23-04-2025
Issue Two fuels work for Valley projects
(WKBN) – Across the state, voters will decide if a ballot referendum will be re-authorized. It's known as State Issue Two and has been on the books since 1987.
If you happen to drive through a local paving, water or sewer line project in the area, chances are that at least some of the money to pay for it came from Issue Two.
'My opinion is this is probably one of the most successful programs that the state of Ohio has ever put out,' said Mahoning County Engineer Pat Ginnetti.
Issue Two was originally established for road, bridge and infrastructure projects. It has been reauthorized three times and appears again on the May primary ballot. If approved, it would provide $250 million each year for the next 10 years.
'For small communities, it might be the only dollars that they can get to pave a road,' said Hubbard Mayor Ben Kyle.
Money from Issue Two is overseen by the Ohio Public Works Commission, which divides the state into 19 districts based on population. Mahoning and Trumbull counties make up District 6. Governments within those districts have their project ideas judged using specific criteria.
'It provides fairness. It takes politics out of the equation and it forces us to come up with good projects,' Ginnetti said.
This fiscal year alone, roughly $10.5 million is being used in District 6 to help pay for more than $47 million in construction projects.
'We are able to take these dollars, leverage them to then be able to make our local share for large paving projects and infrastructure improvements, just a little bit less. So, we're able to do more,' Kyle said.
In the last year, Hubbard installed new water lines and then repaved both Rebecca and Caroline avenues using Issue Two money.
In Mahoning County, Issue Two funds helped replace a pair of bridges in Poland Township, as well as a new wastewater pumping station in Springfield and the widening of Western Reserve Road.
'If we didn't have this, our program's going to shrink drastically,: Ginnetti said.
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