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Fifty five KRS the talk station. It's seven six at five PRCG Talk station. Very happy Monday, Election Day eve. Everybody has at least one issue to vote on, although you may have a school, lovey to vote on or some other local issue. Here to join the fifty five KRC Morning Show, and we thank you very much for doing so. State Representative Jennifer Gross representing District forty five and she's with me. I'm a hard strong no on issue too, Jennifer, welcome to the program.
Thank you. Brian, good morning.
Now. First off, this is a constitutional amendment my correct.
Correct, based on the ballot by your legislature.
Yeah, I don't know what what to deal with that. I have read.
This enjoys bipartisan support and business organizations many organizations say the behind this Before we dive into the why we should vote no on it? What is it supposed to accomplish? Issue too?
Well, let's go back, if you don't mind, Brian, a little bit to the history. In nineteen eighty seven, this was started by Democrat Governor Celeste and it was supposedly started because our roads were in such disrepair, and back then our gas tax was fourteen cents now it's thirty eight point five since per gallon. It was to fund
local projects because our highways were in great disrepair. The highway system had been utilized more often for manufacturing, and we had lots and lots of projects, largely local, a lot of those too. But the transportation budget is also another revenue stream that we use. So we already had the transportation budget and they said, well, we need a bump of money, so Celeste put it on the ballot for five hundred million dollars. Now it's they're asking for
two point five billion. And the projects were supposed to be basically, you know, we had a backlog of local infrastructure needs back then in nineteen eighty seven, and yet every ten years we keep renewing this. So just a little bit of the history.
So this takes away the tenure renewal and ensurance. It in the constitution, so it's always funded, Yes.
It's always been.
So it was placed in the constitution every ten years, yes, sir, all.
Right, So question first thought out of the gate here, Jennifer, why do we need this separate pool of money you mentioned specifically something I was going to ask about. The gas tax is supposed to fund road improvements and maintain infrastructure. I don't know how much you take in in Ohio annually in the gas tax, but is it is that
an insufficient revenue source? And if so, doesn't that require elected officials to allocate additional funds for the roads, maybe to the exclusion of some other fun new stuff and things the state might take on.
Very good thinking, Brian, That's exactly my thought process. The transportation budget was just passed, and it passed with at eleven point five billion dollars, and that is supposed to cover you guessed it, roads and bridges. Federal vehicle registration helps safe for that as well, you know, the highways, local projects. The transportation budget covers all the things, or the majority of the things they're asking for in this
bond issue, which is fascinating. So if the people choose not to pass this, it would send it back to us. The legislature require us to use your money more fiscally sound.
So by allowing the bonds to be issued, that just means the money's being borrowed and then we've got to pay it back.
With interest.
Correct, correct, And you're absolutely right. I'm sorry I didn't answer your question quite fully before about another funding source. We have five budgets already, you know, we have BTWC and the General Revenue Fund, and the Transportation budget, and the capital budget and another budget called the IC budget.
This is a sixth.
Revenue stream, and we're asking the people for more money. We're already spending eleven point five on the transportation budget. We're asking for another funding stream. And you know, I just but it's debt.
I mean, the funding stream is borrowing that money.
So you've got to do You got to do financial obligation every and every counter of year in the budget, which is servicing the debt that you borrowed to fund this particular fund.
That's right, that's.
Right, and it's that bonds have debt and an interest to be paid back.
All right now, Now, going to this is just layers as stupid from my perspective, Jennifer, I apologize to spoil it. No, no, no, I just it. Really it bothers me. You would think that the Columbus, we've got a bunch of Republicans dominating the House and the Senate and the governor, you would think there would be more fiscal responsibility and more willingness to manage dollars rather than do something like this. So I'm frustrated by this happening in Ohio, but I'm used
to it by now with Columbus the way it operates now. Allegedly, the grants that are dealt with in this cover roads, bridges, water supply, wastewater treatments, stormwater collection, and solid waste disposal. Now, since I live in the Greater Cincinnati area, if city council had control over any one of these given projects with the money that are coming from these bonds being issued,
it will be some outrageously outlandish green focused projects. So we're gonna deal with wastewater, but we're not going to do it in the most energy, for most efficient way, mining the taxpayer dollars. We're going to do something really crazy and far more expensive in the name of I don't know, climate change or something. And on by the way, it's going to be mandated. All all this is being done by union scale wage and all the extra do deads and so I'm just looking at it.
Yes, Brian, did you see the vote yes on issue too? Signs who does that. Does your legislature pay money to tell you to vote yet? No, So if someone's spending money to get you to vote yes on issue too, but your legislature put it on the ballot, which I voted against putting it on the ballot. By the way, let's be clear, there were four of us who voted
against putting it on the ballot. But if someone's paying money for signs to get you to vote yes on issue too, why do you think they'd be doing that.
They're going to be the recipients of the project money because they're going to get the contract.
I believe you hit that on the nose. And look, I have no you know, personal problem with and I don't even know actually the people directly behind the signs. But here's what I do know. If you're going to spend money to try to get us to vote yet, there's some benefit to you to spend that money. And so you're absolutely right the people that are going to get the contracts and all of that. The other thing that's a concern to me is this, there's no clear
direction as to who would get those projects. Is the biggest project, because I had someone not in my district but I had someone call me and say, you know, it's been two decades and we have this bridge that we'd have we've had to lower load on because we can't get it fixed. So even though we keep approving all this money, we're not getting the project. And they're in a small rural county in Ohio. So how are the projects being spent, how are they divvied out? How
do we determine? And it is my understanding that once again, when we spend this money, we also then draw down additional funds from the federal government. I don't know if everybody understands what that means. What does draw down from the federal government mean? It means that if you're telling me that you think the federal government has blowed and bloated and overgrown and Ohio has to stop spending money
locally just to get more money from the federal government. So, for instance, for every dollar we spend, four dollars comes back from the federal government. In some of these projects, we have federal highway funds and things like that that we then when we spend the money, the federal government
matches us a certain amount. So the federal government has to spend more money at the federal level when we spend money, and that's an agreement that we've made which makes Ohio dependent on federal funds.
And going back to my climate change focused projects, if money comes from the Feds, it's going to come with strings attached.
That always does.
Exactly, exactly, just like our money did to the state, requiring us to keep anybody who lost their jobs on Medicaid for three years even if they got their job back. Absolutely absolutely well.
Obviously made some wonderful reasons and explained why we should vote know on this now. In final conclusion, I kind of alluded to it. Who decides ultimately which projects get funded. There's probably a million projects and this money would in no way, shape or form cover every project that every municipality wants done. So who determines where the money goes?
I would be mistaken to tell you for sure, But obviously with this amount of money there needs to be a type of controlling board that would determine it. The challenge is what are those What are those determinants?
How do we know.
Who gets prioritized? So is the larger city like Cincinnati, when they have a project, do they get do they get higher priority because somebody in Giaga, Giaga County needs something and they can't you know, they're so small that they don't have the same voice. Perhaps we need to require an audit, you know, from the auditor on this, just to be clear.
I think that's a great idea of money going well.
And you know, wherever there's more money, higher concentration of people, you know, you know, Franklin County or Cuyahoga County or here in Hamilton County, that's where the campaign contributions come from, which is probably why they'd be more likely to get the project done than someone out in Yaga County just throwing it out there.
Unfortunately. Unfortunately, Yes, that can be the case. An influential for sure.
So I've been boiling down as a it's a slush fund, which is a bad thing. So that's what I've been calling it. So it sounds to me like I can continue to label at a slush fund.
I think so, because Brian, really, if it's not approved, then we need to come up with the money. You know, I was told then we're going to have to increase taxes. Why is that the case? Our revenue is I voted against the general operating budget that we just voted on at the six hundred million to the stadium. I'm sure you don't want to get into that today, but I get tired of hearing. I'll give you a You know, if you give me a cheeseburger today, I'll give you
a dollar tomorrow. I'm tired of of us. Our revenue stream is very, very strong, and yet we keep spending the people's money with no property tax relief. We sow have an income tax and so to me, yes, if this is not passed, it requires your legislature to make some hard choices on how we're spending our dollars.
Yes, and that's their job.
Jack Jennifer Gross, proudly representing and wonderfully representing District forty five. Thank you so much for coming on the program and explaining this to my listeners and me. I will look forward to having you on the show again real soon.
Thank you, Brian, have a great day you too.
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