Legislators talk budget, energy

TIFFIN — State Rep. Gary Click and State Sen. Bill Reineke attended the Seneca Regional Chamber's annual legislative event Wednesday at Tiffin University's Marion Center. Click was the first to speak and began his update by discussing the state budget, which must be presented to Gov. Mike DeWine by June 30. "There was some concern that some of our private universities might be locked out of the governor's merit scholarship," Click said, adding that he had received phone calls from the presidents of Tiffin University and Heidelberg University. "I went to bat for them and carried that message, we made sure that our private universities are able to participate in the scholarship." Click then addressed library and school funding, saying that the state has "actually given $7 million more" and that "there were some complaints that we were going to short them and really what it comes down to is the fact that the governor (Mike DeWine) was going to give them $100 million more, and we didn't think that was appropriate." He said the funding model for libraries was changed but that "libraries are not going to turn off the lights." Click said he's concerned about the burden on taxpayers related to schools. "We are supporting our public schools, but we are also trying to be sensitive to the taxpayers," he said. "Our property taxes went up and so we have said no more than 30% carryover from year to year in the schools." According to Click, the budget includes $555 million in additional funding for schools. He also discussed Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Center's Aim Higher program, which helps students who are at risk of dropping out. "They started with 10 students, they ended up with 186 students that had a 100% graduation rate," Click explained. "In that program, they made up over 600 credits for these students that were at risk of dropping out." Superintendent Greg Edinger met with Click, discussing Vanguard-Sentinel's desire to create a pilot program for Aim Higher. "We never did drop the bill because we were able to get the majority of it into the budget," Click explained. "We got $750,000 to create a pilot program based on the work Greg Edinger is doing with his staff." Reineke concluded the luncheon by discussing energy. "Ohio is part of the PJM Territory or the grid (PJM operates a power grid that covers electricity transmission for 13 states and Washington, D.C.)," Reineke said. "Not all the decisions that each state makes settle well with the other states." He said that there are four issues being taken into consideration when it comes to energy, including consumer costs and supply. "Energy is going to go up," Reineke said. "We have to make sure we have a supply because we all want to be able to turn the lights on, turn the heat on. Businesses are moving here and we've got to have an energy supply for that." He also touched on transportation. "Seneca County is one of the few counties without a four-lane (road), but we started two years ago with budget requests, study putting a highway in from Canada all the way down through Ohio." There is a new portion of the budget where "we push back on the Ohio Department of Transportation to get a plan" about how to improve transportation between Northern Ohio through the Columbus area into the Southern area. The state in general sees a ton of trucking and logistics-based traffic. He added that he feels it is important for smart and community-minded people to serve. "I want to emphasize that it is really important for you all to get involved," Reineke said. "We need good local talent on all of our boards. It matters."