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COG wants cash to levy grant dollars

WARREN — While the Trumbull County Regional Council of Governments is hoping to get revenue from an increase in the county sales tax, there are several plans in the making to share resources among member communities that will cost little to nothing, its chairman said.

James LaPolla, chairman of the COG and a Howland trustee, said already in place is the framework for the COG’s 24 members to share one another’s equipment.

The COG was officially formed this year after organizers held meetings in 2017 to discuss how uniting under the umbrella of a regional council of governments could combat lower local government funds by sharing more often. The goal is to improve roads and infrastructure, and share equipment and expertise.

“Prior to the formation of the COG, we couldn’t do this because we were committed by our tax base to only use our equipment for our residents. But forming a COG gives us a lot more latitude about what we can and can’t do township to township, city to city,” said Ted Webb, one of of the COG’s directors and a Bazetta trustee.

Ohio law does not allow different local governments to share many resources without an agreement in place first.

The COG intends to ask Trumbull County commissioners for a sales tax increase, with at least a portion dedicated solely to their activities. The money would not be paid out to contractors for projects, but used to leverage grants for the member communities, LaPolla said.

In the meantime, COG leadership is working on the free, or nearly free, positive side of being associated with each other.

“Since the time of our development, with the sole purpose of sharing services, we have already implemented a group buying program. The members of the council of governments, wishing to buy equipment of any type, puts it online, or within our framework of networking that says instead of each township, village or city buying one truck, now we have six people buying trucks and we can go through with group pricing,” LaPolla said.

Howland already has added a street sweeper to the list in case other communities need one too, so they can get a better price together, LaPolla said. And the communities will buy salt for winter roads together, he said.

If one community in the COG wants to borrow a lawn mower from the other — because of a massive grass-cutting day or mechanical problems with an existing one — there is a form for the communities to fill out after reaching a verbal agreement. The form then goes on file.

“As long as we have it documented and on file, it fits under the umbrella of the council of governments shared services agreement,” LaPolla said.

Talks are just beginning on a large health care plan that could allow health care to be purchased under one policy for public employees in the member communities, LaPolla said.

“Instead of going to the health care company and saying we have 10 employees, 100 employees, whatever the case is, we are coming at them with 500 employees. We should be able to get a larger, group rate,” LaPolla said.

rfox@tribtoday.com

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