Township Education Subscription

Explore a cost-effective way to gain the most from OTA webinars for every official and employee in your township.

Liberty Township, Delaware County Logo
Lynn Bruno
Liberty Township, Delaware County

"The Township Education Subscription has been an invaluable and cost-effective training tool for our township. Not only does the subscription permit our members to participate in live and on-demand webinars, but the topics are always relevant and timely. I am impressed by the selection of presenters who consistently have been knowledgeable and are engaging with the online platform. I fit in webinars as often as I can and frequently watch them a second time. I appreciate all the OTA staff does to continue to empower local-government officials to stay updated so we may do the best job possible."

Purchase the 2025 Township Education Subscription
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The Township Education Subscription allows townships to make a single payment of $250 to grant all active and affiliate members within the township access to current and archived webinars and select winter conference recordings for the calendar year. This provides an opportunity for each township to optimize its resources by attending more webinars at a low cost. We aim to make it easier and more affordable for everyone to take advantage of one of the best benefits the OTA has to offer – township-focused education.

With this subscription, all active and affiliate members of the OTA from the subscribing township will gain access to online training resources. This subscription now includes access to new webinars throughout the year, our entire webinar archive found in the Resource Center, and the 2022 and 2023 Winter Conference recordings. The subscription period will begin on January 1 of each year and expire on December 31, regardless of when a township signs up. Your township could save up to 85% a year by enrolling in the Township Education Subscription instead of purchasing webinars individually.

It is important to note that these benefits are exclusively available to OTA members and not offered externally. Additionally, the subscription does not include the 2024 or 2025 conference recordings.

MORE Grant Eligible

The Ohio Township Association Risk Management Authority (OTARMA) has approved the education package as a qualified purchase for the Managing Ohio Risk Exposures (MORE) Grant. If your township is an OTARMA member, you can use the MORE Grant funding to pay for the subscription.

County-wide Discount

If your county association wants to sign up every township within the county, each township will receive the program for a discounted price of $175 per year per township. Every township in the county must participate in order to be eligible for the discounted pricing. Counties can use their county township association funds or collect the fee from each township to pay for their townships. If your county association is interested in county-wide enrollment, please contact Tyler Lovelace at 614-863-0045.

Savings

The OTA hosted 48 webinars in 2024. If a member wanted to take every new course, the cost would be $900. If that member wanted to take every available webinar recording at the member price of $10 per course, the cost would be $730. The 2022 and 2023 Winter conference recordings cost $75 each. Total cost for a member to take every recorded OTA course in 2024 and both winter conference packages would be $1780. With the Township Education Subscription, this member would save 85% at $250 rate on over 110 hours of webinars designed for townships.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Township Education Subscription?

The Township Education Subscription is an alternative way for townships to purchase webinars for active and affiliate members rather than pay for individual webinars for individual members.

Who is the Township Education Subscription for?

The Township Education Subscription is purchasable by townships or counties and is for active and affiliate members of the OTA within participating townships or counties.

When does the subscription start and expire?

The subscription year runs January 1 through December 31 each year.

Who can purchase the subscription?

The Township Education Subscription can be purchased by a representative of a township or a county. The subscription cannot be purchased for individuals. The county or township representative will go to the OTA store to purchase the subscription. When making the purchase, it will automatically identify your township as the purchaser. After a township purchases the subscription, the OTA will notify all active and affiliate members of the township via email that they have joined the subscription. If you are unsure if your township has already purchased the subscription, contact the OTA office at 614-863-0045.

My township does not have a credit card or make online purchases. How can we participate?

The Township Education Subscription can be purchased by completing the paper order form. Submit the paper order form to the OTA office with payment included.

I'm not an OTA member. Can I get a subscription?

No. The Township Education Subscription is only available for currently active and affiliate members of a participating township or county. All non-members or associate members can purchase webinars à la carte.

I've been an elected official for many years. Why should I watch webinars?

Continuing education is a vital part of any leader's efforts to be effective in their position. As elected officials, you are tasked to steward tax-payer dollars and serve the interests of the people when the laws are constantly changing. The OTA provides updated resources in a timely manner to keep its members up-to-date and prepared to fulfill their roles to the best of their ability. The Township Education Subscription provides a cost-effective way to utilize every part of the OTA's efforts to educate its members while keeping as much of your township's budget available for other needs.

What types of webinars are included in the subscription?

The Township Education Subscription includes access to the complete webinar archive and the 2022 and 2023 Winter Conference recordings. This archive includes webinars specific to law directors, trustees, zoning inspectors, fiscal officers, safety services, administrators, and general township issues. Some of these webinars include "Financing Major Purchases," "Policies Every Township Board Needs," and "Self-Help Remedies for Junk Vehicles & Trash." A complete list of all webinars available in the archive can be viewed here.

I only attend one or two webinars a year. Do I need a subscription to keep doing that?

No. Members and non-members can still purchase webinars à la carte. However, consider the savings your township could claim by utilizing this program with other active and affiliate members gaining the same benefits.

I'm in a small township. How can we justify budgeting this in?

The OTA spoke with townships of all sizes when developing this program and believes every township will benefit from participation. The OTA's education is relevant to all townships, and this program allows participants to have access to new and old webinars covering a large variety of topics. Small townships will still save money by participating in this program.

For Example:
Bob normally attends at least one OTA webinar a month. He sees other webinars he is interested in, but they cannot justify in the township budget to spend more on education. The other township officials do not join webinars, so he has to share the information with others. His township spends $200 a year right now (ten webinars at $20 per month.) Bob's township purchases the Township Education subscription. Now, he can join any webinar without having to worry about any additional cost to the township. His fellow active and affiliate members can also join the webinars and learn alongside him, ask questions, and watch any archived webinars anytime they want.

If four active members in a township did this in 2022 without the subscription, it would cost their township $800. With the Township Education Subscription, it only costs their township $250.

How can my township offset the cost of the subscription?

OTARMA members can take advantage of the MORE grant to pay for the Township Education Subscription. To apply, click here.

Counties can pay for their townships at a discounted rate if every township in the county is participating. The discounted rate of $175 per year per township can be paid by county township association funds, or the county can collect the fee from each township. Call the OTA office at 614-863-0045 to discuss county enrollment.

How do I access the county-wide discounted rate?

If every township in your county is participating in the Township Education Subscription, you are eligible for a 30% discount per township. Have your county representative contact Tyler Lovelace at the OTA office at 614-863-0045 to discuss paying for the townships within the county.

My township subscribed in 2024. Are we automatically renewed for 2025?

No. Whether you subscribed months ago or subscribed yesterday, all benefits for the 2024 Township Education Subscription program will expire on December 31, 2024. To continue benefitting from the program, your township must renew its subscription.

When will we receive the invoice? How do I renew?

Township fiscal officers will receive renewal invoices via email in the first week of October. Invoices can be paid online with a credit card or ACH payment through Quickbooks Online, over the phone with the OTA office, or by printing the invoice and mailing a check.

My county township association arranged for the county-wide discount. How do we renew with the county-wide discount?

The OTA office is contacting county township associations who arranged for county-wide discounts to be renewed separately. If every township in your county is interested in reducing the subscription cost from $250 to $175 per township and every township will participate in the program, have your CTA contact the OTA office at 614-863-0045.

We didn't pay our renewal invoice by January 1, 2025. What happens? Can we still subscribe to the program?

You will no longer be able to use the benefits of the Township Education Subscription, including registering for upcoming webinars and accessing recordings on the webinar archive. You can still subscribe to the 2025 Township Education Subscription program at any time. The renewal invoice is a courtesy from the OTA office to simplify the renewal process. Townships will still be able to purchase the subscription program at any point in the year.

How can I access my benefits from the subscription?

To take full advantage of your subscription, follow these steps or view the video below.

Registering for Webinars

  1. Login to your OTA account. If you do not have an OTA account set up, email Tyler Lovelace with your name, township, county, title, phone number, address, and OTA member type.
  2. Go to the registration page for the webinar you wish to attend.
  3. When selecting your ticket type, you will see the "Township Education Subscriber" ticket option. Select this option. This ticket will be at no cost.
  4. Complete the checkout process to register you or any other active or affiliate members within your township for the webinar.

Accessing the Resource Center

  1. Login to your OTA account. If you do not have an OTA account set up, email Tyler Lovelace with your name, township, county, title, phone number, address, and OTA member type.
  2. Click on the "Resource Center" tab in the navigation ribbon.
  3. Once at the Resource Center, click on the "Webinars and Recordings" tab in the navigation ribbon.
  4. The first element on the page shows the most recent webinars. Click the "View all Webinars" button underneath.
  5. You are now able to filter all available webinars by track or credit type. Each of these webinars is available to you!
  6. You may also use the search bar to search for webinar topics you are interested in.

or

  1. Login to your OTA account. If you do not have an OTA account set up, email Tyler Lovelace with your name, township, county, title, phone number, address, and OTA member type.
  2. Hover over the "Education" tab in the navigation ribbon and click on "Webinar Archive."
  3. This page lists every webinar available on the Resource Center, broken down by track. Click a link to be taken to the Resource Center page for that specific webinar.

If the video does not load, click here to view the video on YouTube.

My township purchased the subscription before January 1, 2024. Can I access my benefits now?

No. The Township Education Subscription can be purchased prior to January 1, 2024, but the program begins January 1, 2024. Benefits will not be activated prior to January 1.

I'm losing my membership to the OTA. Can I still access my subscription benefits?

No. The Township Education Subscription is only available to current active and affiliate members of the OTA. If you are resigning from your position or not renewing your membership, you will no longer be able to access your subscription benefits. Any individual purchases will be retained.