Despite a year of accomplishments and growth, Summit County officials will need to get creative and strategic amid ongoing threats to state and federal funding for programs, according to its top leader.
Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro addressed the county's successes — and her concerns about the future — during her annual State of the County address, which she gave to a sellout crowd of nearly 1,000 at the John S. Knight Center in Akron Wednesday.
Concerning the federal government shutdown, Shapiro said Summit County has not yet seen any ripple effects – but hopes Congress comes to a quick compromise soon.
“It is my hope that our elected officials there will understand what it means when it cascades down and come to a quick and a meaningful solution, between the two [parties,]” Shapiro said. “A little bit early to say, so we are monitoring it.”
Rep. Emilia Sykes was among those in attendance.
Sykes told Ideastream Public Media after the event that she’s not sure how long the shutdown will last.
“Probably a question that’s better asked for the Speaker of the House and the Senate of what are they going to do to make sure this shutdown doesn’t last, and at the moment, we’re just seeing them make jokes and throw the blame at anybody but themselves,” Sykes said. “But they run the federal government, and so we’re asking them to stand up and be leaders, and whenever they’re ready to do that, I’m sure that’s when we’ll see the federal government open.”
Amid ongoing federal cuts, several programs that helped the county grow over the past year are at risk of losing funding, Shapiro said.
“While we face significant headwinds from shifting priorities and dramatic cuts at the state and federal levels, Summit County remains steadfast in its mission to serve our residents, safeguard our communities and support our local economy,” Shapiro said. “The challenges before us are not hypothetical. They are real, and they are here, now.”
One program at risk of funding changes is the county’s On-the-Job Training initiative, which reimburses participating employers for professional development training and placement.
In the past year, the program gave more than $500,000 in incentives across polymers, tech and plumbing industries, and employees placed in the jobs earned an average starting wage of $21 per hour, Shapiro said.
“The On-the-Job Training incentive program is just one of many programs we use to empower our residents that is now threatened due to lack of funding,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro also addressed “unprecedented headwinds” coming from federal and state changes to programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often known as food stamps, and Medicaid.
“The anticipated cuts coming to these programs will make it more difficult for individuals and families to apply for or maintain eligibility for health insurance and food assistance,” Shapiro said. "While we cannot control those changes locally, we can control our efforts to help navigate these complex processes.”
The county will increase its outreach efforts to help community members learn about new eligibility requirements, she said. They are considering locating case managers at local library branches to answer questions and assist residents, she said.
“The ripple effect of cuts to Medicaid, in particular, will be felt across the community,” Shapiro added. “Hospitals and healthcare providers will face significant challenges, and critical substance use and mental health services will be out of reach for many.”
Shapiro called on philanthropists, nonprofits and the business community to work with public officials to help people at risk of losing benefits, and to ensure residents are able to meet any new federal and state work requirements.
“I believe challenges bring opportunity,” Shapiro said. “Things will get harder. But we have faced challenges before – the Great Recession, the opioid epidemic, the pandemic — and yet we stand together, stronger than ever.”
As Ohio continues its ongoing redistricting process, there is concern that Summit County will be split up into different districts. Currently, the county falls in the 13th District represented by Emilia Sykes.
Shapiro hopes that will continue, she said.
“At one time we had four representatives, which means you have to get four people together to agree on anything before you can take the first step,” Shapiro said. “It would be my strong, strong opinion that we would like Summit County to stay in one place and be able to work with Emilia Sykes and her team to continue to move our community forward. Four people just makes it more difficult, that’s all.”
Congresswoman Sykes agreed with Shapiro’s comments.
“We struggled when we did not have Summit County whole,” Sykes said. “My appeal would be, on behalf of the people of this county and this area, to have a compact district that makes sense, that keeps [Ohio's] fourth largest county together.”
Infrastructure improvements ongoing across the county
The county has completed several crucial infrastructure improvements in the past year, Shapiro said.
The county’s Sewer District extended service along State Route 93 in New Franklin and completed one phase of a project on State Route 162 in Copley. They also addressed failing septic systems in Boston Heights, she said.
Officials are finally moving toward a decades-long goal of providing sewer service to Peninsula, Shapiro added.
“That project is critical not only for development, but for protecting the Cuyahoga River and our national park,” Shapiro said.
The county has also expanded Summit Connects, a public safety fiber network, which began construction last year.
The county has put in more than 50 miles of the ring, and construction is expected to be completed by next spring.
“Once finished, the Summit Connects fiber ring will link every community to a secure public safety network and serve as a backbone for future services like data sharing, smart utilities, and much more,” Shapiro said. “The connectivity provided by this project is both foundational and illustrative of how Summit County consolidates services to best serve residents.”
The technology is already being used at the Summit Emergency Communications Center, a consolidated dispatch center that, she said, handles 840 calls per day.
The center is the first in Ohio to use artificial intelligence for calls placed to non-emergency lines, Shapiro said.
“Our dispatch center fields nearly 250,000 non-emergency calls each year ... that can pull dispatchers away from a true emergency,” Shapiro said. "The AI system quickly handles routine calls, while immediately transferring emergencies to a live dispatcher, improving their response times.”
Communication across the county has also become more streamlined this year due to the widespread implementation of UniteUs, a referral platform used by hundreds of organizations in the county, she said.
The system connects residents and businesses to services like housing, food and employment. Thus far, the system has connected more than 4,000 residents to services, Shapiro added.
Shapiro also touted the opening of the new board of elections.
Looking ahead to future improvements
In addition to helping residents navigate changes to federal and state programs, housing will be a priority over the next year, Shapiro added.
The county was recently accepted into a working group convened by New York University to develop housing solutions, Shapiro said. They will work alongside city officials from Akron and Cuyahoga Falls as well as the Summit County Continuum of Care, Realtors Association and the Land Bank, she added.
Over the past year, the county improved more than 240 homes and secured a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to modify homes for older adults. The grant will help with features like stair rails and grab bars to help seniors in their homes, Shapiro said.
“But let me be clear: federal funding for all of these programs is at risk,” Shapiro added.
The county will continue improving its housing stock through a strategic working group, using research compiled over the past year, she said.
Advancements could be ahead in the polymers sector, thanks in part to the Polymer Industry Cluster in Akron, Shapiro added. She touted several state and federal grants secured over the past year to support the cluster’s work, including a $3 million grant in January focused on skills training and job placement for young people.
The cluster recently named Dr. Hans Dorfi, a former leader at Bridgestone, as its executive director, Shapiro added.
A new facility at the University of Akron will house researchers, small businesses and polymer companies looking to accelerate material production, Shapiro added.
“This new facility is not just an investment in physical infrastructure. It’s an investment in the future of our economy,” Shapiro said.
The county is continuing to work on the Summit Health and Safety Innovation Fund, a $45 million endowment fund approved by county council last year. Officials have established a structure to create a supporting organization for the fund. Pending federal government approval on some of the fund’s key aspects, the fund is planned to be operational by 2026, Shapiro added.
