OML UPDATE AT-A-GLANCE
Here are the top five things you need to know from this past week:
· Lame Duck Watch. As lame duck season approaches, each week we will be highlighting bills and issues impacting municipalities that will most likely be dealt with by the legislature during the upcoming lame duck session. The first bill we want to highlight for action is SB 365, which is sponsored by Sen. Fedor (D – Toledo). The bill would extend the authorization for members of a public body to conduct meetings or hearings virtually via electronic technology, instead of in-person, as a way to minimize exposure to the coronavirus. Currently, the authorization to conduct meetings virtually would expire on December 1. The bill has been referred to the Senate General Government and Agency Review Committee and has yet to receive a hearing. The League is very supportive of this bill. We have been speaking with members of the Ohio legislature about the importance of extending this deadline, specifically requesting that the deadline be extended to sunset 30 days after the state’s declaration of emergency expires. We encourage our members to share this information with their legislative delegation.
· The Ohio EPA is hosting two webinars that will highlight Ohio EPA’s 2021 Recycling and Litter Prevention Grant application process and the activities targeted by this grant program. The webinars will be held on November 5 and January 7, 2021. Both webinars will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This competitive grant program provides opportunities for local governments, schools, businesses and nonprofit organizations to establish and implement recycling and litter prevention programs, recycling market development for manufacturers, expansion of recycling equipment and processing facilities and recycling infrastructure improvements. The deadline for online submission is Feb. 5, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. To learn more and to register, click HERE.
· On Thursday, Gov. DeWine signed SB 163, which was sponsored by Sen. Kunze (R – Hilliard) and which included an amendment clarifying a provision in HB 62. The provision penalized local governments using red light traffic cameras by reducing their Local Government Formula (LGF) distribution by the amount of revenue collected by red light traffic cameras. The amendment ensures local governments not operating red light traffic cameras do not have their LGF distribution affected by the revenues collected by other local governments that are using red light traffic cameras.
· Dividend checks from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC) will be mailed to employers beginning this week. The dividend amount totals approximately $1.3 billion. The money is being given back to employers in response to Governor DeWine's request in August that the Ohio BWC Board of Directors approve a second dividend to provide financial support for public and private employers impacted by the ongoing pandemic. These checks will be mailed to employers through the end of October.
· Ohio’s state spending came in under estimates in September by $230.1 million, or 6.9%, while state revenue largely met estimates. Additionally, the Ohio Office of Budget and Management’s (OBM) Monthly Financial Report cited a Back-to-Normal Index, created by Moody’s Analytics and CNN, which tracks economic recovery on a scale of 0-100, which 100 indicating full economic recovery. As of October 7, the index placed Ohio at 87. The report can be found HERE.
OHIO CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE
COVID-19 Updates:
· As of Thursday afternoon, Ohio is reporting 190,430 cases of coronavirus, 4,850 deaths, 17,682 hospitalizations and 3,657 ICU admissions.
o Upgraded to Level 3 (Red): Allen, Crawford, Geauga, Hardin, Lake, Lorain, Ottawa, Tuscarawas, and Wayne
o Watchlist Counties: Clark, Cuyahoga, and Hamilton
· The White House Coronavirus Task Force strongly recommends that Ohioans limit gatherings with family and friends to prevent the virus from spreading to those most at risk of complications. Governor DeWine also urged caution for sports fans who gather this weekend to watch the Ohio State, Browns, and Bengals football games.
· Governor DeWine unveiled a new advertisement that will begin airing across the state to serve as a visual reminder of how quickly COVID-19 can domino out of control. You can watch that ad HERE.
· Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced the launch of the “Dayton MASKots” campaign facilitated through the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce to slow the spread of the coronavirus while supporting Ohio sports. This campaign challenges team mascots around the region and state to “mask up” and post a picture of their mascot with a mask on. This could be for a K-12 school, college or university, or other sports teams. Ohioans can use the hashtag #DaytonMASKots to join this effort.
· Ohio has submitted its Interim Draft COVID-19 Vaccine Plan to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The plan is a framework on how Ohio will proceed once a vaccine is available. The plan is available at coronavirus.ohio.gov.
· The Ohio Department of Health will also be launching a new registration tool for health care providers who would like to eventually administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Providers, such as local health departments, hospitals, pharmacies, and nursing facilities, will be notified soon with instructions about how they can register.
· The Ohio Department of Health has developed a technology solution to allow their systems to track negative test results. In response, Interim Director of Health Lance Himes today amended a directive that now requires all labs to start sharing all positive, negative, inconclusive, and invalid test results related to COVID-19 tests with the Ohio Department of Health.
Jobs and Employment Updates:
· Ohio recently received two RAPIDS apprenticeship rankings: number four in the U.S. for number of apprentices and number one among the 28 states with state apprenticeship systems. ApprenticeOhio programs provide full-time work during the training period as well as decent wages – so Ohioans can earn while they learn. More information can be found at Apprentice.Ohio.gov.
Nursing Facility Updates:
· Ohio's new long-term care facility dashboard is now available at coronavirus.ohio.gov. The new dashboard outlines visitation information at nursing facilities across the state. Those with loved ones in a nursing facility can search for information by county or facility to find information on the types of visits that are offered and when they are permitted. Nursing facilities were permitted to allow indoor visitations beginning October 12.
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 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.
