Mahoning County Commissioners were joined Thursday afternoon by officials from several other northeast Ohio counties to show their unified opposition to any plans to sell or lease the Ohio Turnpike to a private business as a way for the state to generate revenue.
Although the Kasich administration hasn't formalized its strategy, local leaders said they can't afford to wait and need to get in front of the issue now.
"I think the fact that states like Indiana have done this, the horrid maintenance going on there, the higher tolls there, the evidence right now shows we need to be proactive, forming a coalition like this, collaborating, working together," said Mahoning County Commissioner John McNally.
Officials with the Ohio Department of Transportation, who are overseeing the study of the toll road, said they have been meeting with people across the state for more than a year now and are in the process of hiring the national accounting firm of KPMG to conduct an independent review of the turnpike and its future.
But that's not enough for opponents like State Rep. Ron Gerberry, D-Austintown.
"It's wrong. It's our road. The people of Cincinnati don't give a damn about that road. The people of Columbus don't care about that road. We paid for that road. John kasich should go back to McKee's Rocks or whereever the hell he's from," Gerberry said.
ODOT officials said they do not want to see the toll road fall into disrepair or lose traffic because of higher tolls.
But Northeast Ohio officials argue they've heard very little about how the state's plans will impact local communities that rely on the toll road.
"We have seen that the plan to sell prisons didn't turn out as originally thought and I'm not positive that the sale or lease of this entity is going to benefit any of us in the long term," said Lorraine County Commissioner Ted Kalo.
"There's no discourse or discussion going on about whether or not this works. These individuals behind me, they haven't been consulted about what are going to be the effects on local businesses. There's no conversation going on at all," said Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald.
Officials in Cuyahoga County plan to fund their own study of the toll road and the pros and cons of privatization.
"We don't want to be on the receiving end of whatever schemes the Kasich administration ends up drawing up," FitzGerald said.
