Friends and family are mourning as flags flew at half-staff to honor former Gov. John J. Gilligan, who died this week. Among those sharing their thoughts are House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) and former Senate President Harry Meshel (D-Youngstown). Two big changes are coming to taxes in Ohio this weekend – the state sales tax goes up, and the state’s personal income tax goes down. For nearly three months, law enforcement around the state have been able to run driver’s license photos through a facial recognition software – though until this week, almost no one knew about it.
With income tax cuts, a sales tax increase and property tax changes in the state budget, it affects everyone, at all levels of the economic scale. A few weeks ago, two top lobbyists from Ohio’s business community talked about what the budget included for the groups they serve. This week, two people who work closely with folks at the lowest end of the economic spectrum are here to talk about what’s in the budget for their constituencies – and what’s not. Phil Cole is the executive director of the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies, representing 50 agencies working with low-income people in all 88 counties. Will Petrik is the state director for Advocates for Ohio’s Future, a coalition of more than 400 local health and human services groups.