​By: Tim Schneider, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce​

​At its regular meeting at 4:00 p.m. today, Toledo City Council is expected to give first reading to Ordinance 186-19 which would authorize $3,543,000 in remaining Capital Improvement Program funding for additional 2019 capital projects. Of the funding, $435,405 comes from dollars remaining from recently closed-out capital projects. Additional projects funded would include $1.7 million for residential roadways, $1 million for software licensing compliance, $450,000 for financial and human resources systems upgrading, $35,000 for a new van to support overweight vehicle enforcement, $283,000 for fire services equipment, and $75,000 for evaluation of the downtown seawall along the Maumee River.

​By: Brian Dicken, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

Shortly after taking office, Governor DeWine introduced his first transportation budget. Included in the proposal was an increase in the motor fuel user fee, the first such increase in nearly two decades. Governor DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly should be commended for recognizing the need for additional revenue to provide for new construction and make safety improvements to our roads and bridges. The Chamber worked with a broad based statewide coalition to bring awareness to the funding situation and to call for action to be taken to address the problem. 

​By: Brian Dicken, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

​Second Chance Month is an effort to highlight attempts to provide opportunities to those individuals who have committed a crime and are wanting to re-enter into society. However for some, this may be their first chance at an opportunity to change their life.

In 2018, the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce launched Toledo REDI, or Re-Entry Development Initiative. REDI was formed in response to employers’ need to find more employees in a tight labor market. Our region continues to see low rates of unemployment and employers across all industries tell us finding employees is one of their biggest challenges to growing their company. As a result, in May 2018, more than 60 businesses attended the kick-off event to engage experts and hear some of the local success stories from both employers and employees.

​The Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce congratulates the individuals who yesterday graduated from the 2019 Institute for Leadership & Advocacy. These graduates join the more than 350 leaders who have completed this public service leadership program which continues as the longest running of its kind in the state

Here’s a quick quiz to get the week started…

1. What does Michigan have that Ohio doesn’t?
2. What do Texas, Massachusetts, California, and the Virgin Islands have in common? (hint: It’s not the weather.)
3. What does $943,445,837 represent?

May I have the envelope please?

​By: Tim Schneider, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

​At its regular meeting at 4:00 p.m. today, Toledo City Council is expected to give first reading to Ordinance 116-19 which would extend the moratorium on applications for special use permits for residential drug and alcohol treatment facilities within Council District 4 until the end of the year. The moratorium currently in place expires April 15 and is to allow Council time to review what impacts the concentration of such facilities may have on neighborhoods. The Toledo Plan Commission was recently presented a completed study and recommendations on the topic from its staff, which will be presented to Council’s Zoning & Planning Committee tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

By: Brian Dicken, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

​​The state of Ohio’s transportation budget for 2019-2020, HB62, has moved to the Ohio Senate for its consideration. The House of Representatives passed the bill last week by a vote of 71-27. Included in the bill is an increase in the motor fuel user fee of 10.7 cents per gallon over the next two years. The user fee on diesel and other fuels will increase by 20 cents per gallon over the next three years. Both fees are proposed to increase on October 1. Also included is a registration fee for hybrid and electric vehicles. It is expected that these increases will generate an additional $870M per year for roads and bridges across Ohio. Governor DeWine originally proposed an increase of 18 cents per gallon that would have generated an additional $1.2B per year to address the current shortfall for roads and bridges. The Ohio Senate is expected to put forth yet a third option for consideration on the table before a conference committee works out the final version at the end of the month. By law, the transportation budget must be signed by the Governor by April 1st.

​By: Tim Schneider, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

​​By: Brian Dicken, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into the Chamber’s public policy agenda. This week we’ll be taking a look at the transportation section. It is important to understand that the Toledo region is within a day’s drive of more than 100 million people in the United States and Canada. Therefore, it is critical to our economic success to have an efficient and well maintained transportation infrastructure in order to move people, goods and materials. ​

By: Tim Schneider, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

At its regular meeting at 4:00 p.m. today, Toledo City Council is expected to vote on Ordinance 42-19, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz’s proposed 2019-2023 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget. The proposal includes $11,512,546 for projects in 2019, of which $8,100,000 is designated for matching and planning dollars, $237,546 for the 1% for the Arts program, and $3,175,000 for new projects. These new projects include $250,000 for the city’s IT network, $400,000 for updates to Levis Square, $150,000 for building inspection permit system updates, $425,000 for landfill EPA compliance, $500,000 for parks and recreation infrastructure, $200,000 for city facility mechanical upgrades, $325,000 for police training range updates, $125,000 for brine equipment, and $800,000 for sidewalk replacement.