OTA Thanks General Assembly for Action on Force Accounts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/29/2023

OTA Thanks General Assembly for Action on Force Accounts

Blacklick, Ohio – Today, House Bill 23, the state’s Transportation Budget, passed the General Assembly. The bill included language that puts to bed the 20-year issue of modernizing force account limits for road construction and maintenance projects.

Ohio’s townships are responsible for the care and maintenance of over 41,000 miles of roads, the most in the state. Trustee boards are obligated to ensure that all township roads are safe, passable, and well-maintained. The term “force account” refers to the situation in which a public entity, in this case, townships, is statutorily authorized to act as a contractor on a project. The public body does the work itself, employing its own labor and purchasing its own materials.

During the conference committee hearing on Tuesday, conferees sat down to hammer out the differences between the two chambers’ versions. The conferees voted to include language that increases township force account limits to $105,000 for maintenance and repair projects and to $35,000 per mile for construction and reconstruction. Additionally, both thresholds are to be indexed each year to keep up with inflation. The adjusted amounts represent a 133% increase from previous limits.

“We thank members of the Ohio General Assembly for their support and entrusting townships to be good stewards of their tax dollars,” stated OTA Executive Director Heidi M. Fought. “We know the changes made by this bill will positively impact townships across Ohio, as they will now have flexibility to maintain township roads year after year.”

The bill is expected to be signed by Governor DeWine by Friday, March 31, 2023. The new threshold amounts will go into effect by July 1, 2023.

If you have any questions, please contact the Ohio Township Association at 614-863-0045.

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The Ohio Township Association is a statewide organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of township government in Ohio. The OTA was founded on June 28, 1928 and is organized in 87 Ohio counties. OTA has more than 5,200 active members, made up of trustees and fiscal officers from Ohio’s 1,308 townships, and more than 4,000 associate members.