The New Philadelphia Times Reporter:
...Strickland appeared Wednesday at the 16th annual Ohio Tax Conference, one of the largest business tax conferences in the nation, to reiterate what he and others in his administration have been repeating all month since taking office.
Ohio’s economy is in sad shape, and as a result the budget Strickland must present to the Legislature by mid-March will be a struggle.
“The choices will be tough,” he said. “The decisions will be difficult.”
The ultimate goal is improving the financial health of Ohio, he said, without raising taxes or fees and sticking with the tax cuts and tax reform put in place by former Gov. Bob Taft, his Republican predecessor, and the Legislature....
...Strickland tied his economic message to efforts to improve the state’s education system, reiterating a campaign pledge to make the system seamless beginning with pre-kindergarten.
“We can do that if we act together with the business community,” he said.
In the past, the “missing ingredient has been the willingness of political leadership and the governor to get engaged. There has to be a cooperative and collaborative group of stakeholders without preconceived ideas. We cannot make (the system) what it must be without the cooperation and input of the business community.”
After his speech, Strickland said he has instructed his agency directors to “look at everything ... where we can legitimately save money. It doesn’t mean we have made any decisions regarding any particular matter."Strickland and his staff need our support to get the job done.