Worse elsewhere

When you think Huntington's budget situation is bad, you can be thankful this city doesn't have the problems of Columbus or Dayton.

A few facts, via the AP:

-- Columbus Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian said city investments in Treasury bonds and certificates of deposit have brought in almost $6.3 million less this year than last. And because of rising unemployment rates, the city collected $1.4 million less in income taxes. Finance Director Joel Taylor said Columbus is facing a “much, much more severe scenario” than he and Mayor Michael Coleman laid out late last year when they issued the 2008 budget with warnings of what lay beyond.

-- Dayton City Manager Rashad Young has approached that city’s four bargaining units and asked them to give up 2009 pay raises of 3 percent to head off a projected $13 million budget deficit.

-- Cuyahoga County officials are offering a buyout plan that offers full retirement to more than 1,700 workers who are within three years of being eligible for maximum benefits. The plant would cost the county $101 million, but it would allow the county to avoid paying $259 million in salaries and benefits.

Huntington's financial problems led to a worsening of the crime situation here. If the same fate befalls Columbus and Dayton, you can expect some of their crime problems to spill over into other parts of Ohio and possibly into this part of West Virginia. The last I heard, Columbus drug dealers already operate in Portsmouth. Huntington's problems are spilling over into unincorporated areas within an hour of here.

But don't expect Ohio state government to bail out its cities, and for sure don't expect West Virginia state government to bail out Huntington.