October 13, 2026

Leaders from Montgomery County, Harrison Township, and state and local partners unveiled the site of the county's future Job and Training Center. The land, formally acquired in August, will be home to a $40 million workforce development site which will also host the county department of job and family services.

_{Photo courtesy of Montgomery County; more information on the project here.}

Former Henry County Commissioner passes away

Last week, former Henry County Commissioner Wayne Phillips, Sr., passed away at the age of 100. Wayne served in the US Army during World War II. He founded Phillips Oil Company and owned and operated Phillips Pheasant Ranch. In addition to serving as a Deshler Village Councilman, he also served as a Henry County Commissioner, from 1973 to 1990. He was appointed to the office after his brother, Chester Phillips, suffered a heart attack shortly after his own election in 1972. In July, shortly before Wayne's 100th birthday, Senator Jon Husted read him into the Congressional Record (beginning in the middle-column of page 3). You can read Wayne's full obituary here.

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CCAO webinar announcements: Power Siting & AI Permitting

CCAO is announcing two webinars that the Association will be hosting later in October. The first, on October 22, will provide counties with information about the role that local governments can play in power siting, both as siting authorities themselves and as interveners before the Power Siting Board.

The second, on October 27, will feature Alynea and give practical examples of how AI can streamline the permitting process.

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Local Government Involvement in Power Siting

Thursday, October 22, at 2:00 p.m.

Presenter: Dale Arnold, Director, Energy Development, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation 

Local governments across the state are dealing with the topic of Energy Development and being asked what locals entities involvement can be. In the is webinar, Dale Arnold, from Ohio Farm Bureau will speak about what local government jurisdiction, the permitting process and timelines. As this remains an important topic for local governments we hope you are able to participate in this upcoming webinar. 

Register Here!

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Using AI to Improve Permit Application Quality

Thursday, October 22, at 2:00 p.m.

Presenter: Alynea staff

In this webinar you will hear from the team at Alynea, who work with local governments across the country to develop AI solutions that assist with complex permitting processes. The Alynea team will educate attendees on how AI can be implemented safely within your existing permitting structure and the benefits of adopting AI for both applicants and staff. They will also conduct a brief demonstration of their products and answer attendee questions.

Register Here!

Consolidation of Workforce Area 14 and Area 20 set in motion

The following is an excerpt from an October 9 press release from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The full release is available here.

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Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) Director Matt Damschroder announced today that two local workforce development areas in southeast Ohio are moving toward consolidation, a change designed to strengthen workforce services and better serve the region’s job seekers and employers.

Workforce Development Areas 14 and 20 – which collectively serve Athens, Fairfield, Hocking, Meigs, Perry, Pickaway, Ross, and Vinton counties – have proposed merging into a single local workforce development area. The consolidation reflects the strong economic development connections along State Routes 23 and 33. It is intended to build greater strategic alignment, strengthen service partnerships, and more effectively address rural and Appalachian workforce needs.

“Southeast Ohio’s workers and employers deserve a coordinated, regional response,” Director Damschroder said. “By bringing these two areas together, we can deliver stronger, more connected services to job seekers and employers across this essential part of our state.”

Ohio currently has 20 designated local workforce development areas, established under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, to provide employment and training services and administer workforce development programs through the state’s OhioMeansJobs Centers. Local workforce areas are designed to serve both job seekers and businesses and to anticipate and respond to the needs of regional economies.

“We have a high-performing workforce board, and this provides an opportunity to expand that reach while finding efficiencies to better serve employers and job seekers in these counties,” said Rick Szabrak, executive director of Workforce Development Area 20. “There’s great connectivity between these counties, especially as the Columbus region continues to grow.”

The consolidation began with the chief elected officials of Areas 14 and 20, comprised of commissioners from each county, submitting a formal re-designation application to ODJFS. The agency reviewed the application to ensure the combined area has consistent labor markets, common economic development connections, and the necessary resources to administer workforce development activities.

Funding opportunities table changes

The Federal funding opportunities table below has been updated with 10 new grants. The grants are all justice-related and close in November (seven close on November 16).

Several of the grants focus on the juvenile justice system and on opioid-affected youth offenders.

Only two of the grants (both involving family treatment courts) require a local match,

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Federal funding opportunities

The table below contains a sampling of current federal grant or loan programs. A full list can be found on Grants.gov.

Grant Program	Brief Summary	Eligibility Criteria	Amount Available	Application Due Date
Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrong Convictions Program	To enhance wrongful conviction review entities and to prevent future wrongful convictions.	General availability	$5.4 million available No match required	November 2, 2026
DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction Program	To increase capacity for existing crime labs to process DNA samples for entry into CODIS.	General availability to entities with crime labs.	$4.9 million available No match required	November 3, 2026
Family Treatment Court Program (New Courts)	To support the implementation of family treatment courts.	General availability to entities without a family treatment court.	Maximum award: $850,000 Local match of at least 25%.	November 16, 2026
Family Treatment Court Program (Existing Courts)	To support the expansion of family treatment courts.	General availability to entities with a preexisting family treatment court.	Maximum award: $750,000 Local match of at least 25%.	November 16, 2026
Opioid Affected Youth Initiative	To reduce violent crime and overdose deaths through prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies.	General availability	$8.9 million available No match required	November 16, 2026
Expanding Youth Access to Community-Based Treatment	To support the development and expansion of community-based treatment programs serving youth.	General availability	$4.0 million available No match required	November 16, 2026
Strategies to Support Children Exposed to Violence	To improve communities' ability to help children exposed to violence in their homes, schools, and communities.	General availability	$7.3 million available No match required	November 16, 2026
Juvenile Justice System Enhancements	To improve the cost-effectiveness of the juvenile justice system by implementing targeted solutions to high-cost crime drivers.	General availability	$4.0 million available No match required	November 16, 2026
Mentoring for Youth Impacted by Opioids and Substance Use	To support high-quality mentoring services for youth currently using or dependent on substances, as well as youth with close family members using or dependent on substances.	General availability	$16.5 million available No match required	November 16, 2026
Strengthening Operations to Reduce Crime and Recidivism	To support projects that address one or more urgent local justice system challenges.	General availability	$12.7 million available No match required	November 20, 2026
Title X Family Planning Services Grants	To promote the general family planning programs and goals under Title X of the Public Health Service Act.	General availability	Maximum award: $22 million Local match of between 1% and 10%	January 9, 2027

^{Each week Counties Current highlights the happenings in our counties in the words of their local media.}

^{One story from each of the CCAO's five districts is highlighted, and on occasion other stories may be highlighted as well.}

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Northeast District

Trumbull County considers cash back credit card for revenue source
WKBN, October 6, 2026
When you use a credit card, you can get cash back to spend on other purchases. There’s a version of that for Ohio’s counties.

Trumbull County commissioners listened to a presentation Tuesday from Huntington Bank to join the Ohio County Commercial Card Consortium. The county would receive a cash back rebate based on the consortium’s spending.

Trumbull County Commissioner Tony Bernard calls it a great way for the county to get more money back.

“I think it’s a great revenue source for us. By using the credit card, we receive cash back dollars every month, and at the end of the year, being that we belong to a consortium, that kicks us into another level, and we can receive additional money,” Bernard said.

Bernard says that Mahoning County currently uses this system and that the county makes back between $120,000 to $140,000 annually to their budget for revenue.

Trumbull County Treasurer Agostino Ragozzino calls it a win-win situation.

“The advantage for the county is that it’s a revenue source. It’s a very easy revenue source, so we’re going to be paying the bills. We’re going to be paying the bills by ECH, by check, or by credit card—assuming the credit card has no fee and the supplier that we are paying doesn’t charge us. It’s a win-win,” Ragozzino said.

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Southwest District

Highland County commissioners host discussion on roadway safety with Amish buggies
Highland County Press, October 10, 2026
Highland County commissioners Terry Britton, David Daniels and Brad Roades, along with first responders and area residents, engaged in a 45-minute discussion of road safety concerning Amish buggies during commissioners’ Wednesday, Oct. 7 meeting.

The meeting was held after the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Wilmington Post reported four accidents involving buggies in a one-month span, including a fatal crash Sept. 3 at U.S. 50 and state Route 753, a fatal crash Sept. 28 on state Route 138 and an accident Sept. 29 on state Route 124.

The uptick in crashes prompted the Highland County Sheriff’s Office to post “safety tips for sharing the roadway with horse-drawn vehicles” on their website and social media Sept. 30.

“Last year, January 1 to December 31, we had four related crashes with buggies — four total, the whole year,” Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Todd Stevens said. “This year, we have four total. They've all just happened within the last month.”

Britton said commissioners also wanted to “have an open discussion” for first responders and members of the community to share their feedback.

Among the topics discussed was the cause of accidents and whether anything could be done to help prevent further wrecks. Also discussed were speed and whether buggies are equipped with proper lights and signage.

Highland County Sheriff Randy Sanders said that one of the biggest causes is “probably distracted driving.” As an example, Stevens said that he knew at least one of the recent accidents occurred “on a straight stretch,” not in an area with “curvy roads and hilly roads.” Highland County Engineer Chris Fauber added that “at this time of year,” drivers have “the sun in their eyes” in the morning and evening, which can also be “a factor.”

“I see distracted drivers driving down the road every day, not paying attention to what they're doing,” Daniels said. “We’ve all got to take a little bit a part of this and slow down a little bit, pay attention, know that there are Amish on the road, but I would hope that they would respond in kind and know that there's a few things they can do as well to keep from having some of these problems occur.”

Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins and one of the residents agreed that they have seen issues that were caused by Amish buggy drivers as well, including kids racing and/or causing damage to their own buggies. However, Collins pointed out that it’s the same concept as any other teen driver who thinks “they’re invincible."

OCTOBER 16
CCAO Board of Directors Meeting (Virtual)

OCTOBER 30
CEBCO Board of Directors Meeting

NOVEMBER 3
General Election

NOVEMBER 6
CORSA Board of Directors Meeting

NOVEMBER 6
OCCO Legislative Reception