Cars and Parts Springfield Swap Meet
Carroll Commencement
Fairborn commencement
Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > June > 22 > Entry
Guest column: One less law now divides Dayton from its neighbors
Paul Leonard is a former mayor of Dayton and former lieutenant governor of Ohio.
City officials may not feel like it, but the Ohio Supreme Court just may have done Dayton a favor. It was time to bury the archaic residency rule that required that city employees live within the borders of Dayton. Required residency was the ultimate symbol of parochialism, a relic from the days when Dayton used forced annexation to bring new taxpayers inside the city’s borders. It was one of the last remnants of a time of “us against them.”
Admittedly, there was a period in our history when the residency rule was more acceptable. Dayton had nearly a quarter of a million people living within its borders; business leaders lived within the city; corporations made Dayton their home; and the city’s revenues outpaced its expenditures.
Even Kettering, before it became a city, asked to be a part of Dayton — a request which was turned down by Dayton’s leadership. The city’s challenge then was to manage growth.
The negative news stories were about things like investigations into illegal bingo operations, and a city commissioner who ran off with his underage baby-sitter. Today, it’s just the opposite. The negative stories are usually about economics — people losing their jobs and businesses heading south or west. In the “good ol’ days,” Dayton was the essence of Montgomery County. County governments in Ohio were sleepy, rural-oriented governments that didn’t do much more than manage trash and water. The cities had all the power.
It’s different now. Successful local governments must be more regional in their approach to challenges, especially as taxpayer dollars are shrinking.
One might be tempted to argue that a city that’s shrinking needs to keep as many people as it can inside the city’s borders. Here’s the problem: A city can’t profess to be committed to a regional approach to challenges and assume a position of leadership in that region while, at the same time, sending a message to its neighbors that there is something wrong if Dayton’s employees choose to live outside of the city.
Dayton is either going to be parochial and support parochial rules and regulations, or it’s going to claim its rightful position of leadership in the region and accept the court’s decision as a “blessing in disguise.”
Dayton has to be one of the most resilient towns in America. Every time we’re counted out, we survive. This is an easy town to live in. The future will be different, but better. I’m convinced of it.
We may never again see 250,000 people living inside the city. Business leaders will probably continue to gravitate to the more affluent suburbs. And the monster corporations will be replaced with a more diverse community of smaller businesses.
The biggest change, and challenge, however, will be in regional governance. We cannot afford to continue a system of taxation that has to support more than 600 school districts in a state with 88 counties, and 3,500 local governments. That’s just too much government.
Although I probably won’t live long enough to see it, Dayton and Montgomery County are likely to merge some day — not because merger is preferable, but because it’s more affordable.
The day is coming when lower taxes will trump the desire to have governmental bodies for tiny jurisdictions. When that happens, or even before it happens, or even if it doesn’t happen, the City of Dayton must lead this entire community into the future. Borders cannot function as barriers. The days of parochialism must be a part of our past, not our future.
In that respect, the Supreme Court’s decision paved the way for a more intellectually honest commitment to regionalism: We now have one less law that divides Dayton from its neighbors.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: City of Dayton, Guest Columns, Ohio politics
Tweet
Comments
By Mark
June 22, 2009 10:52 AM | Link to this
I agree wholeheartedly with this opinion; and Paul, I hope you live long enough to see Dayton and Montgomery County merge.
By david sebald
June 23, 2009 1:52 PM | Link to this
Mr. Leonard, remember when you were mayor of Dayton Oh. and held the deciding vote on residency? You abstained from voting and residency remained! you lied to All city workers that supported you.
By Gary
June 23, 2009 10:26 PM | Link to this
Mr. Leonard, I agree with your editorial. I’ve made your same argument in previous comments to the DDN editorial, which was against the Supreme Court decision. This is part of the regionalism DDN has been championing. The editorial board hasn’t quite figured out that Dayton can’t have everything it wants anymore. It’s a new day. As for a city/county merger, the idea is nothing new having been done in many other large cities, first in Indianapolis many years ago and more recently in Louisville. It’s an idea with a lot of merit, but, the planets really have to align. And the City of Dayton has a VERY long way to go before it’s suburban planets will line up with it. And rightly so. The City of Dayton doesn’t have what it takes to surpass the offerings of the suburbs’ governments. Dayton has issues.
By Cooking games for girls
June 1, 2011 7:06 AM | Link to this
Howdy, I’m very happy by using search engines with regard to redirecting me personally in this good www.journal-news.com. To be truthful, I seriously obtained the things i was looking for at a very long time on the internet search!! I actually desire to give thanks administrator with this terrific share in this blog. I’m sure administrative will probably tell us more details on this kind of theme with the latest additional putting up in this particular terrific web page. Thank you.