Governor announces $775 million budget cut

COLUMBUS » Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday he’s cutting $775 million from the state budget in the next two months because of plummeting revenue due to the pandemic.

The spending reductions are necessary now to avoid worse cuts down the road, and will affect every state agency except the prisons department, the Republican governor said.

The state went from running $200 million ahead in revenue estimates in February to the nearly three-quarter billion drop last month, DeWine said.

The governor said he’s not tapping Ohio’s $2.7 billion rainy day fund until the new fiscal year beginning in July.

The budget can be balanced now with cuts, and the rainy day money will be needed later this year and next, he said.

“This rain is not a passing spring shower,” DeWine said.

The budget slashing includes $355 million for schools and $110 million for higher education, and $210 million from the state Medicaid program, which provides health care for poor children and families.

More coronavirus developments in Ohio:

Cases climb at correctional facilities

Coronavirus cases continue to climb in adult and juvenile prisons in Ohio, according to county, state and federal agencies.

The Department of Youth Services now reports that 21 youth have tested positive, along with 10 staff, with almost all the cases at Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility in suburban Cleveland.

“This rain is not a passing spring shower.” Gov. Mike DeWine

Meanwhile, Franklin County officials confirmed that 27 staff members and 14 youth tested positive at the county’s juvenile detention center in downtown Columbus, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Statewide, 37 prison inmates have died from COVID-19, including 23 at Pickaway Correctional Institution in central Ohio, according to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. A guard and a prison nurse have also died.

In Morrow County, where at least 79 detainees are held under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement orders, jail officials announced last week that 50 detainees have tested positive.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio on Tuesday sued, seeking the release of 20 of those detainees with serious underlying health problems. A message seeking comment was left with ICE.

In eastern Ohio, the federal prison in Elkton must transfer and release 837 medically vulnerable inmates under a Monday ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected the government’s request to delay the move. Seven Elkton inmates have died and another 88 tested positive, along with 49 positive cases among staff, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Cases

The number of confirmed and probable deaths associated with the coronavirus has reached 1,135, state health officials said Tuesday. The department noted nearly 21,000 presumptive and confirmed cases of the virus, including nearly 4,000 hospitalizations.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.

Colleges

At Youngstown State University, President Jim Tressel announced temporary salary reductions to save $700,000, including a 15% pay cut from his own salary.

He also announced increased employee health care contributions and a freeze on hiring and travel.

The University of Akron is facing a $70 million shortfall from the coronavirus outbreak and will consolidate its 11 academic colleges into five, President Gary Miller said.

Plans for those changes will be announced soon, and the school’s athletic department also will see significant cuts, Miller said. Administrators will take pay cuts and a hiring freeze will be in place through the next academic year.

The university already had been dealing with financial problems and declining enrollment for several years.

Flyover salute

Fighter jets from the Ohio Air National Guard will be making their way by several cities around the state this week in a tribute to medical personnel, first responders and other essential workers.

The planes from the 180th Fighter Wing based at Toledo’s airport will start with flyovers

Wednesday in the Toledo area, along with Napoleon, Defiance, Archbold and Wauseon.

The flyovers will continue Thursday over Cincinnati, Lima, Findlay, Bowling Green, Sandusky, Fremont, Dayton and Springfield. The flights are part of the unit’s regular training missions, and the schedule could change because of the weather.

New Normal

The Hamilton County sheriff’s office said Tuesday that a racetrack employee was cited for violating the state’s stay-at-home order after allegedly allowing an invitation-only race at Edgewood Motor Sports, west of Cincinnati.

Employee Stanley Thomakos of Okeana, Ohio, told The Associated Press that 38 cars were doing “test sessions” on more than 100 acres.

He said it was unfair to charge someone like him while golfers are allowed on courses without issue.