Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown discussed Uncle Sam’s commitment to local roads, bridges, jobs and housing Thursday with people who work in the public-private spaces that drive employment and housing.
Before heading down to Canton to do the same, Brown convened the 10 a.m. roundtable discussion at the Summit County offices on Main Street with about a dozen participants. Engineers and mayors came from Summit County, Cuyahoga Falls, Lakemore, Barberton, Richfield, Mogadore and elsewhere; CEOs and consultants from Testa Companies and GPD Group attended. Labor bosses talked about pushing for prevailing wages in upcoming projects. And executive directors of quasi-public housing developers from the county land bank, the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation (EANDC) and the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA) spoke of the benefits of federal grants.
Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, arranged the sit-down as the U.S. Senate waits its turn to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s federal spending plan, an early draft of which cuts housing, transportation and other domestic programs largely to boost defense and military spending.
Rejected by some Republicans, it’s called the skinny budget — a phrase normally characterizing wishful thinking in budgeting but, in this case, also a reflection of sharp cuts.
Trump has taken criticism for numerous proposals or campaign flip-flops in his first 100 days in office — but none with as many zeros as the $1 trillion in infrastructure spending the billionaire real estate developer and speculator promised but has yet to propose.
“I’ve talked to his top economic advisor and his secretary of transportation and neither is saying that they are moving very quickly on this infrastructure plan,” Brown said before the Thursday gathering. “They may do a tax reform first. But nobody knows what that looks like. They just haven’t got their legislative agenda together.”
Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, joined colleagues in the Senate to jumpstart the conversation by introducing “A Blueprint to Rebuild America’s Infrastructure” four days after Trump took office. The plan calls for American products and jobs to be used on taxpayer-funded projects. It details how to spend the $1 trillion on America’s roads, bridges, sewers, schools, homes and more over the next decade.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said two weeks ago that the president will unveil his $1 trillion spending plan sometime later this year. With Trump pitching public-private bonding, Brown remains skeptical of any plan that would allow Wall Street investors to finance and profit from taxpayer-funded projects.
Potholes
They don’t make cars like they used to, Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters told Sen. Brown
“If you’re my age and you think back, a ‘74 Plymouth Fury could go over a curb at 50 mph. No damage,” Walters said. “The newer cars are light-weight with low-profile tires. They cannot take a hit from a pothole.”
Walters and civil engineers expressed dismay at a gas tax that funds road improvements but hasn’t budged since 1993, even as the cost of asphalt and labor has increased. Less state and federal funding means fewer miles of roads fixed each year. “We’ve slowly fallen behind,” said Walters. He gets calls from constituents wanting to sue the city after replacing flat tires and cracked rims.
A second major concern, he added, is sewers — a public works project crippling Akron’s capital budget.
Development grants
Trump’s budget would clip the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
It borrows $499 million by draining the Obama administration’s “TIGER” grant program, responsible for $5 million in matching funds to renovate downtown Akron and attract private investors, like Joel Testa, who joined the discussion.
Also in jeopardy is the Community Development Block Grant program, which has allowed Akron to help EANDC and other groups remove lead water pipes and providing affordable housing. But small communities, many with systems that date back to the second world war, benefit, too.
Norton, Clinton and Peninsula, like Akron, have been told by the federal government to pay now for problems bubbling in sewer and water lines for generations.
In Springfield, theblock grant program helped update homes that didn’t have toilets 25 years ago. In Lakemore, before he became mayor, Richard Justice said a $350,000 CDBG award helped install mercury switches to overhaul the water system. Other funding has helped septic owners maker the costly switch to city sewers, ultimately safeguarding Ohio’s streams and rivers from human waste and pollution.
“I take offense,” Justice said of those in the Trump administration who say the federal grants don’t make a difference.
“We’re left on the local level to deal with the pitch forks,” said Jason Dodson, chief of staff for Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro. “People are coming in saying, ‘How can you expect us to pay for this?’”
Dodson doesn’t blame the EPA. But he said “there needs to be a funding system” that eases the burden for local rate and tax payers.
Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority Executive Director Kyle Julien said $95 million in projects are waiting for funding. Federal funding for such projects is at its lowest point in 25 years, Julien said. “Trump’s skinny budget would cut that in half.”
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .