Solutions, not slogans, are needed for rural Ohio.

By Citizens for Common Sense

Political conversations often focus on labels and insults instead of solving problems. Neighbors are categorized instead of listened to, and important issues are lost in the noise. Rural Ohio deserves better.

Rural communities are defined by hardworking families who value faith, community, self-reliance, and building a good life near the land. These values cross political boundaries. When public debate becomes a contest over who can hurl the sharpest label, we lose sight of the people struggling with costs, care, and opportunity, and nothing gets fixed.

Affordability is a key issue. Grocery bills, housing costs, and health insurance premiums have increased faster than paychecks in rural Ohio. Families are feeling squeezed from all sides. Farmers face financial strain. Fertilizer costs have doubled since 2020, and off-road diesel topped $6.00 a gallon today. Margins are thin, and farmers describe the current period as a cash-flow crisis. Family farm bankruptcies rose 46% nationwide last year and are still climbing.

This is a reality faced by our neighbors who farm. Rural healthcare is under pressure. Wayne HealthCare in Greenville was recently named among eleven Ohio rural hospitals flagged as financially "at risk" due to federal Medicaid funding reductions. Hospital leadership says it's not in imminent danger of closing, but warns that the Medicaid cuts could have serious consequences. Statewide, Ohio's rural hospitals face an estimated $6.45 billion in reduced funding over the next decade.

Our public schools are grappling with their own funding challenges. State lawmakers have largely neglected Ohio's Fair School Funding Plan in the current two-year budget, providing only a fraction of the increase the plan recommended, resulting in a statewide shortfall of approximately $2.86 billion. Rural districts, which typically have a smaller local tax base to rely on, are particularly vulnerable to such gaps. Broadband access, scarce rural child care, and the steady loss of young people to bigger cities in search of work further exacerbate the challenges facing the rural economy.

The rapid spread of large-scale data centers across rural Ohio is a pressing issue that warrants immediate attention. While Darke County lacks active proposals, neighboring counties do, like Meta's $1 billion project in Miami County and Amazon's nearly $3 billion project in Shelby County. Given the speed of these projects, a calm and collaborative conversation is needed now, not after proposals are finalized.

Residents' concerns are legitimate and deserve straight answers. Developers have used nondisclosure agreements and shell companies to buy land and negotiate quietly, leaving residents in the dark until permits or tax abatements are finalized. Many rural Ohio townships lack zoning regulations, which can mean no local review of a project's footprint, traffic, electricity demand, water use, or noise before construction.

Communities need to make decisions in the open by accountable local officials. Data centers' environmental impact is significant. They consume hundreds of thousands to millions of gallons of water daily for cooling. In Marysville, Ohio, two existing facilities draw about 10% of the city's daily water supply. Backup generators can be as loud as chainsaws during testing, and cooling systems often run continuously, creating a continuous hum inside homes.

While data centers can be built responsibly, clear guidelines on electric sources, water, air emissions, and noise levels must be established before construction begins, not after complaints arise. However, we should not overlook the technology's benefits: jobs, tax revenue, and a foothold in a growing economy. But these benefits must be enduring, not merely aspirational.

Ohio was projected to lose $135 million tax revenue in 2025 due to data center tax incentives. In a 2024 state economic development package, a single company's data center investment accounted for over 90% of the pledged dollars but less than 5% of the permanent jobs promised.

Ohio lawmakers are developing a framework addressing these concerns. In late July, Representatives Jennifer Gross and Michelle Teska introduced House Bill 983, the Data Center Accountability and Citizen Protection Act. The bill mandates voter approval for large-scale data center or power plant construction, ends future local property tax abatements, requires disclosure of cooling system chemicals, directs the EPA to set data center-specific water and air standards, and requires qualifying data centers to generate their own power.

It's a bipartisan effort, but the bill hasn't had its first committee hearing, so details are still being finalized. Citizens need to communicate with state representatives and senators to ensure our interests are incorporated into HB 983 during its development, not as an afterthought. A bill of this nature only achieves fairness when the people it affects actively participate in its formation.

None of these problems will be solved by name-calling or dismissing half the community as the enemy. True leadership involves actively participating and tackling challenging tasks: advocating for equitable public school funding for rural districts, working across party lines to protect rural hospitals from federal funding cuts, helping farmers through financial difficulties, and engaging in the legislative process. Rural electric cooperatives, crop insurance, and the land- grant university systems emerged from collaborative efforts of officials from various political parties, driven by rural community needs.

We respectfully request that our local, state, and federal leaders, regardless of party, prioritize solving problems over scoring points. This is real leadership and what our communities deserve. We appreciate a respectful, solutions-focused conversation and are willing to work with anyone in our communities to ensure House Bill 983 and similar issues are addressed.

Citizens for Common Sense, P.O. Box 1046, Greenville, OH 45331.

Citizens for Common Sense

Post Office Box 1046

Greenville, OH 45331

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