OML UPDATE AT-A-GLANCE
Here are the top seven things you need to know from this past week:
· The League has announced the 2022 schedule for the OML Municipal Officials Training Seminars. These important seminars will equip municipal officials to best lead their communities by covering topics such as home rule and local control, city and village financing procedures, council powers and procedures, public records and liability for municipalities and municipal officers. Click HERE to register. Learn more in the article below.
· OML Regional Conferences are back! Mark your calendars for the return of our in-person regional meetings from May through August. The League will once again be holding four one-day conferences in each of the four corners of our state to bring important educational resources and networking opportunities to our members. These meetings will be in addition to our Annual Conference which is scheduled for late fall of this year. Dates and location information can be found in the article below.
· Office of Budget and Management (OBM) will be holding a webinar on Monday, January 24 at 2 p.m. to discuss the issuance by U.S. Treasury of the Final Rule for allowable expenditures related to the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program. Learn more about the webinar and register HERE.
· The Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM) is offering one final opportunity for unresponsive non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs) to apply for their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation. OBM has opened the application portal up through February 11, 2022 to allow for those that were previously unresponsive to apply. The application can be found at https://grants.ohio.gov/fundingopportunities.aspx under the funding opportunity titled “American Rescue Plan Act-Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for Ohio Non-Entitlement Units of Local Government.” Read more in the article below.
· Last Friday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Ohio’s new congressional maps unconstitutional. This ruling came after the court ruled earlier that the proposed redrawn legislative district maps also did not meet constitutional standards. The court retained jurisdiction in both cases and instructed the General Assembly to provide an alternative legislative map by tomorrow, January 22, and a new congressional map within 30 days of its ruling. The Ohio Redistricting Commission has been meeting throughout the week to meet the court’s order.
· Last Friday, the Buckeye Institute filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court for their lawsuit regarding whether taxpayers will be able to file for refunds for tax year 2020 if they worked in a local jurisdiction other than their principle place of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the Tenth District Court of Appeals and the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas have ruled in this case to uphold the constitutionality of Sec. 29 of HB 197. The Buckeye Institute has similar lawsuits pending in Cuyahoga and Lucas counties, and they have appealed the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas’ ruling to dismiss the Institute’s lawsuit on the same issue.
· The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced that Ohio will receive $483.3 million over the next five years to fix deteriorating bridges under the new Bridge Replacement, Rehabilitation, Preservation, Protection, and Construction Program (Bridge Formula Program) created by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Ohio will receive $96.7 million in fiscal year 2022. The funding will be used to improve approximately 1,300 bridges in poor condition across the state, while preserving and improving roughly 9,320 bridges in fair condition.
DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR UNRESPONSIVE NON-ENTITLEMENT UNITES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT (NEUs) TO APPLY FOR AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) FUNDS
The following is a communication from the Ohio Office of Budget and Management to unresponsive NEUs:
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), passed by the U.S. Congress in March 2021, appropriated $844 million to the state of Ohio for distribution to local governments with a population less than 50,000. During the previous application period offered by the Office of Budget and Management (OBM), your local government did not apply for your allocation and was been deemed unresponsive. Funds from unresponsive governments gets redistributed to all other eligible local governments that applied for funds.
The U.S. Treasury released their final rule on January 6, 2022 providing significant flexibility for the use of funds. Previously, funds needed to be used for specific purposes provided in the rule to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The final rule added a standard allowance for assumed revenue losses of up to $10 million. Funds used under the assumed revenue loss category can be used for most general government services, and do not need to tie back to the pandemic or the other eligible use categories. This means that your government entity could use your full allocation toward typical general government expenditures such as road paving, payroll, parks and recreation needs, facility renovations, vehicles, equipment, etc. Local governments have until December 31, 2024 to obligate funds and until December 31, 2026 to fully spend the funding. In addition, the Treasury has communicated minimal reporting requirements when using funds for revenue loss.
In recognition of this new flexibility, OBM is offering one final opportunity for your local government to apply for their allocation. We have opened the application portal up through February 11, 2022 to allow for those that were previously unresponsive to apply. The application can be found at https://grants.ohio.gov/fundingopportunities.aspx under the funding opportunity titled “American Rescue Plan Act-Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for Ohio Non-Entitlement Units of Local Government.”
If we do not receive your application by the deadline, your local government will be declared as unresponsive in accordance with the U.S. Treasury requirements and your allocation may be reallocated to other eligible local governments across the state. In addition, unresponsive local governments are not eligible for the second tranche payment. Please consider completing the application; this is a rare opportunity to use one-time funds to address the needs of your community with minimal restrictions.
If you need any assistance in applying or wish to discuss the new requirements, you may reach out to Gene Berry at (614) 728-4661 or email the Ohio Grants Partnership team at grants@obm.ohio.gov.
LEAGUE ANNOUNCES DATES AND LOCATIONS FOR 2022 REGIONAL CONFERENCES
From May through August, the League will be holding four Regional Conferences throughout the state to bring important elements of our Annual Conference right to the doorstep of the local leaders who serve Ohio's cities and villages.
Our Regional Conferences are an invaluable opportunity for municipal officials across the state to attend presentations on the many critical issues facing Ohio’s cities and villages while connecting and networking with other local leaders in their area.
Mark your calendars for the following dates:
· Southeast: Friday, May 20 – Ohio University Inn & Conference Center in Athens
· Northeast: Friday, June 10 – Hilton Garden Inn in Akron
· Southwest: Friday, June 24 – Marriott NE Mason
· Northwest: Friday, August 5 – Hancock Hotel in Findlay
We will have the agenda and registration information available in the next few weeks. We look forward to seeing you there!
2022 SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR OML MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS TRAINING SEMINARS
The League is excited to announce the 2022 schedule for our Municipal Officials Training Seminars. These seminars are designed to prepare our local leaders for the issues and responsibilities they manage as municipal officials and assist in navigating the successful management of their communities.
The presentations will cover topics such as what is Home Rule and what authorities are granted municipalities through local control, new changes to city and village financing procedures, council procedures and authorities, management responsibilities related to public records and liability issues for municipalities.
The following are the dates and locations for this year’s Municipal Officials Training Seminars:
· Saturday, March 5 – Cincinnati Marriott Northeast
· Saturday, March 12 – Doubletree Columbus/Worthington
· Saturday, March 26 – Embassy Suites Rockside, Independence
These seminars are a great opportunity for both local leaders starting their first terms in office and current municipal leaders. To find out more information and register, click HERE
OML/OMAA TO HOST WEBINAR ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT ISSUES
On Wednesday, February 23 from 11 a.m. to noon, the League and the Ohio Municipal Attorneys Association (OMAA) will be holding a webinar entitled “Labor and Employment Issues: Basics of Discipline.”
The webinar will discuss employee rights in investigations and discipline. Public employees have constitutional procedural rights which are strictly enforced by courts, arbitrators, and in civil service appeals. This session will examine which employees are subject to the standards, the multiple standards, and provide the legal basis for each including the Loudermill and Garrity standards. Investigation techniques and potential conflict between administrative and criminal investigations and discipline in union and civil service environments will be addressed. Practical applications will be presented, and sample forms and outlines will be provided.
Learn more and register HERE
