Ohio’s response to coronavirus: Was it enough?

The coronavirus pandemic has hit communities hard in every aspect of life, and Portage County is no exception. Ohio legislatures have worked on various policies to provide relief to communities in Ohio since the pandemic started, but have they done enough?

Since the shut down in March, Ohio’s economy hasn’t seen many gains in the state tax revenue; however, July marked the first showing of any financial gains in three months. It’s expected that Ohio’s economy will not bounce back until years later.

Tom Wilke, economic development director for city of Kent, said businesses were hit hard when the pandemic first started and are continuing to suffer economically, as business is still not back to normal.

“If Governor DeWine had extra money lying around, he probably would have put together programs to help out the state, but the state’s in a different situation than the federal government,” Wilke said.

Despite the lack of relief funding from the state when Ohio shutdown, the state did liquor buybacks for any unopened bottles restaurants or bars had bought to stock up for St. Patrick’s Day weekend and March Madness.

“The state did buy back all unopen bottles of liquor that any restaurant or bar wanted to sell back,” Wilke said. “And that actually was a big cashflow boost for [the state of Ohio] at the beginning of the pandemic.”

Most relief businesses in Kent received was from the federal government through the CARES Act. Business owners were able to apply for a payroll protection program, which was a loan turned grant to further assist businesses to keep paying their employees through the shutdown.

Budget cuts at the state level are now common. Sue Brannon, budget and finance administrator for Portage County’s Department of Job and Family Services, said state funding for Jobs and Family Services was cut by almost $200,000 for fiscal year 2021.

“As a county instituted a hiring freeze, so we have had to just maintain our levels, and if people have left, we’ve not been able to fill positions unless it was a crucial position,” Barron said. “But what happens there is… if we lose too many caseworkers, for example, then we’re not able to keep up with our caseloads.”

Once the pandemic hit, Jobs and Family Services received mostly federal funding that was filtered down at the state level from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, which Portage County is mandated under. With these funds, the department was able to provide $300 in cash or check to anyone who lost their job due to the pandemic.

Now, the department is requesting about $300,000 from Portage County’s CARES Act funds to create a type of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding that people without children can apply for, as well as funds to set up a mortgage assistance for those in need.

“For this program, what we would like to have that same type of program for those that maybe are single and that have no minor children that have been affected by it,” Brannon said.

While Jobs and Family Services received significant budget cuts from the state, Portage County hospitals received extra funding in order to equip hospitals with proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

“[Portage County hospitals] got a heavy dosage of pretty much anything they really asked for,” said Brett Lee, deputy director for Portage County Emergency Management Agency (EMA).

Hospitals like University Hospitals Portage Medical Center received PPE like surgical gowns, gloves, N-95 masks and disinfectant supplies from the state to better equip healthcare workers on the frontlines.

Lee said hospitals did receive CARES Act funding from the federal government and Portage County EMA worked directly with area hospitals to help fill 213 Resource Request forms for supplies they needed.

“A lot of our 213’s that we receive here from Portage County are all for PPE needs for different stakeholders and additional needs for the nature of COVID-19,” Lee said.

While Lee believes the state did more than enough to assist hospitals in Portage County during the height of the pandemic, Brannon felt like the state further amplified the issue of her department not having enough money to help the members of their community.

“With the Children’s Services specifically, this past year, state fiscal year 20, they had increased our funding for the first time in a long time when the new governor came in, and it was close to… $500,000,” Brannon said. “And then to have it be in the second year of the biennium budget and have them slash it, that was a little bit hard too because we were just seeing some benefits of that money.”

Kent businesses are starting to bounce back with local programs like the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) and a more relaxed alcohol-related rules for allowing people to drink outdoors.

“[DORA] would have been much more difficult [and] taken much longer if we tried to do the same thing last year, and they really expedited the process for us in Kent,” Wilke said.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to be an issue in Portage County, the county is finding new ways to get by due to the lack of state funding. Brannon recognizes the pandemic came as a shock to everyone, but hopes the state can keep working to provide support for its citizens.

“We are trying to do as much as we can with what we’ve been given,” Brannon said. “We know that people are struggling, and we know that they’re going to need us.”

Did the state of Ohio do enough to help Portage County during the height of the pandemic? Learn more about how different areas got state assistance. https://t.co/dqrk621Gnw

— Molly Heideman (@mollyhjmc) October 14, 2020