By John Kennedy, Executive Director, Community Action Council of Portage County
You probably missed it, with the war in Iran consuming most of the headlines. President Trump issued his 2027 budget — and, not surprisingly, he once again (as he did last year) zeroed-out programs that help low-income families offset energy costs, which have skyrocketed. This past winter was a brutal one here in northeast Ohio, with average temps well below 20 degrees Fahrenheit in January and February.
Those conditions meant more folks here in Portage County piled on extra layers of clothing while turning the thermostat down, or in some cases, clicking it off completely. During our “winter crisis” program, which starts in November and goes through March, our Community Action Council helped more than 830 local families with utility relief — relief our non-profit organization is provided through federal grant programs administered by the state of Ohio.
And that relief — as temporary as it is — enabled those families and individuals to stay in their homes, freeing up money for other essentials like food, medicine, and gas money. Every week, our agency received multiple calls from households — many seniors on fixed income — who complained that they had no heat at all. We heard a version of: “The furnace isn’t working. I’m wearing extra layers to stay warm. Can you help?”
In many cases, our answer is a qualified “yes” as strict eligibility criteria and available resources limit what we can do. But the tragedy is that we know we are not able to help everyone who needs it; approximately 30% of residents of Portage County are living in poverty.
But here’s the good news — utility, home energy assistance and weatherization programs work. Over the last 3 years, we have helped over 30,000 families and individuals in Portage County with a helping hand up, a life-raft of support when they needed it most. Our programs provided a bit of economic security in a stressful, agonizing time of uncertainty due to the tsunami of rising costs of groceries, gas and medicine.
And there’s more good news. Home energy assistance programs — and federal Community Service Block Grants (CSBG) that enable non-profit agencies like ours to deliver those services in a flexible way, specific to the needs of the community — enjoy widespread bipartisan support in Washington. Why? First, because these assistance programs work. Every CSBG federal dollar invested returns $5-$10 dollars in long-term benefit. Simply put, people who attain economic security have more buying power. And secondly, because of transparency. We have to account for every penny, every nickel of support we receive, via multiple on-site monitoring visits and a multitude of audits a year. As a former county treasurer, I welcome that scrutiny — we should be transparent, accountable, and fiscally conservative stewards of taxpayer money.
But President Trump has a much different budget and policy priority, namely, funding the war in Iran and upping the defense budget by $1.5 trillion. That represents a roughly 44% increase over 2026. “It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things, they can do it on a state basis,” Mr. Trump said in response to the huge increase in defense spending. “We have to take care of one thing: military protection.”
While I can’t predict the future, I do know this. As costs go up, more and more residents of Portage County will find themselves without the means to pay their electric or gas bills; many will be forced to make the hard choice between putting food on the table or paying the utility bill. Or the prescription they need to stay healthy. Or putting new tires on the car. Or falling behind on their property taxes.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again: a budget is like a mirror — it reflects what we value and what we prioritize as a people. And right now, that reflection raises serious questions about who we are, and the kind of collective future we see for ourselves.
If we know these programs work — if we know they keep seniors warm, families housed, and local economies stable — then the real question is not whether we can afford them. It’s whether we are willing to prioritize them.
We cannot cut our way to stronger communities by zeroing out the very programs that keep so many above water. The return on investment is clear. The accountability is already there. And the need, especially here in Portage County, is growing — not shrinking. Zeroing out that investment will only serve to magnify and amplify the need.
We should be making smart, cost-effective investments that help people stay in their homes, maintain their health, and contribute to their local economy. That is not just compassionate policy — it is fiscally responsible policy.
Our strength has always been our people. When we invest in them — when we make sure they can weather hard winters, rising costs, and the unforeseen emergency bill — we build something stronger than any line item in a federal budget.
We build stability. We build economic independence and self-reliance. And we build a future worth believing in.
Tell Congress those are the values you want reflected in the budgets they pass — and that home energy assistance and CSBG funding are critical investments in our people and our collective future.
In my book, that’s a much better reflection of who we are.
Op-Ed Contributor