WHAT HAS SCOTT OELSLAGER DONE TO SOLVE LOCAL GOV'T FUNDING PROBLEMS?

Other than his failure to mention state Representative Scott Oelslager (Republican - 51st) as a main culprit in getting Ohio to do its fair share of funding local government,  Matt Rink of The Independent did his usual fine job in If justice was a business, funding Massillon Municipal Court would be easier, May 21, 2010.

It is truly amazing how Stark County's Teflon-man escapes getting tagged with being part of the problem. 

Ohio's funding of Stark County schools is in the tank and getting worse.

Ohio's funding of local libraries is in the tank and getting worse.

And now this article.  Ohio's funding of the administration of justice at the city level is in the tank and getting worse.

Undoubtedly, there are many other "partnerships" (local/Ohio - what a laugh) that are in the tank and getting worse.

So why does Rink, Cicchinelli, Centrone, Elum, Maier and Jackson fail to mention STATE REPRESENTATIVE OELSLAGER (the elephant in the room) in talking about an aspect of Ohio's screwing (to put it in the venacular) local government.

Oelslager should be hanging his head low with eyes cast towards the ground every time he set foot in the 51st district.  He has utterly failed the 51st as well as Stark County.  And yet, he thinks he should be sent back to Columbus as state senator.

What is the Oelslager way called in some circles?  Chutzpah?  

No, Oelslager won't vote for a tax increase at the state level so that Ohio can participate fully in the state/local partnership.  But he, in effect, forces local voters to increase local taxes to merely keep the ship afloat.

An excerpt from the Rink piece says it best:

Shane Jackson, deputy clerk of the Massillon Municipal Court, doesn’t buy into the idea that the large population of Jackson or Perry is the culprit either. He points to the state, which continues to change the distribution formula in its favor.

One would think that Oelslager would fight tooth and nail to stop the unfairness.  But he hasn't.  And he goes unscathed in criticism by public officials.

Another guy in Massillon who seems to get it is Massillon law director Perry Stergios, (quoting from the Rink article), to wit:

“It’s not the court’s fault and it’s not the city’s fault.  “It’s the  legislature’s way that they’ve set up the statutory funding mechanism.”

No mention of Massillon's state representative:  Scott Oelslager.

Hmm?