Strickland Warns Of Difficult Economic Times, Asks Obama for Aid
On Monday, Governor Ted Strickland and Budget Director J. Pari Sabety projected a $7.3 billion deficit in the upcoming 2010 – 2011 operating budget, over the current $640 million shortfall which remains after $1.27 billion in budget adjustments already underway. In his statement (budget slide presentation), Strickland said that the need to initiate additional spending reductions to balance the current budget will be determined by whether considerable state aid is included in the federal government’s recovery package and if robust activity occurs in retail holiday sales.  Any further reductions to the current budget will be in addition to the $1.27 billion in budget adjustments already underway.  The Governor sent a letter to President Elect Obama asking for block grants to states to provide core services; additional TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds; and a national recovery package to stimulate the economy.

On a conference call with aging services organizations yesterday, Ohio Department of Aging Director Barbara Riley announced that the department will be forming two work groups to develop ideas for responding to the state’s fiscal crisis. One group will consist of areawide agency on aging (AAA) directors and will focus on issues specific to the relationship between the AAAs and the department. The other group will be a much broader group including representation from all of the department’s stakeholders. The specific charges to both groups will be to identify ways to increase efficiency.

Earlier in the week it was reported that the state reported October’s unemployment rate has risen to 7.3 percent up from September’s 7.2 percent, raising the total number of unemployed Ohioans to 435,000. An additional 91,000 Ohioans have found themselves without jobs over the last year. Governor Ted Strickland said Ohioans should prepare for severe economic gloom in the near future. The Ohio Department of Job & Family Services (ODJFS) has asked the U.S. Department of Labor for a $550 million loan to ensure unemployment payments to jobless Ohioans continue. The agency’s application letter seeks $50 million for December and $250 million for both January and February. Ohio cannot access federal resources until the state’s trust fund balance reaches zero; ODJFS officials indicated they believe the fund will remain solvent through December, but requested money for that month just in case. The balance in Ohio’s trust fund was about $277 million as of Friday, down from about $587 million a year ago, according to ODJFS.