobs and Family Services says it must reduce 15 percent of its 300 employees through attrition.

The National League of Cities reported in an annual survey earlier this month that one in every two cities now says that paying for services is a problem.

“A year ago I was concerned about the economy,” said Dan Pocek, mayor of Bedford in suburban Cleveland. “Today, I’m scared.”

Almost no city or municipal government in Ohio is immune from economic pain. In Toledo, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner has announced plans to furlough up to 1,000 nonessential city workers for five days in February to help ease a budget squeeze.

In Columbus, Mayor Michael Coleman is trying to reduce a $75 million budget gap by closing several recreation centers and hiring no new police officers and firefighters to replace those retiring.

Cincinnati is considering a garbage fee that could cost each household $207 for the year.

“The economy is really taking a toll at the local level,” said Christiana McFarland, a National League of Cities’ researcher and author of the NLC’s new report.

She said the results were particularly striking when it came to the impact of foreclosures on city coffers.

Foreclosures are no longer a problem just for big cities or even older, inner-ring suburbs, McFarland said, but for the far-flung suburbs known as exurbs as well.