Elected officials, business leaders participate in Chamber legislative forum
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
Elected officials, leaders in education and members of the local business community were in attendance Friday at the Highland County Chamber of Commerce Legislative Forum, where participants could speak one-on-one with officeholders about their concerns regarding local, state and federal government, as well as the budget and upcoming ballot issues.
Held on the campus of Southern State Community College in Hillsboro, SSCC President Dr. Kevin Boys welcomed the group to the campus, saying that the college's mission of providing accessible, affordable and high-quality education to people in southern Ohio meant that they needed to be a part of the discussion on state issues and economic growth with area leaders and officeholders, so that students would have jobs to go into once they complete their education.
"We, as a college, cannot create jobs," Boys said. "You, as a government, cannot create jobs."
Boys said that he recently had a conversation with a business leader and spoke about the job situation.
"He said, 'My job is not to employ people. My job is to make money.' Isn't that the capitalist way? This is why we want to host an event like this," Boys said. "We need to work together, to work faster to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit. We need to be a part of those efforts to create a new Ohio. We need to remove barriers and partner with businesses, with education centers."
Highland County Chamber of Commerce President Katy Farber explained the breakout sessions in which participants could learn about the state budget, energy and the environment, labor and employment or tax and economic development from members of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
During the afternoon session, people had the opportunity to speak directly to elected officials or their representatives. Participants included the Highland County commissioners Tom Horst, Jeremy Shaffer and Shane Wilkin; Ohio's 17th District Sen. David Daniels; Ohio's 86th District Rep. Cliff Rosenberger; and representatives from the offices of Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, Ohio Third District Congressman Mike Turner, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, and Gov. John Kasich's southwest district office.
Rosenberger told The Highland County Press that he welcomed opportunities to listen to his constituents and speak to them directly about their concerns and the way government is being run.
"It's a great opportunity to sit and listen to the folks and be able to take those ideas back to Columbus," Rosenberger said. "The best thing is, anything about sharing ideas, and what works well and what doesn't work well, and taking those to the state so we can more Ohio forward together. It's a great opportunity to be able to meet with the folks, hear what their needs are and how we can help facilitate that, and let them know what we're doing."
There were questions on how to get a four-lane highway in the area for transportation to potentially draw more manufacturers and help existing business, for further development on the railroads and lots of questions on the state budget.
With limited resources, Rosenberger said, "all we can do is look at what we have, and make the best out of that pile as we begin to divvy it up and begin to move in the right direction to make Ohio a vibrant state again for business and growth. I think that's the big thing we need to continue to look at, this ability to make Ohio a key engine for economic growth and jobs, and to bring jobs back here because at the end of the day, our citizens being employed, our valuable workforce that we have here currently, finding jobs and having the ability to take those jobs, and to be educated and retained, especially our youth that are going into our universities and colleges. We have to be able to put those folks into jobs."
While there have been some difficult issues that have gone through the legislature in recent months, Rosenberger said that he felt there have been positive resolutions, and he was glad for the opportunity to discuss them.
"When we're talking about what's occurring here on the local level and the state, the last six months have been a whirlwind," Rosenberger said. "From Senate Bill 5, which is now (ballot) Issue 2, to the $8 billion budget gap the state has had to cope with, I feel in the legislature we have done the best that we can under the circumstances. But, we've done what a lot of people said couldn't be done. We've cut an $8 billion budget deficit, we've maintained the tax cut, and we've eliminated the estate tax, all in this budget, and it's balanced. And we're going to put Ohio on a path to prosperity for the future."
Elected officials, leaders in education and members of the local business community were in attendance Friday at the Highland County Chamber of Commerce Legislative Forum, where participants could speak one-on-one with officeholders about their concerns regarding local, state and federal government, as well as the budget and upcoming ballot issues.
Held on the campus of Southern State Community College in Hillsboro, SSCC President Dr. Kevin Boys welcomed the group to the campus, saying that the college's mission of providing accessible, affordable and high-quality education to people in southern Ohio meant that they needed to be a part of the discussion on state issues and economic growth with area leaders and officeholders, so that students would have jobs to go into once they complete their education.
"We, as a college, cannot create jobs," Boys said. "You, as a government, cannot create jobs."
Boys said that he recently had a conversation with a business leader and spoke about the job situation.
"He said, 'My job is not to employ people. My job is to make money.' Isn't that the capitalist way? This is why we want to host an event like this," Boys said. "We need to work together, to work faster to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit. We need to be a part of those efforts to create a new Ohio. We need to remove barriers and partner with businesses, with education centers."
Highland County Chamber of Commerce President Katy Farber explained the breakout sessions in which participants could learn about the state budget, energy and the environment, labor and employment or tax and economic development from members of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
During the afternoon session, people had the opportunity to speak directly to elected officials or their representatives. Participants included the Highland County commissioners Tom Horst, Jeremy Shaffer and Shane Wilkin; Ohio's 17th District Sen. David Daniels; Ohio's 86th District Rep. Cliff Rosenberger; and representatives from the offices of Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, Ohio Third District Congressman Mike Turner, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, and Gov. John Kasich's southwest district office.
Rosenberger told The Highland County Press that he welcomed opportunities to listen to his constituents and speak to them directly about their concerns and the way government is being run.
"It's a great opportunity to sit and listen to the folks and be able to take those ideas back to Columbus," Rosenberger said. "The best thing is, anything about sharing ideas, and what works well and what doesn't work well, and taking those to the state so we can more Ohio forward together. It's a great opportunity to be able to meet with the folks, hear what their needs are and how we can help facilitate that, and let them know what we're doing."
There were questions on how to get a four-lane highway in the area for transportation to potentially draw more manufacturers and help existing business, for further development on the railroads and lots of questions on the state budget.
With limited resources, Rosenberger said, "all we can do is look at what we have, and make the best out of that pile as we begin to divvy it up and begin to move in the right direction to make Ohio a vibrant state again for business and growth. I think that's the big thing we need to continue to look at, this ability to make Ohio a key engine for economic growth and jobs, and to bring jobs back here because at the end of the day, our citizens being employed, our valuable workforce that we have here currently, finding jobs and having the ability to take those jobs, and to be educated and retained, especially our youth that are going into our universities and colleges. We have to be able to put those folks into jobs."
While there have been some difficult issues that have gone through the Legislature in recent months, Rosenberger said that he felt there have been positive resolutions, and he was glad for the opportunity to discuss them.
"When we're talking about what's occurring here on the local level and the state, the last six months have been a whirlwind," Rosenberger said. "From Senate Bill 5, which is now (ballot) Issue 2, to the $8 billion budget gap the state has had to cope with, I feel in the legislature we have done the best that we can under the circumstances. But, we've done what a lot of people said couldn't be done. We've cut an $8 billion budget deficit, we've maintained the tax cut, and we've eliminated the estate tax, all in this budget, and it's balanced. And we're going to put Ohio on a path to prosperity for the future."
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