Valley projects require a final spurt of support

The clock is ticking on the competition to determine which government projects in Northeast Ohio share $300,000 in grant money from the Fund for Our Economic Future, and while two projects from Mahoning County are in first and third place, there are still three days left in the voting. Who votes? You do.

Residents of the counties that are in this part of the state will determine which three of the nine finalist projects will be the winners. They can cast their votes on the web links that provide details of the projects or by calling the following toll-free number: (877) 771-5206. Mail-in ballots are also available at the public libraries.

Valley residents who prefer to go online can access these links: www.efficientgovnow.org/Proposals/abstractR.html; and, www.efficientgovnow.org/Proposals/abstractZD.html.

Why is it so important that the two Mahoning County projects win? There is the money, of course, but more importantly, there is the Mahoning Valley’s reputation. For too long this region has been viewed with a certain amount of disdain by the rest of the state not only because of local governments’ negative reputation brought on by corrupt officeholders, but because of the time it has taken us to recover economically from the collapse of the steel industry more than 30 years ago.

Changing times

A victory in the competition would send a clear message to all the detractors that times they are a changing in the Mahoning Valley.

The two projects deserve to win because they most closely exemplify local government collaboration — the basis of the contest launched by the Fund for Our Economic Future.

“The competition is really up for grabs right now,” said Brad Whitehead, president of the fund, last week after the standings of the nine finalists were announced. More than 10,000 ballots have been cast. Each person can vote for up to three proposals.

“While thousands of people have voted, only a few hundred votes separate second place from seventh place,” Whitehead noted.

And, he added, “Clearly the competition is stiff, and we expect the vote count to tighten even more.”

That should be the rallying cry for the residents of the Mahoning Valley. It would be a shame, indeed, if the two projects that have led the competition thus far lost in the end because of apathy.

Here are the proposals that have received high praise from officials involved in the competition:

UMahoning/Youngstown Regional Information System (MYRIS), which involves the county auditor’s office, city of Youngstown, Boardman Township, Austintown Township and the city of Canfield creating high-speed connectivity to local governmental units. The system would provide access to critical information to assist law enforcement agencies within the participating political subdivisions; general information technology support; and, disaster recovery.

UMahoning River Corridor Web site encompassing Lowellville, Struthers, Campbell, Youngstown, Girard, McDonald, Niles, Warren and Newton Falls. The aim is to implement an interactive and comprehensive web site featuring detailed information about land available for economic development in the Mahoning River corridor.

The winners will be announced in early August.

There were 39 applicants for the competition, which bodes well for this 16-county region with regard to making government cost-effective and efficient.

That in itself is encouraging. Government at all levels has become too expensive and unwieldy. Doing more with less should be the rule rather than the exception.