Jul 14, 2021 Mansfield and Richland County is expected to keep its’ status as a Metropolitan Statistical Area, which means millions of dollars in federal funding will continue to come to the area. RichlandSource.com reports, the proposal change was that an area needed to have a population of 100,000, not the current 50,000. Mansfield mayor Tim Theaker said he was happy with the announcement. Senator Rob Portman said the idea was dropped to ensure fairness to smaller areas. Jodie Perry, from the Richland Area Chamber said, to lose that funding right now would be catastrophic.