Badin vs. Versailles
Law Enforcement Memorial Day
American Idol 2012 finale
Michael D. Pitman reports about Butler County, Ohio, politics, county government, countywide issues and Butler County people just like you for Cox Ohio Publishing (including the Hamilton JournalNews, Middletown Journal and several weekly papers in Butler County). He wants your suggestions and questions for more news stories. Leave a comment for him here or e-mail Michael at Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > July
July 2008
Goodbye Leland, Hello Meg
Press release from the Animal Friends Humane Society:
Over a hundred people gathered at Tori’s Station in Fairfield on Wednesday evening, July 30 to say goodbye and thank Leland Gordon for his outstanding leadership at Animal Friends Humane Society over the last four years. Gordon, executive director of AFHS, is moving to Canada to reunite with his wife and three children.
Attending the dinner were a wide variety of animal welfare advocates, animal shelter staff, dog wardens from Butler County, Hamilton and Middletown, shelter volunteers, area radio and television media people, Commissioner Charles Furman, Sheriff Richard Jones, and members of the AFHS Board of Trustees who sponsored the event.
(Photo to the right is of Leland Gordon and Meg Stephenson)
Introduced as the new executive director of Animal Friends was Margaret “Meg” Stephenson of Hamilton. She will begin working at the animal shelter in Trenton on Tuesday, August 5.
Meg graduated from Miami University with a Zoology degree, volunteered at Animal Adoption Foundation while in college, worked in Colorado at Denver’s Dumb Friends League (one of the largest humane societies in the nation), and is completing her employment at SPCA Cincinnati where she is Development Coordinator.
Speakers handing out accolades were AFHS President, Rick Fox; Butler County Chief Dog Warden, Julie Holmes; Bill Robinson, local marketing executive; and Sheriff Jones.
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TweetSpaeth: Current attorney system is ‘wasteful’
At today’s commission meeting, county judges and attorneys squared off about a controversial plan that could save tax payers more than $180,000 by cutting dozens of court-appointed lawyers.
First, commissioners refrained from making a final decision about the plan. They said a decision should be made in the next few weeks.
Attorney Greg Howard, who is also the president of the Butler County Bar Association, said today, “What they’re asking to do would not provide effective representation for the indigent population in Butler County.”
Howard said attorneys would not be able to provide adequate representation because the proposed system would spread them too thin.
Judge Keith M. Spaeth said this morning that the current system “rewards inefficiency, incompetency and unscrupulous attorneys, and it penalizes the most competent attorneys, which are the majority.”
Spaeth said there have been “a wide array” of complaints about defense attorneys from judges and the prosecutor’s office about lawyers’ tardiness, billing mistakes and how cases are assigned.
Howard said he would rather see problem attorneys — those “who are fudging their billing” — taken off the list of nearly 50 court-appointed attorneys on an individual basis.
Judge Michael Sage said he has developed a plan that will save $182,428 by reducing the number of defense attorneys who can get contracts from roughly 50 to 14. Read that story here.
Sage says the current system leaves room for abuse by attorneys. Read that story here.
Today’s story features a response from the state’s Office of the Public Defender, who is critical of the judges’ plan.
What do you think about the public defender system?
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TweetLetter from the Ohio Public Defender
As the debate continues about a plan to restructure the public defender system in Butler County, here is more on the Ohio Public Defender’s view of the situation.
Public Defender Tim Young argued against the plan in a letter to, among others, former county auditor Kay Rogers (who he apparently thought was still auditor). Read that story here.
For more on the issue, read Dave Greber’s blogs below.
Read the rest of this blog for the full text of Young’s letter. And the letter was followed by this summation of the American Bar Association’s principals, which Young says the plan could run afoul of:
And now the letter:
Mary Catherine Rogers, Butler County Auditor 130 High Street, 4th Floor Hamilton, OH 45011
RE: Indigent Defense
Change in Attorney Selection
Dear Auditor Rogers:
An article in today’s Middletown Journal outlines a new system for providing indigent defense services in Butler County that is being promoted by the Judiciary. Based on the information in the newspaper article, it appears the proposed system cannot be approved by the state and will not qualify for reimbursement dollars.
The fundamental premise of an attorney-client relationship is that the attorney have loyalty only to the client’s interests. The American Bar Association has created a list of 10 principles to be adhered to in any indigent defense system. The very first, and presumably most important, of the ABA’s principles is that “the public defense function, including the selection, funding, and payment of defense counsel is independent.” This principle has been echoed by the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association. See U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Improving Criminal Justice Through Expanded Strategies and Innovative Collaborations: A Report of the National Symposium on Indigent Defense; NLADA, In Defense of Public Access to Justice.
If an attorney is hand picked by a judge to service all of the cases in front of the judge, and if the attorney is compensated through a contract approved by the judge, and if the attorney’s continued employment is conditioned upon the judge’s satisfaction with the attorney, there is more than a fair chance that the attorney will be in a position, whether intended or not, that loyalties will be compromised between the judge and client.
Policy makers should guarantee to the public that critical decisions regarding whether a case should go to trial, whether to advise a client to plead guilty, whether motions should be filed on a client’s behalf, or whether witnesses should be cross-examined are based solely on the factual merits of the case and not on the attorney’s desire to please the judiciary to maintain a contract.
The Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Administrative Code direct the acceptable delivery systems to provide competent and independent representation to indigent defendants and have the state contribute to part of the cost. There are “hybrid systems” available that will meet reimbursement standards. The plan, as outlined in the newspaper, is not one of them. Not only will the county lose reimbursement money, but the cost of appeals and post-conviction matters may also jump significantly.
Butler County already has a public defender commission and contracts with a not-for-profit corporation to provide services in Juvenile Court in a hybrid-type system. The Ohio Public Defender Office is more than willing to help in the design of a system that would not only save the taxpayers money in the long run, but that will provide quality representation by an attorney whose first loyalty is to the client and who will not risk being compromised in his loyalties to the judge that controls his/her contract. Please contact Kathryn Smith for further assistance.
Sincerely,
Tim Young
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TweetJudges, lawyers may face off over attorney selection process
Local lawyers and judges may turn the Butler County commission chamber into a courtroom Thursday, July 31, arguing the pros and cons of a proposed restructuring of how defense attorneys are chosen.
Judge Michael Sage developed a plan he says will save $182,428 by reducing the number of defense attorneys who can get contracts from roughly 50 to 14. Read that story here.
Sage says the current system leaves room for abuse by attorneys. Read that story here.
But attorneys are likely to argue Thursday that it’s not in the public’s best interest to consolidate the contracts with so few people, and have those few people in essence report to the judges they argue before.
What do you think?
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TweetVOA Museum receives a boost from the state
The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester has been awarded some much needed money for some much needed repairs.
Earlier this summer, State Sen. Gary Cates (R-West Chester Twp.) secured $500,000 in funding for the VOA Museum, which is suffering from a leaky roof and seeping walls, among other problems, according to township officials. The township will be forking over $300,000 for repairs, which are estimated to total nearly $12 million. An additional $1.5 million in grants have been obtained from various state and federal sources.
Here’s a press release issued this morning from the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission.
Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission Approves $1.025 Million for Voice of America Museum
Columbus, Ohio - The Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission approved $1.025 million at its quarterly meeting today for the Voice of America Museum.
The original VOA Bethany Station was built in 1942, in response to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s call to create a radio facility capable of delivering broadcasts around the world.
Built with the highest priority during wartime, the facility was operational within two years. In 1944, it transmitted the first VOA broadcasts overseas. The facility is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and houses the Gray History of Wireless Museum, the Media Heritage Broadcasting Collection and the West Chest Amateur Radio Club.
The 1944 art deco building housing the powerful VOA transmitters is being preserved as a tribute to the role VOA broadcasts played in the proliferation of American ideals around the world. It also honors the innovative people who made communication technology history in West Chester Township. The project will restore the building’s 1940s appearance, and will include window and door replacements, exterior restoration, roof repairs, and electric, security, and fire system upgrades.
The Commission approval, coupled with the signing of legal agreements, allows West Chester Township to be reimbursed on a pro rata basis with funds appropriated in Am. Sub. H.B. 16 and Am. Sub. H.B. 699 of the 126th General Assembly. Butler County General Assembly members who voted in favor of the bill include Senator Gary Cates, and Representatives William Coley, Courtney Combs, and Shawn Webster.
The Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission is a state agency that helps enhance the quality of life for Ohioans by improving the state’s cultural facilities. Since 1988, the Commission has disbursed nearly $400 million of capital funds appropriated by the legislature and Governor for facility improvement projects at non-profit theaters, museums, historical sites and publicly owned professional sports venues. The Commission partners with non-profit groups and local governments on nearly 250 projects in 65 of Ohio’s 88 counties. For more information on the Commission, visit www.culture.ohio.gov
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Statewide issues
The Butler County Engineer’s Office announced Tuesday that replacement of the LeSourdsville West Chester Road bridge is going to run behind schedule because the new bridge was delivered with “some cracks in a few of the beams that were larger than what was acceptable under the specifications.” This came the same day that the Ohio Department of Transportation issued this report: Bridging the Gap: ODOT marks Anniversary of Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
State resources target safety on bridges with similar design. New outreach effort offers insight to local bridge needs. COLUMBUS (Tuesday, July 29, 2008) - Detailing the efforts of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to improve bridge safety over the past year, ODOT Director James Beasley is marking the first anniversary of the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis with the launch of a new public outreach effort to highlight the conditions of Ohio’s aging bridges. “Each day in Ohio, hundreds of thousands of drivers cross over our bridges. These structures connect businesses with markets, workers with jobs, people with health care and education, and families with loved ones and home,” said Director Beasley, at a news event along Columbus‟ Broad Street Bridge, just blocks from the Ohio Statehouse. “As we pause and remember the 13 lives lost and the 144 more who were injured nearly a year ago, we also take note today of how this one event 700 miles away placed a renewed awareness on the work we do to preserve, maintain, and modernize our infrastructure here in Ohio,” added the Director. ODOT has an aggressive bridge inspection and preservation program. Home to more than 42,000 bridges - the second largest inventory of bridges in the nation - Ohio requires more inspections on more bridges than any other state. Ohio is the only state to require annual bridge inspections - twice as often as federally required. Under Governor Strickland, ODOT has also devoted a significant amount of its annual budget to bridge preservation and modernization. Since the beginning of 2007, more than half-a-billion dollars has been directed to improving state and local bridges, with an additional $354 million programmed over the next year. A major national report issued by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials shows that one out of every four U.S. bridges needs to be modernized or repaired. Immediately making all of the necessary improvements would cost at least $140 billion nationally; in Ohio, that cost is estimated at $4.2 billion. “Even with ODOT’s aggressive investment into bridge preservation, we are looking at the legacy of ‘Baby Boomer’ bridges built during the Interstate era,” said Director Beasley. “These bridges are aging, and so often it becomes a matter of running in place to keep up with repairs, nevermind preventive maintenance or building new bridges that are needed.” In the year following the Minneapolis bridge collapse, ODOT has taken additional measures to ensure the safety and longevity of the 16 bridges in our state that share a similar design. Immediately after the collapse, state bridge inspectors revisited the 16 bridges with the similar deck-truss design, located in Cuyahoga, Lake, Summit, Fairfield, Washington, Warren, Hamilton, Lawrence, and Columbiana counties. Each bridge has since been re-inspected; the majority are in excellent condition (in terms of sufficiency and general appraisal ratings). However, additional attention was placed on three of the structures, including the I-90/Innerbelt Bridge in Cleveland, where the department will soon begin a $10 million preservation project which includes reinforcement of several gusset plates - steel plates that tie beams together on the structure. While no final conclusions have been reached in Minneapolis, federal investigators have suggested that a design issue with gusset plates on the I-35W bridge may have contributed to the tragedy. A $140 million major preservation/rehabilitation project on the Innerbelt Bridge is currently scheduled to begin in 2010, to ensure full and reliable use of the Innerbelt Bridge into the foreseeable future. Repairs were also made to the State Route 2/Main Avenue Bridge in Cleveland to strengthen two lower cord members of the structure. Also completed was an ongoing bridge painting project - which adds to the longevity of this steel structure by preventing corrosion. In Lake County, crews are working to replace the I-90 structures over the Grand River. The new westbound bridge is complete and open to traffic. Crews currently work to demolish the old eastbound bridge, with construction of a new bridge to begin in late August. “As a department and as a state, we are doing all we can to make sure that Ohi’s bridges are safe and reliable,” said Director Beasley. “But it is not a failure of inspection or design or construction that leads to most bridge failures. In fact, the primary causes are natural disasters or man-made disasters such as freeway crashes.” In marking the anniversary of the Minneapolis collapse, ODOT has also launched a new online public awareness effort to highlight bridge safety. In addition giving user-friendly definitions to bridge engineering terms like “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete,” visitors to ODOT’s website at www.dot.state.oh.us will be able to learn more about the state‟s bridge inspection program, including inspection information on bridges in their area.
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Transportation
Press release from the Butler County Visitors Bureau: The Butler County Visitors Bureau today released statistics detailing the impact of tourism in Butler County for 2007. The statistics are a result of an integrated consumer-based research study organized by the Ohio Department of Development’s Tourism Division and conducted by Longwoods International and Tourism Economics. Butler County Visitors Bureau is one of 57 county/city convention and visitor bureaus, cities and economic development boards that took part in the study. “Visitor spending and employment figures are essential factors to consider when evaluating the importance of travel and tourism to Butler County’s economy,” Mark Hecquet said. “The report highlights tremendous trickle down effect of tourism and its considerable importance to the economic make up of Butler County.” According to the report, Butler County’s direct sales to travelers totaled $524,000,000 in 2007. For Butler County: The research model, which has a sample size of 200,000 consumers, provides detailed information on the Ohio tourism industry, including economic impact, visitor profile, image, advertising awareness/effectiveness and return on investment. “This model helps us measure the importance of tourism to the state’s economy, while capturing critical visitor profile information that will assist the Division with its marketing efforts,” said State Tourism Director, Amir Eylon. The Butler County Visitors Bureau, located at 8750 Union Centre Blvd. in West Chester, promotes tourism countywide through small meetings, conferences, conventions, and promotion of tourist events and attractions.
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Butler County
The city of Hamilton agreed last night to kick in $15,000 for a $60,000 study to look into merging the water departments of the city, Hamilton County and Monroe. Read the story here. This is the latest step in an ongoing debate over the future of Butler County’s water department. What do you think?
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Environmental Services
The Butler County jail still has rooms to let, but is being a little more picky about its clientèle. An effort reported Friday to rein in the jail’s costs by having local law enforcement call before dropping off prisoners is only a few days old, but the jail is already down 40 inmates compared to before. Read that story here. It includes concerns from county officials that the sheriff’s budget might dip into the red by about $800,000. Any thoughts? How could the sheriff keep his budget under wraps?
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Butler County Sheriff's Department
I should pass along a few updates on the issues we’ve touched on this week:
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Butler County
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones is asking local police agencies to call ahead before bringing new arrests to the county jail. Read the story here. Hamilton Judge Dan Gattermeyer says he’s all about reducing inmate populations. But he’s not calling ahead. Read that story here. County officials say the sheriff’s budget is in danger of running into the red this year. There were negotiated pay raises for staff that weren’t fully planned for in the budget, an unexpected jump in fuel costs and a lag in how long it took to get prisoners into the jail after Hamilton County pulled out late last year due to a failed levy. Any thoughts? Here’s a May 2007 story by reporter Lauren Pack on Sheriff Jones, king of jails: HAMILTON — While other area commissioners and sheriffs in the region are juggling beds and bad guys in a constant struggle to house law breakers, Butler County’s jail sign always says “vacancy.” “We are the king of the jails right now,” said Sheriff Richard Jones. The 844 bed, state-of-the art facility that opened in 2002 on Hanover Street replaced a small, woefully antiquated jail on Court Street across from the Old Historic Courthouse. Coupled with the county’s minimum security jail, Butler County can house 1,235 total prisoners. And, the number will grow in June. Now, Butler County has plenty of jail space for its own prisoners and then some. The large facility allows the county to reap the financial benefits of housing prisoners from counties in a space squeeze, as well as federal prisoners. In 2005, revenue from out-ofcounty prisoners was nearly $1 million, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Monte Mayer. That grew to $4.1 million last year, and was $2.2 million this year as of April. Jones, who has worked in the Ohio prison system for more than 30 years, says he is not concerned about vacant beds the new jail, noting from experience, “If you build it they will come.” Today, Butler County regularly houses 300 prisoners from a bed-poor Hamilton County as well as hundreds of prisoners a year from Montgomery County. The sheriff’s office offers a cheaper rate to counties who sign a contract, the sheriff said. Jones and county commissioners are so confident in the jailing business that finishing touches are being put on a renovation project at the old jail to allow them to house 140 more prisoners. With a price tag of about $800,000 to $1 million and with the help of “free” inmate labor, it is not an inexpensive venture, but one that Jones says will pay for itself with out-of-county prisoner fees. Exactly who the Court Street jail, slated to open next month, will house has not yet been determined. Jones said the county’s juvenile justice center is crowded, the Resolutions Center minimum security jail in Hamilton is usually full, space for female prisoners is often needed and the county is “on the bubble” with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to house immigration violators in the future. There are plenty of options, he noted. “You know, so many times counties struggle to get the funding to build a jail, plan it for a couple years, build it, and by the time it opens it is 100 percent or more full,” Jones said. Butler County did not make that mistake. “That’s due to the foresight and planning of the county commissioners,” Jones said. As Butler County grows and the number of drug offenders grows, the need for more jail space will continue, Jones said. Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth said that because the county has the luxury of readily available jail space, he can decide cases on an individual basis. “Without jail space, it gets to the point where a judge has to decide if this case is worse than another,” Spaeth said. When he took the bench early in his judicial career in Fairfield, at the end of the day he would often have to choose who to let out in order to put someone else behind bars. “Absolutely, jail space affects how the criminal justice system works,” Spaeth said. Jones said the county is safer today because it has plenty of jail space. “You commit a crime here, you are going to jail. There’s no waiting list,” Jones said. He added that jails and prisons don’t necessarily stop crime, “but I do know while they’re locked up they aren’t a danger to the citizens of Butler County.” Middletown Police Chief Mike Bruck agreed. Readily available jail space equals a safer community. Middletown is one of a disappearing breed in the penal system — a city with a jail that can house 72 inmates for up to a year. At about $1 million annually to operate, Bruck said it’s money well spent, although the city leaders regularly examine the operation to make sure it is cost effective. “I believe it is a good investment,” Bruck said, noting the logistics of transporting prisoners to Hamilton for housing in addition to paying from them to stay at the Butler County Jail would be very costly. The Middletown Jail also houses county prisoners from Madison, Lemon and parts of St. Clair townships, as well as those from the cities of Monroe and Trenton. In exchange, Middletown has a standing booking of a dozen beds at the Butler County Jail free of charge. Those beds are used for prisoners held on felony charges. “If you are arrested, there is no handing out a summons and sending them on their way and there’s no waiting list. You are going to jail at least for the night,” Bruck said. He said he believes law breakers know they will go to jail in Middletown and it is somewhat of a deterrent. “Crime is up in the city. We are short on staff. I would hate to think where we would be if we didn’t have the jail,” Bruck said. Middletown Municipal Judge Mark W. Wall, who was a longtime defense attorney before donning the black robe, said past studies have shown Middletown’s crime rate is less than that of other parts in the county. Wall said that’s because of the jail. “There is a real deterrent effect the closer the punishment (is) to the crime,” Wall said. In addition, the court has a high success rate with offenders completing probation, and he credits the sureness of going to jail as a real incentive for those on probation to walk the straight and narrow. The old city jail, built in 1977, is below ground and has a bit of a dungeon quality. It is not a favorite among criminals, he noted. “There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t have someone ask me to sentence them to the county (jail),” Wall said with a chuckle.
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Butler County Sheriff's Department
Arizona Sen. and Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s schedule has him back in this battleground state of Ohio today. He’s contrasting Democratic Candidate Barack Obama’s visit to Germany with his own visit to a German “sausage haus” in Columbus. And the media is having plenty of fun with it. And as statehouse reporter William Hershey reported in his blog last month, McCain is due back in Butler County soon:
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Presidential race
I just happened to glance through today’s paper and notice that two prominent local leaders took the time to write guest editorials. Any thoughts on either of these opinions?
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Butler County
At today’s county commission meeting (last item on the agenda), commissioners will decide whether to apply for a grant to help study regionalizing water systems. If approved by commissioners and granted by the state, the grant would be for $30,000 and require a $30,000 local match. It would study the feasibility of merging the water systems of Butler County, Hamilton and Monroe. Merging these first two has been discussed for a while now, but Monroe is new. County Administrator Tim Williams said the Monroe merger is a concept worth exploring, and also a required third party to get the state grant. Do you think any of these mergers would be a good idea?
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Environmental Services
Press release from the office of state Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester Twp.: COLUMBUS—State Senator Gary Cates (R-Butler County) today announced that the Ohio Department of Aging is accepting nominations for the Ohio Senior Citizen Hall of Fame, which honors older Ohioans for their achievements and extraordinary contributions to the state, nation and our local communities. “Ohio, and particularly Butler County, has an outstanding senior citizen population, many of whom have spent their entire lives giving back to the state and their local communities and continue to work to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Cates. “These folks deserve to be recognized for their service, leadership and accomplishments.” Cates added that more than 300 people have been inducted in the Ohio Senior Citizen Hall of Fame since 1977. Nominees must be age 60 or older and a resident of Ohio for at least 10 years. They are evaluated based on the impact of their contributions today, as well as their record of service before age 60. The Department of Aging is accepting nominations through August 15, 2008, and honorees will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during the spring of 2009. Those interested in nominating a neighbor, colleague, friend or family member should visit www.goldenbuckeye.com/hof to download a nomination form or submit their choice online. If you need assistance in filling out these forms or have any other questions concerning the nomination process, you can contact Sen. Cates’ Office at (614) 466-8072 or by email at sd4@mailr.sen.state.oh.us. You may also send a letter to State Senator Gary Cates, Statehouse, Room 040, Columbus, Ohio 43215.
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Butler County commissioners are going to the fair Thursday, July 24. Commissioners will hold their regular meeting 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Butler County Fair. Commission President Charles Furmon says it’s an effort to bring county government to the people. Directions: One you enter the fair, walk down past the rides and the meeting will be in a covered shelter on the right, according to county staff. It’ll cost you $6. UPDATE: Click on 072408Commission.pdf to download the agenda for the meeting.
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County Commission
Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds is sending new property value numbers to the state this week. It’s going to be a hard sell for homeowners. This is because the taxable value of homes across the county could go up 6 percent auditor’s office officials say. Meanwhile, home values are dropping. This is because the assessment is conducted every three years, so it compares current home values to 2005 values. And while homeowners have recently watched their home values plummet, they’re generally higher than they were in 2005. This is only a taste of the confusing process that determines appraised home values. Now it’s up to Reynolds to explain that to homeowners when they get their notice. He’s hoping this video helps: Once Reynolds sends the new numbers to the state, he then has to get the Ohio Department of Taxation to sign off on it. Here’s a story I wrote in February on that process: HAMILTON — In essence: You do it your way, we’ll do it ours. Then we’ll talk. That was the Ohio Department of Taxation’s response to the question of whether the Butler County Auditor’s Office can use a different formula in valuing property after the recent boom and bust market. The response came in a letter to Butler County Real Estate Director Michael Tilton from Shelley Wilson, administrator of the state’s Tax Equalization Division. This follows appeals from the Butler County commission, county sheriff, county auditor and other local officials, who all asked the state to modify its formula. “I don’t think anywhere in the letter did it say that they would do anything different, but they said that we could,” Tilton said. The main difference, which Tilton said could result in a couple of percentage points difference in taxable property values, is that the county will count post-foreclosure bank sales. Officials said these sales often are for far less than market value, so aren’t accurate indicators of value. “I think they’re expecting us to turn in values lower than they’re expecting,” Tilton said. “That’s where we’ll have to argue with the state over their figures.” With foreclosure rates skyrocketing, County Auditor Kay Rogers believes not counting bank foreclosures could lead to an unfair tax hike, as property taxes are tied to values. The county and state do agree, though, on which years to count. Instead of discounting the first half of the last three years, as initially proposed, the county will include everything, but give more weight to recent sales. Wilson said this is what the state has always done. “Our system is more like what Butler County wants to do than I think they initially understood,” she said. Rogers conducts assessments every three years. The Department of Taxation compares her findings to their own numbers, based on sales over those three years, to decide whether the county’s numbers are accurate. How do you feel about the recent housing trend?
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County Auditor
A rare bit of good news related to gas prices led our newspaper Tuesday. The article, in short, analyzes gas pump inspections recently completed by Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds. It found that (quantity-wise) local drivers are more likely to be undercharged than overcharged for gas at their local gas station — at least by a few drops. But while the quantity tests reflected well on local vendors — though some pumps failed, no one was found to be intentionally ripping people off — Reynolds stresses that his office does not test quality. Some have pushed for years for local government to test the octane levels in gasoline to ensure they are as advertised. Here’s the latest I’ve heard on the issue, as reported June 29 in a state budget story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: Until March 2007, Ohio was one of four states whose laws didn’t authorize official testing for gasoline quality, such as posted vs. actual octane. (County auditors already check to see whether gas pumps accurately meter gallons.) Then the General Assembly allowed the Ohio Department of Agriculture to test gas, but legislators didn’t fund it; the estimated annual tab is $500,000 (4 cents per Ohioan per year.) What about a test-funding amendment Agriculture shopped to legislators writing the construction budget Strickland signed Tuesday? Terry P. Fleming, Ohio lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, got House and Senate budget-writers to cold-shoulder the amendment. He said the oil lobby isn’t against testing - but opposes a $4 to $6 per-gas-pump annual fee Agriculture planned on. Strickland’s aides say he’s moving heaven and earth to find the $500,000 somewhere else - even as he approved a budget giving Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame $500,000. Reynolds said his office is considering a program to allow vendors to voluntarily have the quality of their gas tested. But it’s too early to say how that would work. What do you think? How could we be sure gas quality is as-advertised?
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County Auditor
Butler County officials say bids received today for construction of a new animal shelter are finally under budget. “It looks like we’re going to come in at around $3.2 million,” said County Administrator Tim Williams. Since the shelter’s “groundbreaking” more than a year ago, designs for the shelter have consistently been over the county’s levy-backed budget for the building. Two prior rounds of bidding both sent the county back to the drawing board. At one point, the county even considered firing the architect. Here’s a post on that and some more back-story. Any thoughts? UPDATE: Low bids for the shelter came in around $2.9 million, Williams said after reviewing the bids. The county has $3.3 million left to spend on the building. See a story in Wednesday’s newspaper. Photo was provided by Butler County resident Nancy Bender.
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Dog Warden
Breaking news from the Animal Friends Humane Society. Just received this press release: After an extensive search throughout several states, a local woman has been selected as Executive Director of Animal Friends Humane Society in Butler County. Margaret Rhodes Stephenson grew up in Hamilton, moved to Colorado after graduating from Miami University, and returned to Hamilton where she now resides. Stephenson is presently the Development Coordinator for SPCA Cincinnati. In Colorado she worked for Denver Dumb Friends League (Humane Association of Denver). While attending college, where she majored in Zoology, she volunteered for Animal Adoption Foundation in Hamilton, Ohio. According to Rick Fox, president of AFHS Board of Trustees, Stephenson’s passion for animals and her life goal of working with and helping them, was a primary reason for her employment. “She’s young, educated, organized, speaks well and is enthusiastic about animal welfare,” said Fox. “She will be replacing Leland Gordon whose youth and enthusiasm propelled him to all corners of the County and created a positive image of our animal shelter in Trenton.” Stephenson will have “big shoes to fill,” according to Fox. She can build on Gordon’s accomplishments and will eventually be working in a new shelter on Princeton Road in Hamilton that is to be built with tax levy money. “Gordon placed his emphasis on public relations and we can envision that Stephenson will continue to represent our animal shelter with the media folks,” said Fox. “We knew Leland would be moving back to Canada when we hired him and we hate to see him go, but we have found a local person to follow up, maintain, and make even more progress built on what has already been accomplished.” Stephenson will begin her employment at Animal Friends on Tuesday, August 5, 2008.
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Butler County
Anyone interested in the voting trends across Ohio and the implications on this year’s political races, should definitely read a two-part series I just perused on Real Clear Politics. It’s particularly timely in Butler County, which has held a stalwart Republican line for years, though Democrats claim it’s going to turn around this election cycle. The first installment analyzes voting trends across Ohio counties going back decades. It includes tons of maps (political watchers love color-coded maps) such as this one: And some insight: …and… Part II applies this analysis to this year’s election. Here’s a telling map: And this localized nugget about the March primary: Check it out. Any thoughts?
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A story ran Saturday outlining the mistake that led Butler County Environmental Services to underbill Pierre Foods in West Chester Twp. hundreds of thousands of dollars for sewer service. Questions still remain as to when Environmental Services staff found out about the error. E-mail correspondence says they discovered it in August 2006. But they didn’t fix the problem until February 2007. And additional information is surfacing that hints that agency administrators had wind of the problem in late 2005, plus that they money lost due to the problem is potentially much higher than Vance estimates. Read more below delving into Sue Vance’s claim that they knew nothing about it, though she said in an e-mail that former agency heads had known about it. It also gets into the other 207 businesses that were potentially undercharged. And stay tune, dear reader. HAMILTON — As far as county officials can figure, it started in 1988 with a rule that changed how Butler County Environmental Services charges companies for sewer service. A mistake, it seems, was made then that opened the door for 208 companies to be undercharged for sewer service. Though there’s evidence county officials knew about the error, the county didn’t recoup one cent until February. In the meantime, the problem grew, resulting in the county’s largest sewer customer being undercharged roughly $856,510 for sewer service. The 1988 rule change required new businesses to purchase additional equivalent residential unites (ERUs) for every 12,000 gallons of sewer water they use over the initial ERU they get. If they don’t purchase these units and go above their allotted amount, they are charged a “peaking” penalty. The resolution didn’t apply to 208 existing customers due to a “short-sightedness,” said Environmental Services Director Sue Vance, so they were never levied a peaking fee. No one did anything about it for 19 years until it was noticed in August 2006, officials said. In a February 2007 e-mail from Vance to then-county administrator Derek Conklin, she said, “it is obvious that previous administrations were aware of this no-peaking problem.” “We found evidence that both (former utility directors) Graham Rich and Tony Parrott stumbled upon the fact that some of the people were not subject to peaking, but they never researched it and brought it to resolution.” At some point, Pierre Foods was taken off the no-peaking list. But in 2003, it was put back on. Vance and other officials say the mistake likely occurred when a new meter was installed and someone changed the setting in the billing system. But in her e-mail to Conklin, Vance theorizes that someone thought Pierre was being treated unfairly because it was paying peaking and other companies — namely Shepherd Color Company in West Chester Twp. — weren’t due to the mistake. When the county learned of the problem in 2006, Vance said it was like detective work assembling all the bills and finding which ones weren’t paying peaking. They then interviewed former employees and sorted through records, but the cause of the Pierre mistake was never found. “I don’t think it was anything intentional, or malice or forethought,” said Commissioner Gregory Jolivette. “I think it was just a mistake that happened and that was unfortunate and we did our best to let Pierre Foods know what the problem was, how it occurred and how to move forward.” The county decided not to bill 207 of the companies for the mistake. They never determined how much this would’ve amounted to, officials said, but it would’ve been minor because most of the companies never went over their allotted amount. “It’s not fair to back-bill them to 1988 because it’s not their fault,” Vance said. They did back-bill Pierre foods $194,497 for the period from March 2006 to February 2007, as their policy allows them only to collect 12 months back for a billing error. The company also bought 700 more ERU’s for $833,000 to prevent future peeking. The total price tag of just more than $1 million was placed on the company’s tax roll, and will be paid off in August 2012. Pierre now has 1,428 ERUs. It’s the utility’s largest sewer customer by far, using about 16.7 million gallons of water in 2007 — 5.5 times that of Amylin Pharmaceutical, the county’s third largest user.
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Environmental Services
Two stories caught my eye recently about voting machines. This one is relevant to Butler County. Premier Election Solutions, which Cuyahoga County is suing, is the same company that Butler County bought its voting machines from. This one does not apply to Butler County. But it amazes me voting machine “sleepovers” were happening anywhere. Any thoughts?
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Board of Elections
Don’t forget to stop by the Butler County Fair this weekend. Good times will be had by all. What is your favorite event at the fair?
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Butler County
As we wrote about in a comprehensive set of stories Sunday, many factors generally go into the rates residents across Butler County pay for water. But looking closely at Butler County Environmental Services - which services residents in West Chester, Liberty and Fairfield townships - human error also contributes to that agency’s total cost. Years ago, for example, Butler County replaced much of its underground piping with a product called Blue Max Pipe. It was supposed to last forever. It didn’t. The county sued and was forced to settle for a fraction of what it costs to continually replace miles of underground pipe that occasionally burst. Butler County Environmental Services Director Sue Vance says the is “a million and a half dollar a year problem,” and “one piece of why our rates might be a little bit higher than our neighbors.” Another mistake happened in 2003. That’s when the county, for reasons officials say is unclear, stopped charging the county’s largest water consumer for “peak” sewer charges. The mistake wasn’t discovered for more than three years, and county policy allows the county to recoup only one year back (see below). This mistake was found the same time as another that goes back even further. In 2007, Environmental Services staff found that roughly 207 businesses weren’t paying peaking charges because of a mistake during a rules change in 1988. It’s impossible to calculate how much this cost the county, Vance said. As for the 2003 error, here is a draft e-mail from Vance to then-county administrator Derek Conklin explaining what happened: Derek, Attached is a spreadsheet of Pierre Foods sewer billing history, dating back to January of 2003. Some dates of importance are as follows: August 2003 - Pierre was placed into a no-peaking status for reasons unknown to us.
August 2006 - BCDES’ current administration became aware of Pierre’s no-peaking status. BCDES does have a policy that was adopted by resolution of the Board just a month or so ago that reflects our historical practice of back-billing up to a maximum of 12 months when under-billing has occurred as a result of incorrect meter readings or a billing error. The policy also requires that we offer a payment plan of up to 12 months, and that no late charges accrue during the term of the payment plan.
If we follow the policy and go back 12 months, Pierre would owe $194,497.79. If we instead decided to back-bill from now to the time that we became aware of their no-peaking status, the amount owed would be $123,369.17. Our entire Billing/Collections and Administrative Management team dealing with billing issues at DES has turned over since August 2003. We really do not know how or why Pierre ended up being placed in no-peaking status. The most plausible explanation is that Pierre was lobbying DES and the Board at the time to have some of their peaking charges converted to capacity, and some ex-staff members recall perhaps temporarily placing Pierre in no-peaking status until a formal policy could be adopted allowing the conversion of peaking charges to capacity. This never happened, and staff turned over. And, there are no notes or letters in our files to substantiate this. The one thing that has not changed throughout this entire period of time is Gary Sluss at Pierre Foods. Gary Sluss knows that Pierre is in no-peaking status. He is the one who brought it to our attention in August of 2006. I propose that we ask Gary for his recollection as to why they are in no-peaking, and if Pierre has anything in writing stating why this change occurred. If they have a letter or memo or even a memory that we don’t, it would refute the fact that this was a billing error, and our policy of back-billing would not apply. Bob and I were trying to brainstorm other reasons why Pierre would have been placed into no-peaking status. It is obvious that previous administrations were aware of this no-peaking problem. We found evidence that both Graham Rich and Tony Parrott stumbled upon the fact that some people were not subject to peaking, but they never researched it and brought it to resolution. It is possible that Pierre (or someone on staff) felt that Pierre was not being treated fairly since some other large industries (i.e. Shepard Color) were in no-peaking status, so they may have removed their peaking charges in an effort to create parity among similarly situated customers. (Note - Shepard Color is one of the customers affected by the 1988 resolution that has escaped peaking charges since their inception.) That is just a guess. There may be other reasons that we cannot guess - Pierre received a new water meter at the exact same time they were taken out of peaking. It could truly have been a billing error. I doubt that because Gary Sluss would not have known about that. My recommendation is that we contact Gary Sluss and inform him that we believe we have a billing error situation as a result of the fact that they are in no-peaking, and ask him if he can provide documents or at least a written accounting of his recollection of why that is. Then we can make a more informed decision about how to proceed. Sue
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Environmental Services
Butler County Democratic Party officials say a recent poll funded by the party reflects favorably on their chances for a rally in November. Party officials would not release the poll’s findings — and only reluctantly admitted it was conducted — but they couldn’t contain their excitement about its implications. Democratic Party Chairman John Holcomb said the poll focused on local races, and there were no races where Democrats didn’t fare well. “My expectations before the polling was this will be a huge Democratic year nationally, and we as a party questioned to what extend that would filter down to Butler County, which in the past has been heavily Republican,” he said. “The poll confirmed for us that there is definitely a trickle down effect from the national scene to Butler County and it does make us optimistic about our chances in the local races in the fall.” Holcomb cited the high Democratic turnout in the March 4 primary as additional justification. Holcomb confirmed that his name was used in some of the poll questions, but would not say whether he is considering a run for any office. “I don’t want to engage in any rash comments,” he said. Local races on the ballot with Democratic challengers this year include one county commission seat, a couple of state representatives and county sheriff. But despite the optimism, the party has no one challenging some seats — such as treasurer, engineer and one county commission seat — and have yet to announce an appointee to take on Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds. What do you think? Is this the Dem’s year to lose?
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Democratic Party
To temporarily quell continuous rumors, no sentencing date is set in federal court for former Butler County Auditor Kay Rogers, who resigned in March after pleading guilty to bank fraud. Go here for the full back-story. The only thing current court records show is that she found a job as a certified public accountant and private auditor for a company called Hunter Health Inc. And that her work will occasionally take her to Ashland, Kentucky and Hamilton, Ontario (Canada). She is also planning a vacation to New York. The court approved all of these out-of-state travel requests. Orlando Carter, former president of the fiber optics company whose demise took Rogers with it, has a court date coming up at the end of the month. He pleaded not guilty to charges against him. And with the FBI’s investigation ongoing, apparently touching on some actions by former County Commissioner Michael Fox, the rumor mill is constantly abuzz that more arrests are coming. What do you think?
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Dynus
Just received this press release from Butler County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities: A collaboration between the Butler County Board of MRDD and the Butler County Mental Health Board has resulted in a $50,000 grant to examine the needs of clients who are dually diagnosed with both a developmental disability and a mental illness. The grant from The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati will lay the groundwork for organizational changes for both boards. Current projections indicate that around 1,750 children and adults in Butler County have both a developmental disability and a severe mental illness. Special expertise is required for providers to adequately assess, diagnose and treat those individuals. “There is a greater need for a more system-wide program to change the whole behavioral health provider structure in Butler County to bring about greater awareness and responsiveness to treat this population,” said Scott Rasmus, Associate Executive Director of the Butler County Mental Health Board. “Developmental Disability programs need to become more attuned to the needs of the mental health clients and mental health programs need to be more familiar with the needs of the developmental disability clients.” The grant money will be spent on research and planning efforts to develop an action plan to develop a treatment team to serve the dually-diagnosed population. The work will take place over the course of seven months and will conclude in early 2009. Once all of the research and planning is complete, the boards will apply for another grant with The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati for money to fund the treatment team’s future work. The boards will work with two experts in the field: Dr. Joan Beasley, a nationally respected psychologist from the Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Jonas Thom from the Ohio Coordinating Center for ACT (Assertive Community Treatment). “This project is the first phase of what will help assess, plan and develop more effective services and treatment for individuals that need support from both the MRDD and mental health systems. The goal is to help individuals live as independently and productively as possible as members of our community,” said Dennis Burger, Program Administrator with the Butler County Board of MRDD.
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Developmental Disabilities
In addition to local issues and candidates on the November ballot, local voters will be deciding some major statewide issues. The Toledo Blade has this interesting story on issues that might or will grace the slate. Are any of these issues important to you?
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Statewide issues
It appears to have happened again. Since 2006, when 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel died at the hands his Butler County Children Services foster parents, the issue of children being abused in foster care has been a contentious one. On Tuesday, a local 16-year-old who ran away after he was allegedly abused in a foster home in Warren County, was returned to the agency’s care safe — but not unharmed. Click here for the child’s story. It was just in May that the agency launched an ongoing investigation into another allegation of abuse in Trenton. Agency Director Michael Fox said children being abused in foster care is shockingly common. An e-mail to this effect he sent to the paper incensed foster parents, who say Fox doesn’t support foster homes enough. Said Fox Tuesday: “As we’ve said, even when the system works and we do everything right, bad people do bad things to children. That is unfortunately the case here.” What do you think? Is there anything that can be done?
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Children Services
Sen. John McCain’s local headquarters — dubbed a “Victory Center” — opened today amid some fanfare, including comments from former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, McCain’s Ohio campaign chairman. The office is at the Butler County GOP headquarters. Go here for a post on the camps being set up as Butler County shapes up as a political battleground in this historic presidential election. What do you think about how the race is shaping up locally?
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Presidential race
In case you missed it, we did an expansive piece Sunday on water rates in Butler County Our findings: the cost of getting water from underground to the tap varies considerably based on where you live. What do you think? Are rates fair? How could they be lowered?
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Environmental Services
Now that county commissioners have committed to a 10 percent cut in water rates and a 15 percent cut in sewer rates by early next year, Environmental Services staff have been rushing to make budget cuts with as little pain as possible. The first suggestion was a reorganization that included 22.5 layoffs (read about that here), but that was stalled when commissioners said the unions and the city of Hamilton both appeared ready to negotiate (read that one here). The layoffs came on the heels of a temporary pay freeze spurred by Commissioner Donald Dixon, who said pay increases at the county are excessive. Go here for a story on that, as well as the role unions pay in these increases and a pay history for Environmental Services. Then mergers emerged as possible savings tools. One was floated with Greater Cincinnati WaterWorks and a more recent one was proposed with Hamilton. (Read about those here). Fast-forward to now. Morale is on eye level with groundwater in Environmental Services as their payroll fields threats from all directions. But they’re still hashing out ideas to cut costs, including absorbing general pay cuts to prevent layoffs. Below, I’ve posted a copy of every e-mail from Environmental Services Director Sue Vance to her staff concerning the above-mentioned reorganizations. They include messages from staff to Vance where staff say they’ll take pay cuts or other measures to cut costs. But they worry they’re just saving money for whoever takes over after a merger. Bridge safety in Butler County
Butler County tourism generates $802 million in 2007
Water study moves ahead
Jail population dropping after call-ahead request
Weekend roundup
‘King of jails’ trying to trim on jail costs
McCain coming back to Butler
…McCain fundraisers also are planned for: Canton on July 24; Dublin, a Columbus suburb, on Aug. 6 and at Four Bridges County Club in Butler County on Aug, 7, said DeWine…
In their own words
Water merger study
Cates encourages local nominees for senior hall of fame
County commission going to fair
It’s not worth as much, but your home’s value may go up
Quantity, yes. Quality, no.
Animal shelter, take three
Humane society hires new director
A county-by-county voting analysis
These days, gleeful Democrats and gloomy Republicans forget that partisan triumphs are part of a larger partisan cycle. The competitive character of elections promotes the cycle: defeat inspires innovation, reinvigoration, and eventually restoration. If we take a broad enough time frame, we can appreciate this. In fact, the Democratic triumph of 2006 ultimately depended upon the Democratic defeat of 2002, which serves as a good transition to examine how Ohioans behave when they are feeling more like elephants and less like donkeys.
These days, everybody talks about this place or that place “emerging blue.” A few years back, the talk was about “emerging red.” That’s all well and good, and some places are indeed emerging - but this picture tells us we need to be careful with all that talk. The fact remains that vote choices depend largely upon partisanship - which, even though it can and does change at the margins, remains a fundamentally stable political characteristic, typically passed on from parent to child. This is how we can explain elections separated by 40 years or more in basically the same terms. There is a great deal of stability to American electoral behavior. We need to remember that.
…Obama did relatively well in Butler County, north of Cincinnati. Plus, he won Delaware County, north of Columbus. Both are exurban counties that gave Bush lopsided victories. Obama claims he can win Republicans: can win exurban Republicans? According to this map, possibly. He would not need to win them outright. He would just need to minimize the size of McCain’s victories. If he does, that would be a huge advantage. In 2004, Bush’s victory in Ohio (and the nation) depended on the exurbs.
More on Pierre Foods
Some notes on voting machines
On a lighter note…
The (real) cost of water
Dems fare well in purported poll
Kay Rogers update
Agencies partner to study dual diagnosis clients
November ballot shaping up
When children are abused in foster care
Victory Center now open
Tapped out
Behind the scenes of Environmental Services
What do you think? How should the county cut its costs to meet the promised rate cuts?
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TweetWilliams says county finances okay
Having eased into the county administrator’s chair, former finance director Tim Williams says Butler County’s finances are in good shape, according to an article in the Business Courier of Cincinnati.
From the story:
“We have some revenue sources that are down, that fluctuate with real estate,” said Williams. “But that’s being offset by sales tax at this time. Sales taxes are up 4 percent for the year. And that’s pre-Ikea.”
With the economy in rough shape, do you think Butler County’s economic growth can keep it out of the squeeze many other governments are seeing?
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TweetBoard of Elections ready to move
The Butler County Board of Elections will close Monday, July 14, in order to move to their new location at 1802 Princeton Road, Hamilton.
The office will reopen Tuesday, July 15, for regular business hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at its new location. The main telephone number of the office will remain (513) 887-3700 in Hamilton or (513) 424-0469 in the Middletown area.
County officials say the building is done under their $7 million budget. It’s also done a few months later after weather delays and a slowdown blamed on a subcontractor, according to county officials.
Board of Elections officials say this will grease the wheels for November’s election, which could produce higher than usual turnout and a flood of absentee voting.
If you’re still not sure where the new building is, click here for a locator map.
What do you think of the new building? Do you think will we have higher than usual voter turnout this year?
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TweetCommissioners name administrator
UPDATE: Read more on Williams and his appointment here.
County commissioners this morning, July 10, appointed Tim Williams to serve as administrator.
Williams has been the interim county administrator since Derek Conklin resigned earlier this year amid allegations that he secured a retirement package for he and his wife without commissioners’ approval. Read Conklin’s story here.
Thursday’s vote was unanimous, said Commissioner Charles Furmon, although Commissioner Donald Dixon was not present for this morning’s meeting.
“We have appointed today just a top notch person, a very professional individual,” said Commissioner Gregory Jolivette. “He has shown that he is more than capable of handling the challenges facing our county.”
Jolivette said Williams has shown a strong work ethic in his various roles with the county and the “ability to see a problem and solve a problem.”
Said Furmon: “We could have looked high and low and spent a lot of money (on a national search), and I don’t think we’d come close to what we have presently.”
Commissioners said previously that it would have cost them more than $40,000 to conduct a search for a new administrator.
Question: Did commissioners make the right decision?
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TweetCounty to hire administrator
The agenda for tomorrow’s county commission meeting includes this line item: “Appoint Butler County Administrator.”
What do you think? Who will they appoint? Would Tim Williams be a good choice?
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TweetThe cost of water
Water is Earth’s most abundant natural resource. But if you want it to come out of the tap at home, it will cost you.
Butler County and Hamilton continue posturing over ways to cut water rates for county ratepayers without the county taking its business to Greater Cincinnati WaterWorks. (Read about that here) So it seemed like a good time to find out exactly who pays the most and least for water in Butler and Warren counties. After a good deal of research, we found a wide disparity — the most expensive water in Butler County costs four times what the cheapest does. Continue reading the story below to see the numbers:
Fairfield - $46.77
Loveland (Warren County) - $65.98
Hamilton - $62.40
Waynesville (Warren County) - $66.45
Middletown - $70.89
Mason (Warren County) - $71.22
Warren County - $74.03
Lebanon (Warren County) - $76.02
Trenton - $80.01
Springboro (Warren County) - $89.38
Seven Mile - $93.63
Oxford - $94.53
Franklin (Warren County) - $100.62
Monroe - $104.55
West Middletown - $116.86
New Miami - $120.90
Butler County - $125.94
Southwest Regional Water District - $132.68
College Corner - $196.58
Rates are based on 22,500 gallons or 3,000 cubic feet of water in a three month period. This is the average consumption for a family of four, according to the city of Oakwood, which conducts an annual survey that produced roughly half the above numbers.
Read Sunday’s newspaper for an analysis of where our water comes from, why these rates are what they are and what’s being done to change them.
So what do you think? Are you paying too much for water?
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TweetCommissioners not willing to ‘give away the store’ for merger study
Butler County Commissioners said they’d be willing to spend a pretty penny to study an expected merger of three departments whose budget exceeds $70 million.
But they’re not willing to go as far as some consultants who are proposing to do the work.
The JournalNews obtained the proposals submitted by companies looking to win the hearts — and pocketbooks — of commissioners to facilitate merging the county’s Department of Job and Family Services, Children Services and Child Support Enforcement Agency. The agencies have approximately 485 employees among them.
The six companies that submitted proposals are from all across the country. And the plans they are suggesting could cost anywhere from less than $100,000 to more than $4 million, according to an analysis of the proposals.
While commissioners Donald Dixon and Charles Furmon agree $4 million far exceeds what the county should be willing to pay for a study, other proposals have fallen within the expected price.
“It’s not going to be inexpensive, but it’s going to be a long way away from $1 million,” Dixon said. “We’re planning to do it a la carte, where all that stuff is going to be negotiated.”
Although it’s still early in the process of making a final decision — which could come next month — Dixon estimated he would be willing to spend between $100,000 and $200,000.
“But I think we could see a seven-figure savings in the merger,” Dixon added. The merger of the three departments has been floated to improve efficiencies and save money. The entire process — including study and implementation — could take more than a year.
The proposals
• On the low end, Cincinnati-based Management Partners compared the work in Butler County to other similar projects it has done ranging in price from $76,000 to $447,500.
• West Chester Twp.-based The Cumberland Group did not provide an estimated price for the study, but said its consultants would be paid $180 per hour and its administrative support team more than $28 per hour.
• Cleveland-based LNE Group — whose West Chester Twp. operation is directed by former GOP Executive Director Scott Owens — suggested the project would cost between $200,000 and $300,000.
• St. Paul, Minn.-based Public Strategies Group compared similar projects costing between $236,000 to $600,000 with Butler County’s request.
• Seattle-based MTG Management Consultants compared similar projects of between $245,000 to more than $442,000. An estimated cost of more than $267,000 is based on a $167 per hour blended hourly rate for its employees.
• Southfield, Mich.-based Plante Moran submitted a proposal that included a study and implementation plan for the merger. With an estimated cost of between $3.14 million and $4.45 million — based on a blended hourly rate of $245 per hour and a timeline that spans 19 months to 29 months of work — Plante Moran is the highest.
“I think some of them go far beyond what we want,” Furmon said. “But not dealing with these departments on a daily basis, we wanted somebody who could really delve into it and let us know.
Still, Furmon said: “We don’t want to give away the store just to get the information we need.”
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TweetOxford connector debate hotter than asphalt in summer
An expansive package we did over the weekend on a controversial road planned to connect U.S. 27 and Ohio 73 east of Oxford has put a burden on my e-mail inbox. Below I post some of the e-mails whose authors said I could share them on my blog.
But first, a primer:
Now, this response came from Greg Elam, a Milford Twp. resident I spoke to when researching the story:
Josh,
I appreciate you contacting me about the RT 27-73 by pass, and I apologize for not being here for your to take a picture. You did a nice job on the articles. I did want to point out a few things that may have been reported to you that we believe are not factual. The comment below is one that we do not believe is factual.
The study found that numerous trucks drive U.S. 27 through the heart of Miami University to get to Ohio 73 en route to Richmond, Ind
We have not seen any study that shows the trucks drive 27 and use RT 73 to go to Richmond. In fact, at a recent gathering, the discussion was just the opposite, most trucker like going through Oxford, and with gas prices as high as they are, do not want to drive the extra distance. Further, the City of Oxford’s consultant Rick Bailey’s comment that most truckers will use the connector is a statement that was not well thought out and is without facts to support it.
As I mentioned to you, it is my and others opinion that council member Ken Boggard has a conflict of interest and cannot properly represent the citizens of Oxford on this issue. For Mr. Boggard to provide support for the connector, while on the payroll (although retirement) for Miami is a conflict of interest, and Mr Boggard should recues himself. Obviously, if Mr. Boggard was against the connector or remained neutral, there would be no conflict.
Josh, we appreciate you taking the time to cover the issue and if you need any further interviews or information feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Greg Elam
What do you think about the proposed connector?
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TweetTeaching groups support Democrat Klimek for Ohio House
Just received this press release from Friends of Tony Klimek:
WEST CHESTER, OHIO. — Tony Klimek, candidate for the Ohio House, 55 District, has been endorsed by both the Ohio Education Association (OEA) and the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT).
Tony Klimek, a Democrat from West Chester Township has made improving education one of the major issues in his campaign. The recent endorsements from the OEA and OFT demonstrate community support for his commitment to education and his ideas to address the inequities in the K-12 funding system.
“For too long the representatives from Butler County have ignored the critical needs of our schools and the structural problems with the K-12 funding formula,” Klimek said. “They have thrown money at the problem and used a band-aid approach that has not addressed the basic inequities in the system. I will work with Governor Strickland, OEA, OFT, other members of the education community, and members of both parties to ensure that quality education and a revised funding system for K-12 schools are top priorities.”
OEA members teach in Ohio’s K-12 schools, colleges and universities and work to improve education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members, more than 131,000, provide a wide range of professional education services in communities throughout the state. Since 1847, OEA members have been dedicated to children and public education.
The OFT represents more than 20,000 members in Ohio including public education employees, higher education faculty and support staff, and public employees.
Tony Klimek is a professional engineer and president of Terraine, an environmental and technology company. He and his wife Jan live in West Chester where their four children attend public schools. He has been very active in the community and has been youth sport coach, BSA Troop 944 Scoutmaster, and robot team coach. More information about Mr. Klimek is available at www.friendsoftonyklimek.com.
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TweetSee online where Butler County spends its money
Just received this press release from the Butler County Auditor’s office:
Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds announced today that the new “Butler County Expenditures On-line” feature he announced last month is now available on the Auditor’s Web site. Citizens can visit the site at www.butlercountyauditor.org. An icon labeled “Expenditures Search” is easily located on the Web site home page.
“We are using the advancement of technology to provide our citizens more transparency into the Auditor’s Office,” Reynolds said. “I believe government expenditures should always be in the light, where citizens can see how their tax dollars are being spent.”
A few other governmental entities around the country have started a similar program. The federal government has provided such a database since last December.
The expenditure search tool was created internally by the Auditor’s staff. No outside labor or software costs were incurred to complete the tool.
“Developing the online expenditure search tool follows my commitment to provide reliable customer service at a reasonable cost to the taxpayers,” Reynolds stated.
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TweetLetter to the editor asks foster parents for honesty
In the July 4 edition of the JournalNews and Middletown Journal, a letter to the editor took to task Butler County foster parents for their recent anger over what they believe is poorly aimed criticism at them.
Read the letter to the editor here.
During the past few months, Josh and I have featured stories about Butler County Children Services officials’ desire to right their ship by keeping children with their biological families — when it’s safe to do so — rather than placing them in foster care.
Some of it had to do with possible instances of abuse in the wake of the death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel. Read that story here.
Those and other stories have caught the ire of foster parents, who have said Children Services Executive Director Michael Fox is unfairly painting them with a broad brush, making an already challenging task of raising foster children even more difficult. Read that story here.
Do you agree or disagree with the letter to the editor? Are these changes for the best?
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TweetDeWine on McCain’s ‘conservative problem’
While working on a piece on the two U.S. presidential parties’ efforts to set up camps in Butler County (read that post here), I spoke briefly to Mike DeWine, former U.S. senator and chairman of John McCain’s election committee in Ohio.
DeWine dismissed the argument that McCain will have a problem motivating conservative voters to show up at the polls — something local Democrats are hopeful for in this conservative county — citing the following issues:
McCain was instrumental in getting Supreme Court judges John Roberts and Samuel Alito on the bench. “He helped engineer basically an agreement that allowed the president to appoint conservative members to the court,” DeWine said.
McCain said he would only appoint strict constructionists to the Supreme Court.
“John McCain is the one person in the Senate that has stood up year after year…and criticized pork-barrel spending,” DeWine said.
McCain wants to make President George Bush’s tax cuts permanent.
What do you think? Does McCain have a “conservative problem” locally?
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TweetHamilton mayor seeks combined water system
Hamilton Mayor Don Ryan appealed to Butler County commissioners in a Thursday, July 3, letter to save county water customers money by having the city take over the county’s water system.
Ryan’s letter was in response to reports in the JournalNews of merger discussions between the county and Greater Cincinnati Water Works, with county leaders complaining that Hamilton’s water rates are too high and threatening to take its business south.
Click on MayorRyanWaterLetter.pdf below to see the mayor’s letter to the county. ,
, What do you think? Is this a good idea?
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TweetMcCain, Obama stake claims in Butler County
Both U.S. presidential campaigns are setting the pieces in place for a battle in Butler County.
Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama have dispatched lieutenants to base regional headquarters in and around Hamilton.
The state Republican party has set up a two-person “Victory Center” at the Butler County GOP headquarters. This is only one of nine such offices in Ohio set up to back their party’s candidates on all levels.
The Obama camp has set up its own three-person “Campaign for Change” office at the Democratic party headquarters. They will set up phone banks, register voters and hand out signs in Butler, Warren, Preble and Clinton counties.
The Victory Center’s hope: to engineer a presidential victory on par with President George Bush’s 2004 landslide. Then, Bush walked away with 66 percent of the local vote. Many credit this margin of victory with giving Bush the state, and in turn, the election.
“We need the same type of turnout this year,” said Ohio GOP Spokesman John McClelland. “Butler County and all of southwest Ohio is critical for Republicans because that’s really where a lot of our base lives.”
As the election nears, paid staffers at the Democratic office are expected to double here.
They hope to seize on McCain’s perceived weaknesses with the Republican base and the fact that the March primaries left Butler County with more registered Democrats than Republicans, though many call that edge a statistical anomaly stemming from a hyped-up Democratic primary.
“We are not conceding any vote,” said Obama Campaign Spokesman Isaac Baker. “We are going to be actively campaigning in areas that have traditionally been Republican strongholds.”
“(Obama) lost 83 counties in Ohio in the Democratic primary because voters in the state felt lacked the experience and leadership necessary,” said McCain Spokesman Paul Lindsey. “The result will be no different in November.”
Baker packaged McCain as campaigning for Bush’s third term. “Once they know more about him (Obama) and get to know him, they’re going to support him,” he said.
And the spin begins.
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TweetCare Facility struggling to make ends ‘meat’
If you’re a long-term patient at the Butler County Care Facility these days, you’re more likely to have pork for dinner instead of chicken.
That’s because the price of chicken — like gas, pharmacy items and other expenses — are on the increase, forcing agencies like the one housed off Princeton Road to scramble for dollars with six months left in 2008.
Making matters worse, state-based Medicaid reimbursements — which account for a majority of the facility’s budget — have been stagnant for the past four years, and in some years have dropped. In addition, indirect costs have risen nearly $120,000 per year, according to county records.
“I think it’s going to be a rough period of time,” said Chuck Demidovich, Butler County Care Facility administrator. “We’re trying to do all this with the same amount of money we were taking in before.”
UPDATE: The Columbus Dispatch featured a story on Sunday about potential cuts in Medicaid. Read that story here.
See the e-mail request by the facility here:
A request to transfer funds from one line item to another in the facility’s budget was tabled Monday because the county’s finance department needed more information. The issue is expected to be considered at the commission’s next meeting July 10.
In an e-mail to Finance Director Robert Lowery, Demidovich requested to move $203,000 around in various funds.
The Care Facility does not use money from the county’s general fund. Rather, it’s a self-sustaining fund similar to the county’s utility funds.
The Care Facility, which is expected to serve nearly 350 clients this year, will continue to do more with less, Demidovich said. Pharmacy bills have traditionally added to nearly $9,000 per month in years past. This year, thanks to Medicaid reimbursements, it’s more than doubled to approximately $20,000 per month.
And although the Medicaid reimbursement rate is frozen until June 30, 2009 — the end of the state’s fiscal year — Demidovich said it could drop once again.
Demidovich said food expenses for the facility are up 13 percent from last year, the cost for pharmacy items is up nearly 9 percent and the annual cost for fuel is expected to double.
“Food has been an absolute killer this year,” he said. “And what are you supposed to tell the patient, you can’t get your medications?”
That’s not an option, Demidovich said, but exchanging chicken for pork is.
See the rest of the county’s transfer and appropriation requests here:
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TweetHuffington Post: Butler GOP office ‘palatial’
In a story about party and campaign headquarters nationwide, the Huffington Post describes the Butler County Republican Party headquarters as ostentatious, second only to the party headquarters in Manhattan:
Perched atop a grassy mound just down the road from Walden Ponds Golf Course, Butler County HQ comfortably straddles a half-circular drive with a wide awning ideal for protecting guests from the rain. It’s also the clubhouse for one of the country’s most powerful Republican politicians, House Minority Leader John Boehner. President George Bush trolled for green here in 2004, and it paid off. The county voted overwhelmingly for the president and has contributed handsomely to Republican causes over the years. Maybe that’s why this modestly-sized county sports a palatial office in a relatively high-rent neighborhood. Across the street you’ll find a residential development with $300,000 single family homes.
This is part of the OffTheBus Special Ops experiment sponsored by the Huffington Post to get bloggers across the country to report on what presidential campaigns are doing in their communities.
What do you think?
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TweetThe Oxford connector roil
Like all things circulating around a proposed road connecting U.S. 27 and Ohio 73, the project’s history is relative, depending on whom you ask.
Officials with the Butler County Engineer’s Office say the proposal stemmed from a two-year study concluded in 2004 of future traffic needs in northwest Butler County. The study found that numerous trucks drive U.S. 27 through the heart of Miami University to get to Ohio 73 en route to Richmond, Indiana.
Critics say its real birth was a university-funded junket that sent Oxford city leaders to Washington D.C. to lobby then-U.S. Sen. DeWine.
DeWine secured three earmarks in 2004 and 2005, totaling $22 million — his largest earmark in his political career, he said — for four projects listed in the 2004 study.
In addition to the connector, the earmarks are to fund intersection improvement at U.S. 127 and Ohio 73, and Ohio 177 at Ohio 73, and the widening of U.S. 27 from Chestnut Street south to Stillwell Beckett Road.
DeWine, now a part-time professor at Miami University, said four of his children attended the school and felt that truck traffic on U.S. 27 was “a safety issue.”
“I think it’s a very good project,” he said.
Since the federal earmark, local leaders have flouted public debate and considered the project a foregone conclusion, according to Dana Saulnier, a Milford Twp. resident who has worked with Oxford and Milford Twp. residents to collect hundreds of signatures to shut down the project.
“Once the federal funding was in place, then local voices were disenfranchised,” Saulnier said.
Stephen Snyder, executive assistant to the university president, countered that the public was involved throughout the 2004 study, which was headed by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.
While this project is mired in the planning process and not scheduled to break ground until 2013, many protesting residents are worried about what comes next. Rumors abound about another connector taking traffic to Yager stadium from Ohio 73 to Ohio 732. Some worry that this is the beginning of a long-discussed bypass around Oxford to the west.
“That’s public speculation,” said Keith Smith, Ohio Department of Transportation planning and environmental engineer.
While local roads are planned to connect U.S. 27 and Ohio 732 south of Oxford and U.S. 27 and Contreras Road west of the city, there’s no bypass or road up to Yager stadium on the long-range plan, Smith said.
Critics of the connector say the $19 million federal earmark would be better spent building roads people will actually use.
Rick Bailey, a consultant for the project for Oxford, said truckers will use it because they’ll be given a route around Oxford to Richmond, Indiana that’s one mile longer, but six minutes shorter.
We’re planning an expanded series of articles with voices from all sides of this issue Friday in the Oxford Press and in the Hamilton Journal-News and other papers Sunday.
Do you have anything to add to this debate?
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Tweet‘Fonzie,’ first FIDO member, in dog house
This story is a must read by reporter Richard Wilson.
It talks about Fonzie, a 1-year-old Shepherd mix recently adopted by the Butler County Sheriff’s Department, to take place in the agency’s first installment of a program geared toward therapeutically helping local inmates.
The problem, though, is that The Fonz is still learning how to play nice with county prisoners, especially when it comes to a game of hoops.
Thoughts?
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