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StumbleuponGovernor vetoes Dayton-related budget provisions concerning Twin Valley
Related: Budget notes: Where state money goes
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
COLUMBUS — As expected, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland line item vetoed two Dayton-related provisions as he signed the $1.3 billion capital improvements budget — one to delay the closing of Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare for six months and the second to earmark $6.3 million for a Dayton-based mental health care crisis center.
The two-year brick and mortar spending plan that Strickland signed on Tuesday, June 24, includes $16.3 million for Dayton-area projects with the potential of creating 1,400 jobs, plus millions more for area colleges and universities.
Twin Valley, located on Wayne Avenue, and a mental hospital in Cambridge are scheduled to close Monday, June 30, as part of Strickland's plan to plug a hole in the state operating budget but House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, and community leaders mounted an unsuccessful effort to postpone the closing and provide the $6.3 million to help the community adjust.
"The state will continue working with local communities to explore alternative uses for the facilities," Strickland said in his veto message.
The $6.3 million would come from $8 million allocated statewide for mental health department projects and programs.
"The earmark would create an inequitable distribution of funds statewide," Strickland said in his veto message.
Husted said that he was "surprised, to some extent" by the vetoes.
"I thought this was a fair compromise to really minimize the negative impact of the governor's decision to close Twin Valley," he said.
If the administration doesn't come up with a "real solution" acceptable to the Dayton community during the summer, the legislature will take up the issue in the fall, Husted said.
Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com.
