Speaking on the steps of Dayton City Hall, Cincinnati City Council member P.G. Sittenfeld targeted John Kasich for the rollbacks in local budgets.
"This is a shell game," Sittenfeld said. "For him to take more than a billion dollars from local communities, and then be boastful about having a billion-dollar plus surplus, where did he get that surplus? It’s the people’s money, it’s the money that belongs to local communities.
He argues cities and towns are forced to make up for the losses through raising local taxes.
But the governor’s office says the cuts were just a small part of most city budgets—and they were necessary to keep the state’s budget balanced.
Chris Schrimpf is the spokesman for the Ohio Republican party. He said the parties differ on how to grow the economy.
"Do you do it by raising taxes, which is was the Democrats would do, or do you do it by creating jobs, which is what the governor did and what the Republican philosophy is," Schrimpf said.
The issue of local government funds isn’t on the agenda in the current budgeting process in the statehouse.
