The recession has devastated many cities around Ohio. In Summit County, Akron is dealing with possibly losing some 200 city workers, but neighboring cities seem to have survived the sluggish economy a bit better.

A partnership with Summit County leaders and Akron based First Energy appears to be a win-win situation for all involved.

First Energy's CEO announced Wednesday nearly 4 million dollars in community grants. City's use their electricity, now they'll put forth financial support.

"It's an opportunity to put some money in our general fund so we can balance our budget by the end of the year," said Barberton Mayor Bob Genet.

Genet said his city of 28,000 has seen its income tax base drop, but not enough to bring about cuts.

"We believe throughout the year 2009, we wouldn't have to lay anyone off," said Genet.

The opposite is true for the county's largest city. Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic announced Monday that 201 pink slips were handed out to police officers, firefighters and other city workers. It's a ripple effect from an 8 million dollar budget deficit and its being felt throughout the city of 210,000.

"We are going to close down City Hall. We're going to close down some community centers for days they are normally open. So residents are going to sacrifice," said Plusquellic.

To the south of Akron, Green Mayor Dick Norton incorporates his banking-business background into running his suburban city of 23,000.

"We're sort of beating the odds compared to what other cities are experiencing in terms of revenue," said Norton.

Not paying for a city police force, they contract out with the county saving Green about 2 million dollars a year. Norton said the regional airport is also flying high.

"So here we are, the worst recession since the great depression and Akron-Canton Airport is breaking records," said Norton "They had their highest month in June and July in their entire history."

Back in Akron, they're banking on 2.2 million dollars from First Energy to keep their police and firefighters fighting on the front line.

"We could literally have a situation where no one is out of a job on October first," said Plusquellic.

ONN's Facing Recession Series:

If you need help finding a job or paying the bills, here's some resources to help you out.

• Ohio Job and Family Services: County Offices and Information
• The Ohio Means Jobs Web site helps match employees with people looking for a job
• For opportunites with the state of Ohio, visit the Ohio Hiring Management System
• Department of Labor Career Resources and Retraining Web Sites One-Stop and Career Voyages

If you have an great story idea about how an Ohioan is facing the recession, tell us about it here.

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