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Gov. DeWine’s signature of H.B. 168 makes township funding official

COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature on Ohio House Bill 168 on Tuesday made funding for the state’s townships from the American Rescue Plan official.

H.B. 168 passed in the Ohio House of Representatives on April 15, and the Ohio Senate passed an amended version of the bill, Thursday. The House concurred the Senate amendments on Friday, leading to it DeWine’s desk.

Sen. Frank Hoagland, R-Mingo Junction, was one of the co-sponsors of the bill in the Senate, according to the Ohio Legislature’s website.

Township funding was also included in S.B 111.

Included in H.B. 168 is a specification that half of the state’s $422 million portion of funds from ARP will be distributed to non-entitlement units of local government. NEUs, according to a release from the Ohio Townships Association, specifically are cities, villages and townships with populations under 50,000.

The Ohio office of budget management will distribute the funds based on population.

“We are ecstatic that townships in Ohio are now eligible for direct ARP funds. Congress’s intention was to provide funding relief to local governments. With townships providing essential services to four million Ohioans, they desperately need these funds, just like cities and villages,” OTA Executive Director Heidi M. Fought stated in a press release. “Though it was discouraging to learn in May that Ohio townships are not considered ‘strong-minor civil divisions’ and therefore were not automatically eligible for direct ARP funds, we are heartened that our state’s leadership has recognized townships’ rightful designation as NEUs.”

The fate of almost all of Ohio’s townships in regards to the funding had been in question for several months due to varying definitions of NEUs.

The U.S. Treasury in May left the matter to Ohio and seven other states to make the determinations of the definition and eligibility themselves.

Ohio has 1,308 townships, 15 of which are in Jefferson County. Three of Ohio’s townships were allocated ARP funds in May due to having a population of over 50,000.

The OTA, the organization’s press release stated, is encouraging all township trustees and fiscal officers to obtain the funding. Treasury guidance and other important information can be found on the OTA’s website, the release notes.

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