April 2011 issue
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vol. XLIII no. 4
Government Affairs: A look at your Chamber’s commitment to reform and collaboration regionally The Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce is pursuing three initiatives in government affairs. Each has created new opportunities to collaborate with other Chambers of Commerce. The result is a more unified business voice in the halls of government.
Redesigning Ohio First, there is “Redesigning Ohio,” the 10-point plan for reforming state government. It is the result of more than a year of work for a group consisting of the eight largest Ohio Chambers of Commerce, those in Canton, Akron, Youngstown, Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton, along with the Ohio Chamber.
These Chambers came together with the goal of helping state government think its way through the problem of an $8 billion budget deficit. Though “Redesigning Ohio” doesn’t recommend $8 billion in cuts, it does point the way to a system of government that could become more efficient and more results-oriented over time. And that could keep Ohio out of severe budget crises in the future. The plan makes specific recommendations in areas such as criminal justice, health care, business regulation, civil service and public pension reform, local government subsidies, and tax expenditures. It recommends
reforms that would free government agencies to become more entrepreneurial and more subject to the competition of the free market. (continued on page two)
SARTA Endorsement
i n s i d e : Joint Chamber Mixer! Business Excellence Awards
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Downtown Event Calendar CVB - Best Of Stark County
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Chamber Golf Outing Blues In Schools, Blues VIP
For the sake of jobs and education, the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has endorsed a renewal of the one-quarter percent sales tax that runs SARTA.
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Spring NETWORK
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SARTA is the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, the county bus service, and it has been running on the quarter-percent sales tax (1 penny on a $4 purchase) that voters first approved in 1997. The tax has to be renewed every five years.
AultCare Fast Break Breakfast 11 HOFEF Key Chairs Leadership Stark County
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Safety Council Luncheon
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If voters say yes to the SARTA’s tax renewal on May 3, nothing changes. No one loses a ride to work or to college. No one is left without a way to the doctor or the grocery story. And no one pays any more tax than they’re already paying.
Safety Council Awards Banquet 17 Group Safety Training Ownership Conference
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Young Entrepreneur Snapshot Next Leaders Survey
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New Members BizBitz April Calendar
The Canton Regional Chamber’s Board of Directors, made up of volunteers who are leaders in the business and professional community, endorse a tax issue only when it has an important effect on business or jobs development. But SARTA’s sales tax certainly qualifies.
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SARTA buses transport thousands of workers to their jobs every working day, and many hundreds of students to college or (continued on page three)