Veterans board to reopen Middletown location

The Butler County Veterans Service Commission plans to reopen the shuttered Middletown office next month.

Executive Director Caroline Bier says the new location at 78 N. Breiel Blvd. will open March 1, if not before. The vet board closed that office about 18 months ago because their service officer who staffed that office retired, causing manpower issues.

MORE: Staffing issues led to office’s closure in 2015

Bier said they lost three veteran service officers in a two-month time frame, which left only two experienced service officers of the five on staff. There are a total of 11 on staff at the agency, including Bier, the service officers, benefits coordinators and office staff. The new service officers are now up to speed in their jobs.

The new office will have space for four offices – one for a service officer, a benefits coordinator, a receptionist/transportation scheduler and Bier, who will be there a couple days a week. They spent about $3,000 to outfit the new space and rent will run about $14,000 annually.

Board President Chuck Weber said he would like to use the conference room at the Middletown office for their monthly meetings occasionally, to further raise awareness about the agency.

The commissioners discussed Wednesday possibly sending out a notification through Middletown utility bills letting Middletown vets know their neighborhood office is open for business again. Taking a gander at the monthly breakdown of where veterans they’ve helped hail from, Weber said the Middletown numbers, given the second largest Butler County city’s population, should be higher.

In the month of January the vet board served 250 clients from Hamilton but only 69 who live in Middletown zip codes. Weber said he wants the reopening of the office to be well known.

“Let’s find a button to push on this thing,” Weber said. “It’s only going to be a one time deal we’re not going to sit there hang out at the city hall, but if we could somehow get it through to everybody that we’re in town.”

A couple years ago the vet board sent out 26,000 direct mail postcards letting veterans — whom they identified through Bureau of Motor Vehicle records — know about their services.

RELATED: Veterans board ramps up outreach efforts

While the board is not affiliated with the Veterans Administration — it is an arm of county government — as many mistakenly think, it offers a plethora of services like doling out emergency cash, helping veterans navigate the Veterans Administration system, arranging and paying for transportation to medical appointments and finding local services for everything from legal issues to marriage counseling.

Bier said she will get cost estimates on whether a direct mailer or inserts in utility bills makes the most fiscal sense. The mass postcards cost in the neighborhood of $10,000.

Overall the vet board’s increased outreach with an $81,000 ad buy appears to be paying off, with steadily increasing numbers of veterans served and new clients coming in — 10 in January. In January 463 vets received services, which is higher than the 411 annual average over the past four years.

“Yeah for us,” Commissioner Dave Smith said about the service numbers.

MORE: Advertising making a difference for veterans board

The board has gradually increased its ad budget over the past few years, hoping to reach more veterans who might need their help. In December the vet board approved a partnership deal with Warren County where each county contributes about $50,000 to run ads on several radio stations. Butler County also agreed to buy some additional radio air time and ads in the Journal-News for a total buy of $81,834 — up from the 2016 budget of $51,975.

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