OML UPDATE AT-A-GLANCE

Here are the top three things you need to know from this past week:

·        On Wednesday, Governor DeWine signed HB 242, legislation preempting the ability of Ohio’s local governments to impose bans on single use plastic products and paper bags, in their communities. The legislation becomes effective 90 days after the Governor’s signature and the preemption expires after a year.

·        Also on Wednesday, the governor signed HB 669, legislation that enables delivery sales of alcoholic beverages, expands areas for alcohol consumption for permit holders and extends the ability for patrons to purchase up to three alcohol beverages “to-go” at restaurants, per meal. The bill became effective upon the Governor’s signature. On Thursday, Senate President Larry Obhoff introduced SB 374, legislation that would repeal the state’s emergency order that preempts the ability of bars and restaurants to sell alcohol after 10pm. The legislation currently has 22 bi-partisan co-sponsors.     

·        Referring to the conditions in Ohio as a “red tide spreading across the state”, at Thursday’s Coronavirus press conference, Governor DeWine stated that “65% of the population of the state is now living in a red county”. The Governor was referring to the record setting increase in coronavirus cases statewide and the increase in new counties (13) which are now classified as “red” or at a “high level of spread”. A total of 29 Ohio counties are now included in the “red” category.  


UPDATE ON OHIO CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

·        As of Thursday, there were 16,824 hospitalizations, 5,038 deaths and 3,507 ICU admissions
o  More data is available on the COVID-19 Dashboard HERE.

  • Governor DeWine released Ohio's updated Public Health Advisory System map:
  • Upgraded to Level 3 (Red): Adams, Clark, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Greene, Guernsey, Highland, Licking, Lucas, Stark, Summit, Union, and Warren.
  • Remaining at Level 3 (Red): Butler, Fayette, Hamilton, Lawrence, Madison, Mahoning, Marion, Mercer, Montgomery, Muskingum, Pike, Portage, Putnam, Richland, Ross, and Scioto.
  • Downgraded to Level 2 (Orange): Ashland and Trumbull
 

  • Governor DeWine announced the state’s positivity rate was 5.4% and the seven-day average was 4.2%. This is up from September when the positivity rate was 2.7%. He reported that today Ohio has 1,042 COVID inpatients in hospitals, which is a significant increase from the 563 patients on September 20, 2020.

  • In the last seven days, Ohio COVID-19 cases have averaged 1,475 cases per day by report date as compared to an average of approximately 1,000 cases per day only two weeks ago. Ohio's current positivity rate is 4.1 percent as compared to 2.7 percent on September 23 and 24. A total of 51 counties are considered high incidence and/or Alert Level 3 on Ohio's Public Health Advisory System.

  • Ohioans filed 20,090 initial jobless claims last week, according to statistics the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) reported to the U.S. Dept. of Labor today. There were 287,049 continued jobless claims filed last week, which was 489,253 fewer than – or less than half (about 37%) of – the peak earlier this year.

  • Over the last 30 weeks, ODJFS has distributed more than $6.9 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 821,000 Ohioans. Of the more than 1 million applications the agency has received, 95% have been processed, with 5% pending. In addition, ODJFS has issued more than $6.5 billion in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payments to more than 608,000 PUA claimants.

  • Slides the governor used during his presentation Thursday can be found HERE.


LEAGUE & MAYORS ALLIANCE HOST REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY WEBINAR NEXT WEEK

Municipalities across the country are examining current polices related to public safety and how enforcement measures are delivered. A significant emphasis of this examination by local governments and law enforcement agencies has focused on issues related to different aspects of policing reform and initiatives to provide a higher degree of service to all members of their communities. While the Ohio General Assembly has introduced different legislative proposals to address issues related to police reform, municipalities across the state have already begun the process of examining how they bring change to their own communities.     

On Wednesday, October 21st at 2pm, the Ohio Municipal League in conjunction with the Ohio Mayors Alliance will be hosting a free webinar to showcase examples of what some municipalities in Ohio are doing to respond to the calls to reimagine how public safety services are delivered and how to improve the process of policing efforts going forward.
We are honored to have as panelists Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, Akron City Councilman Russel Neal, Jr., Athens Mayor Steve Patterson along with Ohio University student Kamal Adewumi. Each of these leaders will discuss initiatives being undertaken in their communities to address issues related to how race impacts the delivery of public safety operations, programs designed to renew public trust with law enforcement and transforming public safety operations to provide greater legitimacy and accountability.

Please register HERE and join us for this important discussion on how Ohio’s cities and villages can continue to be the best places to live and work.      


LEAGUE’S FIRST-EVER VIRTUAL ANNUAL CONFERENCE WILL FOCUS ON COVID-19 IMPACTS AND RESPONSES FOR MUNICIPALITIES

The League’s 2020 first-ever virtual Annual Conference is fast approaching. We hope our members can join us from Monday, November 9 to Friday, November 13 for valuable and timely information local leaders need to navigate these unprecedented times.
 
Our Annual Conference will offer many sessions that will deal exclusively with the myriad of unique challenges Ohio local leaders are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We have crafted our agenda to ensure participants can hear from experts who will address a variety of other important pandemic-related issues such as grant opportunities and budgeting shortfalls resulting from the pandemic, COVID-19 employment law uses, evictions and homelessness, and changes to municipal income tax withholding during the pandemic.
 
We know there are many other important local concerns, such as cyber security and nuisance abatement, that local leaders are dealing with in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic and that we have included in the content presented at this year’s conference. Our Annual Conference will offer webinars on topics such as crisis management and social media, public records and a unique perspective on potential impacts of the November General Election.

Additionally, as members have found our past roundtable discussions an important opportunity to network with local officials from communities that share similar demographics, we will be offering virtual city and village roundtables to ensure participants have the chance to build critical relationships, share information and exchange best practices, all from the comfort of the location of their choosing.

Our Annual Conference is a great value for local leaders at a reduced cost of $150 for League members and $225 for non-members. Attendees will have the opportunity to access essential and up-to-date information that will greatly benefit their municipality during this unique and challenging time in our communities’, our state’s and our nation’s history.

You can find the conference agenda HERE and register HERE. We look forward to having you join us!


NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES (NLC) ANNOUNCES VIRUTAL ANNUAL CITY SUMMIT CONFERENCE

The National League of Cities' (NLC) annual City Summit conference, which will run from November 18 -20, is an event for local officials elected and staff to learn about the issues affecting local governments and expand their professional network.

This year, City Summit is going virtual, which means local leaders will get access to the same incredible trainings and workshops all from the comfort of their (home) office. Attendees will be joined by hundreds of other participants from across the country to gain best practices, tools and resources to handle whatever their community needs. The virtual conference will include informative panel discussions, keynotes and fireside chats, as well as engaging workshops and
opportunities to network with other local leaders.

To find out more and to register, click HERE.