Roads, bridges, water systems, taxpayers all win with Issue 1

Issue 1, the only statewide ballot question in the May 6 primary, has a lot riding on it — not the least of which are Ohioans’ personal safety and comfort traveling on our winter-ravaged pockmarked roads.

Without the money provided by Issue 1, a three-decade-old program that funds road, bridge and other public-works projects, only 2 miles of the 10 miles of freshly paved roadways in Mahoning County could have been tackled in 2013, according to Patrick Ginnetti, Mahoning County engineer and a member of the Ohio Public Works Commission that allocates state dollars to local projects.

“This [Issue 1] is our lifeblood. Without it, we could never do what we do” in improving the infrastructure in the Valley, Ginnetti said.

Voters first approved the State Capital Improvement Program in 1987 after it was carefully crafted by Harry Meshel, former state Senate president and current Youngstown State University trustee. Voters easily renewed it in 1995 and 2005. General-obligation bonds of up to $120 million per year were issued initially, with the amount increasing to $150 million per year in 2011. This year’s ballot measure would up that public-service ante to $175 million and then $200 million in the final five years of the proposed 10-year extension.

A “yes” outcome at the polls May 6 will allow the state to continue such help to local communities without the burden of new taxation. As such, a “yes” vote for Issue 1 is a no-brainer.

VALLEY HAS PROFITED

It’s an investment well worth the making for Ohio’s 11 million people, including the 560,000 of us who travel roads, cross bridges and use public-water systems in the Mahoning Valley. Since its inception, Issue 1 has provided $138 million in assistance to Mahoning County, $127 million to Trumbull County and $64 million to Columbiana County for meat-and-potato infrastructure improvements.

Among the hundreds of Mahoning Valley projects it has helped to finance recently have been:

Major water-line replacements along Mahoning Avenue in Austintown from Issue 1 grants totaling $1.085 million.

Elimination of a bypass of the Campbell sewage treatment plant that would pollute the Mahoning River during peak storm water periods via a $750,000 grant.

Massive citywide resurfacing of Warren streets in 2013, of which Issue 1 chipped in about $1.4 million.

As if massive improvements to our roads, bridges and water systems don’t provide enough evidence to rally around Issue 1, consider its other selling points. For one, local control over project selection remains paramount. Recommendations to the OPWC come from local members of district committees who know first-hand the infrastructure needs of their communities. Those recommendations are approved almost universally, according to Michael Miller, OPWC director.

Its funding also benefits cash-strapped local governments, still reeling from the impact of massive losses in Local Government Funds from Columbus. In addition, the grants jolt economic development. According to Miller, Issue 1’s renewal will create about 3,500 construction and related jobs over the next decade.

Issue I also has built what many consider unthinkable in the halls of the state Legislature: bipartisanship. Just about all Republicans and Democrats in the Ohio House and Senate have joined to support the measure. In fact, as of now, no formal — or even informal — opposition has challenged the wisdom of Issue 1.

That’s likely because Issue 1 stands on solid ground with a solid record of concrete accomplishments. As such, Ohio voters would be foolish to reject continuation of this critically important public-works program.