Article published May 13, 2009
Governor keeping tax hike on table
Strickland says he'll hear all sides
By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS - Gov. Ted Strickland yesterday said he won't take the possibility of a tax increase off the table as he negotiates with legislative leaders over how to deal with the state's budget woes.
But he said again that he doesn't think a tax hike at this point would be a good idea.
"I want to work in good faith with both parties in both houses, so I don't think it's appropriate, having said that, to enter negotiations with a lot of lines drawn in the sand," the governor told reporters shortly after speaking to about two dozen members of the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce meeting in Columbus.
Mr. Strickland said he doesn't believe his comment represents a softening of his prior rhetoric against tax hikes during the depths of a recession.
"I don't, but it would be unseemly of me on one hand to say to the leaders, 'Let's sit down, and I'll work with you,' and before we do that start laying out a lot of lines in the sand or mandates," he said. "I think I'm being very reasonable in that regard."
Senate President Bill Harris (R., Ashland), however, was only too happy to sweep the notion of a tax hike off the table."We'll take it off the table," he said. "It's not on the table. We are not for raising taxes, and we will do everything we can not to have a tax hike."
House Democrats recently pushed a $55 billion, two-year budget through that chamber along a party-line vote. The spending plan was $622 million bigger than the proposal Mr. Strickland sent the chamber.
Almost immediately after its passage, lawmakers learned that dismal income-tax collections during the crucial tax month of April had contributed to a new budget hole for the fiscal year ending June 30 that could open as wide as $900 million.
The governor's office has identified about $150 million in short-term savings by canceling contracts, refinancing debt, and other short-term efforts, but Mr. Strickland said he expects to have to use at least some of the $948 million in the state's rainy-day fund reserves to fill at least part of the immediate budget shortfall.
But the next two-year budget also counts on using those funds, so spending them now would immediately render the House Democratic budget out of balance. The plan is under consideration in the Republican-controlled Senate.
In talking to the Toledo chamber, Mr. Strickland pointed to northwest Ohio as an "embryonic" sign of economic recovery as he pushed for passage of his overhaul of the state's K-12 education system.
"Northwest Ohio has become a thriving hub of alternative and renewable energy initiatives," he said. "We must not allow temporary economic challenges to let this great job-growth opportunity slip away from us. As the state's economy changes and advances, we must also modernize the way we educate our young people and prepare them for the jobs of the future."
Carol Van Sickle, the chamber's vice president of public affairs, said Mr. Strickland's tying of education to northwest Ohio's future was on target.
"How we provide education really has to be changed to make us world competitive," she said. "We are competing with firms all the time in the new areas [of alternative energy]. We need people who are strong in science and math, and we need to recognize that more young people can do it than we give them credit for."
Rep. Barbara Sears (R., Sylvania), who attended the meeting, said the governor should have updated his notes after House Democrats changed some key elements of his education plan. She predicted that even House Democrats may not recognize it when it returns from the Senate with the rest of the budget.
But she agreed with the governor that the Toledo area could be well positioned for a comeback - eventually. "I think Toledo will be a little delayed in coming back," she said. "That just speaks to our closeness to Michigan and our manufacturing and auto reliance. But when Toledo starts to see the turn, I think the rest of the state's going to be relatively healthy."
Contact Jim Provance at:
jprovance@theblade.com
or 614-221-0496.
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