Ohio’s (latest) Issue 2 will help fund local infrastructure projects
This story was originally published by Signal Statewide. Sign up for their free newsletters at SignalOhio.org/StateSignals. Statewide is a media partner of the Toledo Free Press.
By Andrew Tobias | Signal Statewide
Ohioans will vote soon on another Issue 2.
But rather than legalizing marijuana, the 2025 Issue 2 has to do with something far less controversial.
If voters approve this new Issue 2 on the May ballot, the state will be allowed to borrow billions of dollars over the next decade to fund local infrastructure projects. Think roads, bridges, water and sewer management systems — the nuts and bolts of local government.
What exactly does Issue 2 do?
Issue 2 reauthorizes the State Capital Improvement Program, which has existed in various forms since voters first approved it in 1987. Voters have renewed it three times since then, most recently in 2014.
Under Issue 2, the state would be allowed to sell up to $2.5 billion in bonds, spread out over the next ten years. This is larger than the $1.875 billion that voters were asked to approve in the 2014 vote. State lawmakers who back the measure are asking for the larger amount because they say construction is more expensive than it was a decade ago.
If voters approve Issue 2, the state must pay back the bonds over a 30-year period, sort of like a mortgage loan. With interest, the total cost will be $3.84 billion, according to an estimate from the Legislative Service Commission, the state legislature’s nonpartisan research arm.
If the measure fails, the state infrastructure program will lapse on July 1.
How did Issue 2 get on the ballot this year?
The Ohio constitution strictly limits the state’s ability to borrow money. So any borrowing program requires a constitutional amendment, which only can be approved through a statewide vote.
The Ohio General Assembly voted in December to put Issue 2 on the May ballot.
When is the primary election?
The election is on May 6, although general early voting will begin on Tuesday, April 8.
The voter registration deadline for the election is Monday, April 7. Voters can register or update their registration online at the Ohio Secretary of State’s website. They also can do so in person at their local Board of Elections. Local government offices, like libraries, commonly have voter registration forms.
Click here for a full list of early voting locations and here for a list of voting hours.
Issue 2 will appear on every ballot in the state. But some communities also will hold votes to decide things like municipal offices and local liquor options.
The Ohio Public Works Commission, the state agency that administers the State Capital Improvement Program, keeps records of every project the program has funded.
From 2017 to 2024, the state spent more than $2 billion on more than 4,000 projects in communities around the state via grants and loans to local governments.
Didn’t we just vote on Issue 2?
Yes. In November 223, Ohioans approved an Issue 2, which legalized recreational marijuana in Ohio.
But Ohio is reusing the number for this vote. The measures aren’t related.
The measure has widespread support including Republican and Democratic elected officials, labor unions, business groups and regional planning groups, according to a supporters list compiled by the Yes on Issue 2 campaign.
Backers say the program helps fund crucial local government infrastructure programs.
State Rep. Scott Oelslager, a North Canton Republican, said in a speech on the Ohio House floor in December the program is especially important for small communities.
“I’ve had examples where small township trustees have come up to me and said, ‘You know, there are some years where without this money, we’d have no money for road, bridges and sewer repairs,’” Oelslager said.
Here are the official arguments in favor of Issue 2, which are required as part of the state’s rules for ballot issues. They were written by a bipartisan group of four state lawmakers.
Who opposes it?
Issue 2 has no formal opposition. A few Republican legislators voted against placing it on the ballot in December but they didn’t explain their reasons.
The lack of official detractors left the job of writing legally required opposing arguments with state employees.
The arguments take issue with the new borrowing amount being larger than the old one and the long repayment period. They also point out that the program requires state taxpayers to pay for projects they likely don’t benefit from.
No, although the state would be obligated to pay the money back. The bonds the state would issue would be backed by the state’s general revenues, most of which come from state income and sales taxes.
These debt payments will cost between $19 million and $192 million annually, although the exact amounts could change based on interest rates, according to the Legislative Service Commission. Paying the debt could come at the expense of other state priorities.
(Andrew Tobias is the Statewide state government and politics reporter)
Signal Statewide is a nonprofit news organization covering government, education, health, economy and public safety.
Local businesses brace for tariffs
Higher costs of imported goods boosts expenses, prices
President Donald Trump called Wednesday, April 2, “Liberation Day,” claiming that the new tariffs he is imposing on imported goods will free the United States from its reliance on foreign products.
The tariffs, which are taxes charged on goods from other countries, are impacting businesses and consumers around the world and across the United States, raising prices on everything from automobiles and steel imports to paper products and groceries.
The goal, according to Trump, is to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on the nation’s $1.2 trillion trade deficit by making it more expensive for firms to ship their products into the U.S.
On Feb. 10, the White House imposed a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum products imported into this country.
Many foreign nations have been charging tariffs on imported U.S. products for decades, and Trump said he is setting “fair and reciprocal” tariffs on imports from about 60 countries starting April 9.
Trump’s plan, announced April 2 in a news conference in the White House Rose Garden, includes a 10 percent baseline tariff on goods from all countries effective April 12.
On March 26, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 25 percent tariff on imported automobiles and auto parts.
The April 2 announcement included a 34 percent tariff on China, on top of a recently imposed 20 percent tariff on Chinese goods, effectively setting the total tariffs on Chinese products at 54 percent.
Trump had previously set 25 percent tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico, and those two U.S. neighbors were exempt from any further tariffs announced April 2.
Toledo-area firms have been watching and monitoring tariff news closely, hoping to gauge the impact on their businesses and their customers.
“I don’t think it will be catastrophic to our business, but it certainly would affect our margins and profitability,” said Greg Shapiro, a principal of two Northwood-based companies that are being impacted by tariffs.
One of them, Envelope Mart USA, manufactures and prints millions of envelopes every day and distributes them to high-volume mailers across the U.S.
Shapiro’s other business, H.O.T. Graphic Services, is a regional printing company that serves corporate, creative and nonprofit clients.
“The tariffs are a concern but it’s not something we’re losing sleep over at the moment,” Shapiro said.
Most of the paper his companies buy is made in the United States, he said, but one of their U.S. paper suppliers notified him that some raw materials used to make their paper comes from Canada, Mexico and China.
“We’ve dealt with disruptions for years, not so much because of tariffs but because of supply and demand, when paper mills shut down facilities,” Shapiro said.
Some of the big mills have transitioned from plants making paper to making corrugated cardboard because of all the growth in packaging with Amazon and other retailers. There have been times when we’ve been put on allocation for the amount of paper we can buy.
Greg Shapiro
In addition to raising the cost of paper, Shapiro said tariffs on aluminum are impacting his businesses because they use aluminum plates for printing.
“It’s not a major cost for printers, but it’s significant. I’m sure we spend well into six figures every year on printing plates.”
The ink and glue used by Envelope Mart USA and H.O.T. are manufactured in the United States and should not be affected by tariffs, he said.
One of Envelope Mart’s main paper suppliers notified its customers in March that it plans to add a surcharge once the tariffs go into effect.
“That would not be a good development for us because of the high volume of paper purchased,” Shapiro said. “It’s kind of out of our control, but we would be forced to pass the added costs on to new business, new contracts. For contracts that are already in effect, we probably will have to absorb some of those costs.”
(Courtesy Photo/Greg Shapiro/Envelope Mart)
Jerry Hidalgo, president of Maumee-based Metric Metal/Parker Steel, said the majority of the steel and aluminum they purchase comes from Europe.
Metric Metal, as reflected in its name, specializes in metric-sized metals and sells bars, tubes, plates and sheets of steel, aluminum, copper, brass and carbon to firms across the U.S. and around the world.
“We’re a small company that buys relatively small quantities of a lot of different items,” Hidalgo said. “We’re not the target of the tariffs, but we’re collateral damage.”
Hidalgo said his company has been dealing with tariffs since mid-February.
“Everything we sell is manufactured to millimeters, and the majority of our products come from Europe, where metric is the standard.
The tariff on aluminum was 10 percent, and now it’s 25 percent. If the tariffs impact us, it makes it more expensive for our customers, certainly. If we’re selling into Canada, the tariff has to be included in the cost.
Jerry Hidalgo
“The tariffs will make it more expensive for our customers. Like most businesses, when you get an increase in your expenses, it has to be passed along to the consumer,” Hidalgo noted.
Hidalgo said Metric Metal/Parker Steel focuses on customer satisfaction. For example, he said that phone calls to the firm are answered personally by sales people, not a voicemail system. And when a customer calls to place an order, 96 percent of the time the product is shipped that same day.
Hidalgo said the tariffs on imported metals could have a silver lining for the American steel industry.
“Domestic steel mills will be in a position to be able to raise their price because the price coming from outside of the U.S. is being raised,” he said. “Tariffs will create more room for the domestic mills to be able to raise prices.”
Will your business be impacted by the tariffs? Let us know. Contact us at editor@toledofreepress.com.
English Channel swimmer to take a dip in Maumee River for a cause
MAUMEE – Think of it as a two-for-one event and a healthy partnership. Partners for Clean Streams will have a kickoff meeting to train water quality monitor volunteers from 1-3 p.m. on April 19 in the Indianola Shelter at Farnsworth Metropark.
There will also be a special guest: A woman who is training to swim the English Channel, and she has a few things to say about the need for clean water and empowering women.
Oh, yes, and that woman, Amy Wamsley, will take a dip in the Maumee River to punctuate her messages, including why swimming is healthy in more ways than one.
Wamsley, 49, is a business consultant from the Dayton area who has been training for months to do the iconic marathon swim from England to France, considered by some to be Mount Everest of water-based endurance feats.
“I first dreamed of swimming the English Channel when I was 12,” Wamsley said. “I came across a magazine article about swimmers who completed the challenge. At the time, I was a competitive swimmer, and I remember thinking, ‘If they can do it, so can I.’”
Wamsley set a goal of completing the swim by age 50. “My swim window closes just three days before my 50th birthday. This is my chance to fulfill that promise to my 12-year-old self.”
There’s more to it than plunging in the water. Wamsley registered with the agency overseeing the swims and was assigned a timeframe during the channel swim season. She leaves for England May 14 – her swim window is May 30 through June 10. She’ll be accompanied by a piloted boat with two friends on board for medical and overall support.
She said typically there are several swimmers making the crossing at a time, spread out in the channel. The swim takes about 15 hours to cover the roughly 21 miles.
Why be in Northwest Ohio and connect with Partners for Clean Streams, based in Perrysburg? One of her goals of the channel swim is to raise awareness of the need for clean water.
“Clean water is essential, not only for swimmers, but for entire ecosystems,” she said. “Poor water quality can expose people to harmful bacteria, chemicals and pollutants, increasing the risk of infections and illness.”
Wamsley speaks from experience. On a training swim in what was thought to be clean water, she got a severe bacterial infection. She’s also seen trash and pollution in some swims.
“We drink this water. It’s what we’re swimming in, pulling fish out of,” she said, referencing the Maumee River’s famous Walleye Run.
To spread her message of water health, Wamsley has reached out to agencies connected to Ohio’s scenic rivers – of which the Maumee is one.
“Our organization built our mission around partnering with individuals and organizations who share similar missions,” said Kayla Kirkpatrick, Partners for Clean Streams program specialist. “When Amy came to us, she expressed her reasoning, which we were very excited to hear.
“We decided that our April 19 Water Quality Monitoring Training event would be a perfect way to tie in the two missions. We believe in having fishable, swimmable, drinkable waters. How could we say no?”
Kirkpatrick continued, “We felt that we could support each other’s mission by sharing our volunteer base to her efforts. In return, we felt that Amy’s swim would be a great way to spark the interest of people in our community to come join us, not just for the event itself, but continue to take part in the future.”
Wamsley addressed the health issue. “Swimming is one of the best full-body exercises, offering physical and mental health benefits. On a personal level, swimming has had a profound impact on my own health journey.”
There’s more to her undertaking than health and promoting clean water. “I don’t look like someone who’s going to swim the English Channel,” she said matter-of-factly.
“It doesn’t matter what our bodies look like. No matter how old we are, we can still try to [pursue dreams]. There’s a whole thing about women empowerment. We can still encourage each other to succeed in whatever it is that we want to succeed in.”
Wamsley added, “This past year has been one of the hardest of my life, and I truly believe that without swimming and a dedicated goal to work toward, it would have been much more difficult to navigate.”
Registration for the April 19 training is available here.
Toledo’s Human Relations Commission
On this episode of Behind the Byline, host Jaden Jefferson has a conversation with Erin Baker, chair of the City of Toledo Human Relations Commission (HRC), and commissioner Caryn Maloney.
HRC was created in 2018 by the Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz administration, and has 11 appointed community members.
Maloney and Baker talk about:
- the three active committees: Community of Neighborhoods, Social Justice and Youth Empowerment and Engagement
- the break down of who serves on those committees and how they see the commission as a bridge to the community
- how being an HRC volunteer is about passionate community members who care about advocacy and making sure the community’s voice is heard
- Snow Angel Project
- Human Library and it’s upcoming event in May
- the challenges of this current climate, and how important it is that HRC volunteers are free to create spaces for people to feel welcome and connected through greater understanding
- how to contribute and volunteer
Contact: HRC website
New episodes of the Behind the Byline drop every Wednesday on the Pod Station.
Behind the Byline is a production of the Toledo Free Press.
Zac Brown headlines Glass City Live
TOLEDO – Toledo Athletic and JAC have announced that the Zac Brown Band will headline JobsOhio’s Glass City Live at the Glass Bowl on Saturday, May 24. Dustin Lynch, Luke Grimes and Gaelic Storm will open the show.
The last major concert at the Glass Bowl occurred on July 1, 1994, when the Beach Boys and America came to town.
JAC Management Group LLC serves as the promoter and producer for the event. They are responsible for booking the bands, promoting the show and selecting the artists, in addition to managing the ticket pricing, marketing and all production details.
The first announcement of Glass City Live came on Oct. 26 at halftime during Toledo and Bowling Green’s Battle of I-75. It has been in the works for two years.
Ken Bigley, chief operating officer of JAC Management Group, said their relationships helped book the Zac Brown Band for the event.
“We’ve been promoters for over two decades. We promote throughout the midwest, in most of the United States,” Bigley said. “We have a very good name in the industry, and we’ve been doing it for a very long time. We operate in arenas and theaters, as well as promote.”
In reference to Brown, he said “he’s an iconic artist at this point, and we know he’s great to deal with and that people love to come and see him, so he’s a great act.”
Bigley also said that it was a great testament to the skills of his management group that the Zac Brown Band is set to perform in such a large venue that has not hosted a concert this size since 1994. The strong relationship with Brown played a role in the performer’s willingness to headline the show.
Bigley noted the challenges promoters go through to put on a concert, particularly in a city like Toledo.
“The initial challenge is looking through and making sure what people want to see, and going through the demographics and market information to make sure you pick the right act. Also, geographically, Toledo is in a spot where your proximity to Detroit, the proximity to Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland to the east; there’s a major throughway that helps as far as artists coming back,” Bigley explained.
“When you’re dealing with a show of this scale, there are some pretty large radius clauses. So if somebody’s playing within one of those major cities within a couple of hundred miles, it usually rules out or there’s usually a couple of hundred-mile radius on a lot.”
Ken Bigley, chief operating officer of JAC Management Group
Bigley added that the University of Toledo and the athletic department have helped pave the way for this concert.
While the Glass Bowl will host its first concert in over 30 years, the University of Michigan recently announced it will host Zach Bryan for the first concert ever performed at their football stadium. Bigley said that artists book places like Michigan because they may be chasing attendance records, while universities want to provide a better quality of life for their students. Another goal could be to do something that will have a large economic impact on smaller businesses, restaurants and bars in the city.
At the press conference announcing the event, University of Toledo athletic director Bryan Blair discussed the partnership with the JAC Management team and how sports and concerts bring people together.
“Sports and music have a lot in common. We talk a lot about the value of sports bringing people together, and music in many ways emulates those same characteristics. It brings about a deep-seated passion and emotions that you often tap into; that feeling of being in a venue and singing the same song in harmony – those are the same things we see at our athletics events, and those are the same things we see at big-time concerts,” Blair said.
“When you set out to do a concert in a football stadium, in the Glass Bowl, you have to have a shared vision, and there has to be a total lineup as you go in the same direction.”
Blair shared his thoughts on the economic and emotional impact this will have on the city of Toledo.
“I just think about the restaurants, the dining, the bars, the shopping, all that comes to life when you bring an event of this magnitude to the Glass Bowl and our campus,” Blair said.
“You’ve got that vision of tens of thousands of people on the turf in the Glass Bowl as the sun sets. You think about tens of thousands of people locking arms, hugging, and swaying, singing the same song in unison, and building lifelong memories with those they are closest to,” Blair envisions.
“We’ll have that place in their heart for eternity, that’s a special opportunity.”
Bigley said Glass City Live is designed to be an annual event depending on the municipality, media, community and business support. He also said the best way to stay updated is to visit the Glass City Live website. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
