Fiscal Stress, Small Towns, and Professionalism: An Analysis of Post-Recessionary Budgetary Retrenchment Policy among Rural Ohio Rustbelt Towns

This conference paper pertaining to the study of small Ohio town budgetary policy focuses on the challenges related to fiscal stress of rust belt "twilight" communities. It was found that smaller, less professionalized towns facing higher property delinquency rates, with high concentrations of elderly and minority populations were unwilling to depart from conventional budgetary behavior to offset budgetary shortfalls. Such "twilight" towns were less politically resilient than those with access to skilled professional staffing. This knowledge of access to in-house professionalism can be helpful in future policy guidance needed to offset fiscal imbalances faced by small town officials.