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State lawmaker urges Willowick residents to back renewal of Ohio Public Works program
Summary
State Rep. Dan Toye told Willowick City Council the Ohio Public Works program has delivered millions for local sewer and street projects and urged voters to approve State Issue 2 on the May 6 ballot so the program’s authorization does not lapse July 1.
State Rep. Dan Toye told the Willowick City Council on Monday that renewal of the Ohio Public Works program is on the May 6 ballot as State Issue 2 and urged residents to vote yes to avoid the program’s authorization lapsing on July 1.
Toye said the program has supplied more than $8.4 million in grants to Willowick over its life and listed recent projects funded by OPWC, including sewer and storm-sewer rehabilitation work and street improvements. “Over the life of this program, the city of Willow Wick has gotten $8,438,000 in grants,” Toye said, and he described the program’s local scoring and funding process.
The Ohio Public Works program (OPWC) provides grants and low‑interest loans to local governments for infrastructure projects, Toye said, and local projects are prioritized at county and district integrating committees rather than by decisions made in Columbus.
Toye described the renewal on the May ballot as an authorization for state bonds; he said the proposal would increase the program’s annual authorization from roughly $200 million a year to $250 million a year and that the bonds are issued by the state and covered by its full faith and credit. “There is no tax increase involved with this,” he said.
The representative also noted other state funding tools and urged Willowick officials to contact Ohio EPA Division of Environmental Financial Assistance about grants and low‑interest loan options for sewer problems; he said the division chief, John Bernstein, recommended direct contact.
Council members and Mayor Michael J. Manning thanked Toye for the briefing and said they would share the information. One council member asked whether the issue would be refiled if it failed in May; Toye said officials expected to put the renewal back on a later ballot if necessary but that the city could lose a funding cycle during any lapse. Council members and the mayor reiterated the program’s local benefits and their support for informing residents ahead of the May 6 vote.
No formal council action on State Issue 2 took place at the meeting.
Toye also gave a brief update on the state budget and a small increase in the local government fund percentage cited in the House budget vote, and he left contact information for local officials seeking program guidance.
