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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 > December
December 2008
MRDD - Quality of life
James Henrie is a busy man.
At 22, Henrie is a disc jockey, a Web designer and an artist. He sells his drawings on his Web site (need address)
He also has cerebral palsy and suffered head trauma when he was young that caused brain damage. At 22, he recently moved out on his own after growing up in Butler County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
“My thought was it was time for me to be with guys the same functioning as I am,” he said of his new roommates, also MRDD clients.
It has been a long road for Henrie.
Henrie’s story is in our paper today.
It is the final part of a three-part series on the relationship between Butler County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities clients and caregivers.
- The first part ran Sunday, when we introduced the Butler County Quality Cooperative and Gloria Silas, who puts the “care” in caregiver.
- In this story, we take readers to the Hamilton group home where Silas works. We meet clients with plenty of heart, such as Becky Hughes and Natasha Simpson. And we meet Seneca Botos on her first day of work.
- On day two, we introduce readers to two caregivers with plenty of differences but one important shared a trait: a love of what they do. But why would someone love a job that is so demanding and pays little more than minimum wage? Read that story here.
- Here is a slideshow with beautiful photos of caregivers and clients doing what they do. See the faces of all the people talked about in this series.
- And here is a video illustrating the relationship between clients and caregivers.
Now back to James Henrie’s story
Henrie grew up in foster care, where he wasn’t always treated well.
Lillie Thomas, Henrie’s caregiver, remembers meeting Henrie when he turned 18 and moved into the group home where Thomas worked.
“I didn’t really care for James,” she said. He had a negative attitude, she said, “a lot of rage.”
“I had to pray hard, really hard.”
But she’s tough, and didn’t give up on him.
“She always said never give up,” Henrie said. “She said I know you’ve been through a lot, but you can’t keep thinking about the past, you must keep thinking of the future.”
It’s turned out to be quite a future. Henrie has won an award as a leader of self-advocates who speak out for MRDD clients. He also speaks to groups of children. His message: “Don’t give up. God will work it out, just like he did with me.”
“I can see the pride he has in himself,” Thomas said with a motherly smile. “When he first came to me, he didn’t have any.”
“He’s a good young man, I’m very proud of him.”
These days, they talk on the phone every week.
“I miss James,” Thomas said. “I tell him I miss him.”
“She always cooked really good ribs, so I want her to come try mine,” Henrie said.
But as Thomas taught him, life is about the future. Henrie looks forward to driving a car, getting a full-time job and some day getting married. “That will be the next step of being more independent than anything,” he said.
“Sometimes it gets lonely, but that’s why I got God,” he said. Besides, “I can always keep in touch.”
She started laughing. “And believe me, he does,” she said.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Developmental Disabilities
Tweet2008 a year of controversy in county government
The seat of Butler County’s government was shaken more than once in 2008, with several public officials toppled among scandal.
First was Kay Rogers, who had served as county auditor since 1994. Rogers resigned in March after pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and mail fraud.
The charges are punishable by up to 30 years in prison. But nearly one year after her guilty plea, she still has not been scheduled a sentencing date.
The charges stem from Rogers’ role in allegedly helping Dynus Corp. secure a $4 million loan in 2005 in the county’s name without commissioners’ approval.
Rogers’ alleged co-conspirators were named in May in an 11-count federal indictment against former Dynus owner Orlando Carter, and unsealed guilty pleas of bank fraud from Dynus President Jim Smith and employee Karin Verbruggen.
Also in May, this paper unveiled an apparent FBI investigation of former county commissioner and current Children Services Director Michael Fox. FBI officials won’t confirm the nature, or even the existence, of the probe. But county officials say the bureau has gathered several different types of records involving Fox.
Another exit this year was Derek Conklin. After serving as county administrator for more than two decades, Conklin resigned in April amid questions from commissioners about whether he played a role in pay raises for his wife, Karen Conklin, a county employee.
This followed a proposed early retirement incentive package crafted in part by Conklin that would cost the county $3.8 million to buy time to retirement for 56 employees. Karen Conklin was one of these employees. She resigned, and the early retirement package was kiboshed, when Derek Conklin stepped down.
At the urging of Democratic party chairman Ron Wardrup — who later resigned after an OVI arrest — the Ohio Ethics Commission launched an investigation.
Wardrup also questioned pay increases given to county Commission President Charles Furmon’s former son-in-law, James Hamblin, a county employee. Hamblin then resigned, though he and Furmon both denied any wrongdoing.
The ethics investigation is ongoing.
What do you think of these developments? Any that I forgot?
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TweetChildren Services report includes painful images
Meet Deshawn. He is 12 years old, and his grades have slipped. He can’t do homework because the electricity was turned off at home.
“I told Mom, but she was really high,” he said.
Meet Josh. He is 9 years old and was sent to the school nurse because of bruises on his back. They turned out to be shoe prints.
“I made too much noise, and Joe whupped me with his work boots,” Josh told Children Services. Joe is his mother’s live-in boyfriend.
Butler County Children Services introduced the county to Deshawn, Josh and others in the agency’s annual report, which appeared in this newspaper Sunday.
Here is the story. The report is below.
In addition to updated statistics on child abuse and neglect, and useful information on how the community can help confront it, the report includes some shocking images of real abuse.
Did you read the report? What impact, if any, did it have on you.
Here is the report
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
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TweetBoehner’s nine lives
This is an interesting read. Read the whole thing, then here’s the question: how long can Boehner hold on as leader of a party searching for a new identity? Or is he the one that can provide what the party needs to get back on top?
The nine lives of John Boehner
By Chad Pergram
With President Bush leaving office, House Minority Leader John Boehner is competing with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to be the most powerful Republican in the country.
To get there, Boehner is trying to polish the GOP’s tarnished image.
Last week he removed Rep. Don Young from his position as the leading Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee. The Feds have scrutinized Young for years and Boehner wanted his Alaska colleague out.
Boehner has also appealed to conservatives by standing foursquare against any sort of rescue package for the auto industry.
The next two years are sure to create even bigger challenges for Boehner. The nine-term Ohio lawmaker has to walk a fine line between maintaining the confidence of restless conservatives and outlining a pragmatic roadmap for Republicans to regain the majority.
After consecutive bloodbaths for Republicans in the last two election cycles, if he fails, Boehner could meet his political end.
But such predictions are folly for those who have tracked the 59-year-old minority leader.
While Boehner vies to become the most powerful Republican by leading his party back to majority status, back in April 1990, Boehner wasn’t even the most powerful Republican in his home county.
At the time, the Butler County, Ohio, Republican Party met to determine whether it should award its endorsement for Congress to Rep. Buz Lukens, former Rep. Tom Kindness or Boehner.
Lukens was in trouble after a TV station recorded him bribing the mother of a 16-year-old girl with whom he paid to have sex. And Boehner and Kindness were after Lukens’ seat.
Boehner was the local state representative. Kindness held the seat for 12 years before Lukens took office.
The party picked Kindness.
The next morning, the Middletown (Ohio) Journal ran a picture of Boehner. He looked like a man who had lost his soul. In the photo, Boehner’s head was down as someone consoled him
I was in college then and covered the Lukens-Boehner-Kindness race for WKRC-AM in Cincinnati where I worked part-time. I first met Boehner a few years earlier when he spoke at my high school. My senior year, I had a long lunch talking politics with him and other local officials at the Liberty Restaurant in Middletown. In college, I interviewed Boehner several times while he served as the local state representative.
Back in 1990, Boehner faced an uphill climb.
Firstly, no one knew how to pronounce his name. On his press releases, Boehner marked an asterisk next to his name with a pronunciation key.
“Say BAY-nurr,” the releases read in an effort to avoid vile jokes about his surname.
Secondly, his main opponent’s last name was Kindness. I mean, come on.
Thirdly, Boehner was unknown in the northern part of the congressional district. It hugged the Indiana state line and ran a hundred miles to the north, far beyond Boehner’s sphere of influence as a state representative.
Few gave Boehner a chance, especially after his home county Republican Party dissed him in favor of Kindness.
Kindness far outspent Boehner. But a few weeks later, Boehner trounced Kindness and Lukens in the Republican primary and became the odds-on favorite to be the district’s next congressman.
And that’s when I first realized John Boehner has nine lives.
Since coming to Washington, I’ve watched Boehner cycle through those lives, each time living to fight another day.
Republicans were in the minority when voters first elected Boehner. But four years later, Boehner rode the tide that swept the GOP into the majority for the first time in 40 years. Republicans tapped Boehner to be GOP Conference chairman, making him the fourth-highest ranking Republican in the House.
By 1998, Republicans dispatched Boehner to the congressional equivalent of Siberia.
The GOP nearly overplayed its hand in that year’s midterm elections. It focused on impeaching President Clinton. And in the process, Republicans almost ceded control of the House.
Speaker Newt Gingrich stepped aside. Boehner paid a price too when then-Rep. JC Watts of Oklahoma defeated the Ohioan for his conference chairman slot.
But like Lazarus, Boehner rose again.
Boehner sunk himself into the minutiae of agriculture and education policy. And within a few years, Boehner became chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee.
Along with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., Boehner authored the No Child Left Behind bill. President Bush signed it into law in Boehner’s home district.
But rumblings persisted about Boehner moving back into the House Republican leadership. His opportunity came when a Texas prosecutor indicted then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Conference rules required DeLay to temporarily step aside. In January 2006, DeLay announced he would quit the House.
That opened the door for Boehner to become majority leader. And it opened the door for House Republican Whip Roy Blunt and for Rep. John Shadegg to take a stab at the job as well.
Few gave Boehner a shot.
But he’d traveled this road before.
The vote was scheduled for Groundhog Day, Feb. 2. For weeks, Blunt touted his overwhelming list of endorsements by Republican lawmakers. But Blunt, whose specialty as whip is counting votes, never quite had enough to put him over the top.
The Shadegg candidacy complicated things for Blunt and forced a second ballot.
And that’s when Boehner shocked Washington by vanquishing DeLay’s lieutenant and becoming House majority leader.
That fall, Republicans lost control of the House. But unlike the 1998 debacle, the GOP didn’t pin this disaster on Boehner. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana offered token opposition to Boehner, which he deflected deftly.
But the Pence candidacy foreshadowed a potential problem for Boehner.
The most conservative House Republicans felt the GOP was adrift. The party had strayed from its principles. And conservative lawmakers said new leadership was necessary.
Fast-forward to November 2008. Democrats decimated the House Republicans and sank the party into a deep minority.
Republicans were in a fix. The House GOP conference was conservative, and while he has a conservative track record, many believed Boehner wasn’t the right man for the job. Some also felt the party was running in place if it again tapped Boehner after he presided over two electoral failures.
Conservatives scrambled to find someone to replace Boehner. Perhaps Pence, or Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia or a rising star like Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.
Cantor ran for whip after Blunt decided to step aside. Pence aimed for GOP Conference chairman after Florida Rep. Adam Putnam relinquished his post. And despite a whirlwind courtship by some conservatives, Ryan ultimately demurred to Boehner.
In the end, California Rep. Dan Lungren posed only a minor hurdle for Boehner to clear to maintain his leadership post.
He had survived yet again.
But the survival game is afoot again.
Boehner may have nine political lives. But it’s clear he has spent a few. The question is, how many does he have left at this crucial moment for the Republican Party?
— Chad Pergram covers Congress for FOX News. He has won an Edward R. Murrow Award and the Joan Barone Award for his reporting on Capitol Hill.
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TweetSanta to make local stop
I’m not making this up. I just heard this on the police scanners, I think it was from Butler County dispatch:
Santa Claus has been spotted and is en route to Ross Twp.
I don’t know why just Ross Twp. was mentioned. Presumably, he’ll be making other local rounds while he is in the area. Or maybe the rest of the county has been naughty.
Who in Butler County do you think Santa should visit with a big ribbon-adorned gift this year? And who deserves coal in their stocking?
Merry Christmas.
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TweetEMA director’s resignation offer
After receiving full support from his agency’s governing board and unanimous criticism from local police chiefs, Butler County Emergency Management Director William Turner is offering to resign Feb. 28.
In a Monday, Dec. 22, letter to EMA board president Dennis Conrad, Turner asks the EMA board and county commissioners for extended health insurance benefits and full reimbursement of his vacation and sick leave.
Here is the letter:
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
‘I don’t want to stir up any fights’
Turner said Monday night he would not give a reason for his offer until county leaders have responded. “I don’t want to stir up any fights or say anything.”
The EMA board did not ask Turner to resign, Conrad said. But he said they’ll respect his decision and accept his health insurance and pay requests.
“I have no problem with it,” Conrad said. “Bill has done a good job for the county as far as I’ve seen. I know there’s been controversy, but he’s brought an awful amount of money to Butler County.”
Turner recently came under fire when the Butler County Chiefs of Police Association unanimously expressed a “lack of confidence in the leadership of (Turner),” citing a “litany of concerns” and “vacuum of leadership” at the EMA.
This spurred two county commissioners to request the EMA board replace Turner. They did not, and instead passed a unanimous measure in support of him and approved a pay raise for Turner in 2009.
Commission President Charles Furmon, who supported Turner as a member of the EMA board, or Commissioner Donald Dixon, one of Turner’s most vocal critics, could not be reached for comment.
Turner has 951 hours of accumulated sick leave and 578 hours of vacation leave saved up, according to county records.
County officials say Turner’s request differs from what a regular county employee would get if he or she resigned.
County employees generally receive health insurance coverage for the rest of the month they quit; Turner is asking for it through April 2009 or until he finds another job, whichever comes first. Employees who resign do get all of their accrued vacation time paid in full, but not their accrued sick leave.
Turner’s letter says he is offering to stay until Feb. 28 for two reasons: so that he can see the county through several pending grant applications, and to give him time to find another job.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Emergency Management Agency
TweetShared Harvest thanks auditor’s office for raising money, food
I don’t normally get these, but our editorial staff sent it over as an idea for a story - Shared Harvest food bank applauds the work of the Hamilton BMV.
From Shared Harvest:
We thought it might be nice if the Journal News could mention the Hamilton West License Bureau on Brookwood Avenue in one of its Saturday “Thumbs Up” editorials for the effort they made to help Shared Harvest Foodbank these last three months.
The License Bureau, operated by the Butler County Auditor’s office, responded to a suggestion from Ohio Deputy Registrar Mike Rankin that local BMV’s ask their customers to make a donation to their local food bank while purchasing license plates or driver’s licenses. In a span of about two months, customers at the west Hamilton BMV donated nearly $6,000 to Shared Harvest Foodbank.
Manager Penny Gibson says her staff heard many wonderful stories from generous people, such as woman who had cancer and only had a short time to live but still made a $20 donation. She also tells of a man who had just learned he was losing his job. He came in to buy two sets of license plates but still made a donation to Shared Harvest despite his uncertain future.
Employees at the west Hamilton BMV really went out of their way to ask people to make donations, so we hope you can recognize them for a job well done.
Call me if you have any questions Mike. Thanks for your consideration.
Bob Long, Shared Harvest Communications
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TweetEMA announces reimbursement for St. Clair Twp.
Received my third press release this week from William Turner, director of the Butler County Emergency Management Agency. Normally, several weeks go by without anything out of that office.
Here’s Turner’s announcement:
HAMILTON — St. Clair Twp. will receive $78,578 in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to help cover the cost of responding to the Sept. 14 windstorm, according to the Butler County Emergency Management Agency.
This will cover the unexpected salary and equipment costs of removing storm debris, according to EMA Director William Turner.
The FEMA public assistance program pays 75 percent of costs, and the township is responsible for the rest, according to Turner.
Thirty-three counties were declared part of a disaster area when the storm knocked down power lines and trees, damaged public buildings and left hundreds of thousand of people without power.
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TweetDixon: EMA Director’s raise a poke in the eye
Butler County Commissioner Donald Dixon took issue this morning, Dec. 18 with a request to allow the county’s Emergency Management Agency to move funds within its budget to make payroll.
Dixon wanted to make sure none of it went to a pay raise awarded to EMA Director William Turner after Dixon, another commissioner and local police chiefs stated concerns with Turner’s performance.
Dixon referred to the raise as “stick(ing) a finger in somebody else’s eye,” because commissioners have ordered no pay raises for non-union staff in other departments.
“I, for one, don’t want to give him a 3 percent raise,” Dixon said. “Based on the way we’re treating the rest of our personnel, I can’t support that.”
Turner said the $4,200 budget transfer he was requesting will no go toward his pay raise. It’s needed, he said, to meet payroll after a mistake with how the county had paid former contingency planner James Hamblin threatens their budget to come up short.
Turner said the 3 percent pay raise he is slated to receive is just normal practice.
“There was no intent to slight or stick a finger in somebody’s eye,” Turner said.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Emergency Management Agency
TweetCounty seeks $75 million from Obama for water project, more for roads
Today’s paper includes a list of projects that Butler County would like funded under President-elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan.
It includes a very large project that, to my knowledge, has never been publicly discussed.
Read more on that below. Then here’s the questions: should the county be building its own water plant and wellfields, or working with other local governments? What do you think of the list submitted to Obama?
A $75 million water plant
Butler County leaders say they were forced to explore building a $75 million water treatment plant and drilling wellfiields after Hamilton officials refused to lower the cost of water the city sells the county.
The water plant was ranked second in a list of project submitted for possible funding under President-elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan.
It’s take a lot of planning before a plant could be built, county officials said, but the city’s refusal to negotiate the contract is forcing them to do so. The county has already started a $40,000 study to identify potential well fields.
The county purchases 8 million gallons a day (mgd) from the city for $2.49 per 1,000 gallons under a contract that expires in 2021. Any additional water, the county buys from Greater Cincinnati WaterWorks for $1.48 per 1,000 gallons.
“The rate that we’re paying for core water is extremely high, the rate places us in the upper third of other water suppliers,” said County Administrator Tim Williams. “It’s an attempt to manage and bring down the water rate for customers.”
County Commissioner Gregory Jolivette said he would rather that the county work with its neighbors — think regionally — but that hasn’t happened.
“The whole controversy of Hamilton not being very cooperative with the county has made us take a look at … maybe go(ing) our separate ways with water plans so we can determine the desitiny of the county’s water supply instead of being beholden to the city of Cincinnati or Hamilton,” Jolivette said.
Bob Leventry, assistant director of the Butler County Water and Sewer Department, said a $75 million facility could produce more water than the 12 mgd the county currently uses.
It would take roughly 4 years to plan and build, Leventry said.
It likely wouldn’t be built until closer to when contract with the city expires, Jolivette said. For this reason, he called it a “long shot” for economic stimulus funding.
“They’re going to be looking at projects that can get on the board and get filled within the next year or two years,” Jolivette said.
Since Obama is trying to spur job growth, Jolivette said he’ll likely favor projects such as the widening of Bypass 4 and the extensions of Ohio 63.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission
TweetEMA: Prepare for winter’s worst
With freezing rain and snow in this week’s weather forecast and thousands without power after storms in New England, Butler County Emergency Management Agency officials are warning local residents to be ready for a power outage.
“Butler Countians should prepare their families, homes and vehicles for winter, by having a disaster preparedness plan and preparing disaster supply kits,” said EMA Director William Turner in a release sent out today, Dec. 15.
Turner advises people to have warm clothing, blankets, flashlights, batteries, a battery-operated radio, first-aid kit and enough non-perishable food and water to sustain every family member for at least 72 hours.
Residents should also have sufficient heating fuel handy in case regular fuel sources are cut off, Turner said. This can include wood for a fireplace or wood-burning stove, or fuel for a kerosene heater. And he advises homeowners to maintain ventilation when using kerosene heaters to prevent a build-up of toxic fumes.
Vehicles should be kept with a least a half tank of gas, Turner said. And they should include emergency kits with blankets, flashlights and batteries, dry foods, bottled water, flares, first aid kit and extra clothing, as well as a cell phone and vehicle charger.
Turner said those requiring prescriptions should have them filled before a storm arrives. Turner also advises residents to meet with their neighbors and offer contact numbers in case they need help during an emergency, and help elderly and disabled neighbors prepare.
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TweetDems went all-in for failed auditor’s run
Jack Zettler’s bid for Butler County auditor was backed with more than $67,000 from the Ohio Democratic Party, according to campaign finance forms filed last week, suggesting the party saw the seat as key in breaking Republican control of this county.
Still all that money didn’t work. Zettler lost to Republican incumbent Roger Reynolds, collecting only 44 percent of the vote.
In addition to backing from Columbus, Zettler shelled out $67,108 in the final weeks of his campaign. Reynolds spent $37,617 during the same time period, plus more than $20,000 from the Ohio Republican Party.
The Butler County Democratic Party spent $11,700 backing Zettler of its total budget of $15,000 between Oct. 15 and the Nov. 4 election. The county GOP had $51,916 available in that same time period and donated $200 of it to Reynolds, according to records.
The inverse to this was the race for Butler County juvenile judge, where Judge Kathleen Romans became the only Democrat elected to countywide office.
Romans spent $24,384 in the final weeks of her campaign. Her challenger, Tim Evans, spent $15,968 and received more than $8,000 of in-kind contributions from the state GOP.
Romans was the incumbent in this race after Gov. Ted Strickland appointed her to replace deceased Judge David Niehaus.
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TweetPolice chiefs back off Turner; does this put the issue to rest?
It appears Butler County Emergency Management Director William Turner is secure in his job despite coming under fire from two county commissioners and the county Chiefs of Police Association this week.
Do you think this puts the issue to rest?
Here is the latest story. Here is an excerpt:
Turner received a unanimous vote of confidence and a pay raise from the EMA board Tuesday, Dec. 9.
The EMA board’s vote puts the issue to rest, according to Richard St. Johns, Fairfield Twp. police chief and president of the association. He wrote letter earlier this week saying local police chiefs have a “litany of concerns” with the “leadership vacuum” at the EMA,
“The EMA board is the controlling authority and we let our opinion be known and they made their decision and we respect their decision,” St. Johns said. “As far as we’re concerned, that issue is closed.”
…
Commissioner Gregory Jolivette called giving Turner a pay raise amid this controversy “a slap in the face of the police chiefs,” and said there are too many unanswered questions.
“We still need to know why the police chiefs don’t have any confidence in Bill Turner, and can it be repaired,” Jolilvette said “From my conversations with the police chiefs, it couldn’t be.”
“We as a county cannot have half of the people who are supposed to be really protecting us and taking care of us in a disaster, not having confidence in their leader,” Jolivette said.
Turner believes the whole issue is a misunderstanding of his role in emergencies, which he said is to respond to other agencies’ requests, not take charge.
Here are the original letters from the police chiefs and county commissioners.
Here are letters from local fire chiefs and others supporting Turner.
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TweetJudge responds to sheriff’s proposed eviction denial
Judge Keith Spaeth, administrative judge in Butler County Common Pleas Court, issued this statement in response to Sheriff Richard K. Jones’ statement that he will not evict someone in winter months without finding them a place to go:
The General Division of the Butler County Court of Common Pleas has received a number of inquiries concerning how pending and future foreclosure cases will be handled following the Sheriff’s announcement on Tuesday that he would not honor a writ of possession (eviction) issued by the Courts. The Court intends to continue to hear foreclosure cases and issue orders in accordance with past practice, the law and each judge’s sworn duty. If, in the course of time, a public official is alleged to have intentionally disobeyed an order, the Court will be at liberty to respond and take necessary action to enforce its orders. The Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits a judge from commenting or forecasting how he or she may rule on a particular matter until it is actually litigated by the parties in open court. Judges are not at liberty to comment on hypothetical or threatened actions by parties or public officials until those matters are properly brought before the Court.
For purposes of clarification, very few, if any, landlord-tenant evictions (forcible entry and detainer) are handled by this Court. These types of actions are normally heard in the municipal and county courts. Of the foreclosure orders issued by this Court, only a small fraction result in an actual set out or writ of possession being executed by the Sheriff. In the Court’s experience, most homeowners in foreclosure voluntarily vacate the premises prior to the time it becomes necessary to forcibly remove them.
The judges appreciate the difficulty associated with displacing families from their homes in these difficult economic times. However, the judges have and will put their personal feelings aside and enforce the laws of the state in accordance with their sworn duty.
Judge Keith M. Spaeth
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County Sheriff's Department
TweetBoard of Revision approves lowered property values
Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds is lowering taxable property values on 15,148 parcels by an average 11 percent.
He said this is in addition to any changes property owners already were expecting after this year’s reappraisal.
Reynolds presented the final results of this year’s countywide property value reappraisal to the county Board of Revision Thursday night, Dec. 11.
Reynolds said his office has taken a second look in recent weeks at home sales in areas with high foreclosure rates.
The auditor’s office can’t use sheriff’s sales when appraising property, but “enough of those happening within an area may affect other sales,” said Louis Caldwell, a manager with the firm that did this year’s reappraisal, Tyler Technologies.
In Hamilton, they found roughly 7,454 parcels valued too high and lowered values a total $54 million. Building values in parts of the second ward alone dropped an average 30 percent, officials said.
In Middletown, 7,694 parcels were reduced to the tune of roughly $43 million. Officials said most of these homes were in the older, western part of the city.
“This was not a glossed-over blanket amount,” Caldwell said. “It was thoroughly researched.”
Hamilton and Middletown have total tax bases of about $2 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, so these last-minute reductions are a very small percent of the total, Reynolds said.
Reynolds provided this information when pressed by the other two members of the Board of Revision, county Commissioner Donald Dixon and Treasurer Nancy Nix.
Before this, the three argued over the role of the board and what powers it has. Dixon advocated for the board to meet this year — it’s unclear whether it has in the past, though it’s required by state law — after many including Reynolds said that this year’s values are too high in a collapsed housing market.
Officials said these reductions will bring taxes down slightly for some residents.
“It won’t be a huge number (tax decrease), but they’re closer to being accurate,” Dixon said.
This was the first and last chance for the board to review the appraisal before it goes to the Ohio Department of Taxation.
Assistant county Prosecutor Dan Ferguson said local government leaders now will consider whether to contest the appraisal on behalf of homeowners next year and try to lower values further.
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TweetSheriff says he will uphold law
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones was both criticized and praised for directing his staff this to not throw anyone out on the cold streets if they have nowhere else to go.
Amid concerns that the sheriff was acting above the law, Jones said he will serve court-ordered evictions, but he will work with the courts to find housing for the evicted.
This follows a letter to Ohio’s governor Tuesday, Dec. 9, saying robbing someone of shelter during winter could be a “death penalty” and he will refuse to serve an order if tenants have nowhere to go.
This concerned landlords that the sheriff was going to let people stay in their homes rent-free, and Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis told a local radio station that a sheriff should go to jail if he refused to serve an eviction order.
“He has no plan to willfully violate a court order and go to jail himself,” said Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Sgt. Monte Mayer. “He is trying to make sure it’s done in the best interest of all parties.”
“People need to pay their rent, they need to pay their mortgage, if they can’t, they will be served with these papers,” he said.
Of the more 500 eviction orders the sheriff received this year, Mayer said less than 50 resulted in “set outs,” where a deputy physically oversees the removal of someone and their property from a home.
And the majority of these have someone to stay with, Mayer said. “What he’s looking at is the rare cases, of people who have no family around anywhere,” Mayer said.
As for where these people would go, Mayer said the sheriff’s office will work with the court within the timeframe allotted in the eviction order to find a place for them to stay.
Bob Cornwell, executive director of the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association said he applauds Jones as long as he works within the law.
“I think it’s good that sheriff Jones is being cognizant of people’s needs but being cognizant of his role as sheriff,” Cornwell said.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County Sheriff's Department
TweetBoard of Revision meets tonight
The Butler County Board of Revision will meet today, Dec. 11, at 4 p.m. to discuss this year’s taxable property value reappraisal. It appears county Commissioner Donald Dixon will be appointed to that board this morning; Dixon has been a strong advocate of lowering property values countywide.
Auditor Roger Reynolds, who has also criticized the appraisals (though they were done by his office) also sits on the board, along with Treasurer Nancy Nix.
The meeting is at the County Administrative Center, 130 High Street in Hamilton, and is open to the public.
Here is more background on this issue.
What do you hope to see come out of this meeting?
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: County Auditor
TweetSheriff asks governor to join in suspending evictions
Update: Go to this blog’s main index page here for the latest on this issue.
Original post:
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones sent a letter to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland Tuesday, Dec. 9, asking the governor to suspend forced evictions.
With increased evictions due to skyrocketing foreclosure rates, Jones says he’s concerned that an eviction could be a “death penalty” for people with no place else to go in freezing winter weather.
“In the meantime, if we discover that those being set out have no place to go and risk freezing and starving to death, I will refuse to serve this order and send the paper work back to the courts,” the letter says.
What do you think? Should evictions not be served during the winter?
Here is the full text of the sheriff’s letter:
Dear Governor Strickland,
Due to the recession that we are currently in, which appears to be the worst since the Great Depression, I am asking you to please issue an order to halt forced evictions by the office of Sheriff.
My office has received over 500 orders for evictions this year. Of those 500, approximately 50 had to be forced out of their homes. This is an average of one per week.
I am concerned that these people will not be able to find shelter and some one will die. This would be the equivalent of receiving the death penalty for being behind on your payments. Please help by issuing an order from the Governor himself to stop forced evictions for at least the winter months.
In the meantime, if we discover that those being set out have to place to go and risk freezing and starving to death, I will refuse to serve this order and send the paper work back to the courts.
Please help those who find themselves unable to meet their financial obligations, some for the first time in their lives because of the loss of jobs in Ohio and throughout the United States.
Sincerely,
Sheriff Richard K. Jones
Permalink | Comments (134) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County Sheriff's Department
TweetEMA gives raise to embattled director
The Butler County Emergency Management Agency governing board expressed unanimous confidence in the agency’s embattled executive director Tuesday night, Dec. 9, and gave him a pay raise.
This followed criticism of EMA Director William Turner by two county commissioners and the Butler County Chiefs of Police Association in a pair of letters sent to the board Monday, Dec. 8.
After a nearly hour-long closed-door discussion, Butler County Commission President Charles Furmon made the motion of confidence in Turner. He said he believes Turner’s relationship with local law enforcement can be repaired.
EMA Chairman Dennis Conrad said the board plans to improve communication with area police chiefs by creating a new seat on the board for one of them.
“Hopefully, we can solve some of the problems that they had,” he said.
At the same meeting, the board approved the agency’s 2009 budget, including a pay raise for Turner from $79,295 to $81,674.
Turner said he was honored for the board’s support, and that he believes the police chiefs have a misunderstanding of what his role is in an emergency.
“(EMA board members) know the scope of the position and the limits of EMA director during times of disaster,” Turner said. “They understand EMA director does not become the incident commander of all local agencies during a disaster.”
Hamilton County EMA Director Michael Snowden and Keven Clouse, a liason from the Ohio Department of Public Safety, both spoke in support of Turner Tuesday night.
But both said a county EMA needs to have a good relationship with law enforcement.
The letter from police chiefs sent to the county commission Monday said a “vaccum of leadership” exists at the EMA and vaguely referenced a “litany of concerns” local police chiefs had with Turner before and during his response to September’s massive windstorm.
This spurred county commissioners Donald Dixon and Gregory Jolivette to ask the EMA board to “consider a change in the management of the EMA…before another significant and serious even jeopardizes the livelihood of our constituents.”
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Emergency Management Agency
TweetPolice, fire chiefs split on support for EMA director
On Sept. 18, one week before every police chief in Butler County unanimously voted that they have no confidence in county Emergency Management Director William Turner (see previous post here), local fire chiefs had a meeting of their own.
At that meeting, the Butler County Fire Chief’s Association unanimously voted “to express our support of the Butler County EMA to the (county) commission.”
“The Butler County Fire Chief’s feel the Butler County EMA and its Director Bill Turner have been unjustly criticized for their response to the wind storm and blackout conditions that affected all of Butler County the week of 9/13/2008,” says a letter to commissioners from the fire chief’s association.
See that letter below, as well as numerous others from local and state officials lauding Turner’s performance after the windstorm and after other emergencies in recent years.
For more on the recent controversy surrounding Turner, go here.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Emergency Management Agency
TweetObama’s plan could create dozens of local jobs, maybe
What do you think of President-elect Barack Obama’s massive infrastructure initiative? Learn more about it here.
Here’s some of what it could mean for Butler County (from this story):
President-elect Barack Obama’s plan to help the nation literally pave its way out of recession with road projects which could include funding six local projects totaling $6.4 million.
This includes a $2.2 million project to upgrade 54 traffic signals in Fairfield and a $3 million rehabilitation project on portions of U.S. 27, U.S. 127 and Ohio 122.
These are examples of the “shovel ready” projects totaling $2.2 billion that Ohio officials told Obama are ready to go if included in an economic stimulus package, according to Ohio Department of Transportation spokeswoman Sharon Smigielski.
There’s no guarantee these would be the projects funded.
“These are just examples of what could be a growing list of investments, as we learn more about the federal stimulus plan.
“The goal here is to identify investments that can be made today to get people working tomorrow,” she said.
Permalink | Comments (305) | Post your comment | Categories: National issues
TweetPromised water rate reduction in question
Despite aggressive budget cuts at the Butler County Water and Sewer Department, the national recession could make it hard for the agency to hold to its promised rate reductions next year.
The Water and Sewer Department outlined a budget to county leaders today, Dec. 9, that included a nearly $1.9 million reduction in the agency’s budget for next year.
This, despite a $493,398 increase in the cost of water purchased from Hamilton and Cincinnati — mostly Hamilton, under a contract county officials have long lamented as too expensive.
Water and Sewer Director Sue Vance said her department made the biggest cuts in personnel and electric costs. The agency has eliminated 16 positions over the past year and has plans to cut more in coming months, Vance said. Personnel costs alone are going down $1.4 million alone next year.
County officials said they still hope to reduce water and sewer rates in the first quarter of 2009 as promised, but “maybe not in the percentages that were stated previously, because we have to be cognizant of the recession,” said County Administrator Tim Williams.
Vance presented a plan in May that would lead to a 10 percent drop in water bills and a 15 percent cut in sewer bills.
But that was before the full breadth of the nationwide recession was clear, officials said. The county is estimating 355 new water customers next year and 530 new sewer hook-ups, down from 1,275 water and 1,664 sewer hook-ups in 2004.
This is a revenue drop of millions of dollars that is used to replace aging systems and pay off debt on expansions made when the county’s growth was booming, Williams said.
The Water and Sewer Department serves 36,564 water customers and 41,552 sewer customers in Monroe, New Miami and West Chester, Lemon, Liberty, Fairfield, Hanover and Ross townships.
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TweetEMA head under fire from police chiefs, county
In a pair of scathing letters, Butler County leaders and police chiefs across the county expressed a lack of confidence in the county’s emergency management chief after his response to September’s historic windstorm.
In a letter to the Butler County Emergency Management Agency governing board Monday, Dec. 8, two county commissioners said EMA Director William Turner’s “service has become a divisive force instead of a unifying force in Butler County.”
Commissioners Donald Dixon and Gregory Jolivette called for “a change in management of the EMA.”
This followed a letter to commissioners Monday from the Butler County Chiefs of Police Association, which said police chiefs across the county see a “vacuum of leadership” at the EMA.
“Leadership, coordination, communication, direction, resources, as well as anything else that one might have come to expect out of the (EMA) in the aftermath of the windstorm were all absent,” said the letter, signed by Association President Richard St. John, Fairfield Twp. police chief.
Click here for the whole story.
Here is the entire letter from the police chiefs to the county commission:
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
Here is the letter from commissioners to the EMA board:
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
What do you think? Should the EMA board terminate Turner?
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Emergency Management Agency
TweetCounty board to review appraisal
Here is the latest on the property value reappraisal conundrum (From this story):
The Ohio Department of Taxation has extended the deadline for Butler County’s contentious real estate reappraisal after a county commissioner says the county auditor nearly missed a step prescribed in state law.
That step requires county Auditor Roger Reynolds to submit his assessments to the county Board of Revision — consisting of Reynolds, the county commission president and the county treasurer — before final state approval.
Now the Board of Revision will get a stab next week at lowering appraised values, which some have assailed as too high in drafts of the countywide reappraisal completed earlier this year.
Has the law been followed in previous years? Is it followed elsewhere? That’s unclear, according to Commissioner Donald Dixon:
“It turns out that no one at the county level can ever remember a county auditor following this section of the law.”
And it appears Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes doesn’t follow this rule and has no intention to. Said he:
“In all the years I’ve been here, that’s never happened…After everybody has done all the work and the professionals have gone out … then here comes Johnny commissioner, who’s going to decide what’s right or wrong? Give me a break. The very idea that the commissioners are going to micromanage an appraisal is ridiculous.”
Here is the law, from the state:
On the second Monday of June, annually, the county auditor shall lay before the county board of revision the returns of his assessment of real property for the current year, and such board shall forthwith proceed to revise the assessment and returns of such real property. If the board finds that any tract, lot, or parcel of land, or any buildings, structures, or improvements thereon, or any minerals therein, or rights thereto have been improperly listed either as to the name of the owner or the description or quantity thereof, or have been incorrectly valued, or have been omitted and not yet valued, it shall make the necessary corrections and give to each such incorrectly valued or omitted tract, lot, or parcel of land, or any buildings, structures, or improvements thereon, or any minerals therein or rights thereto, their corrected taxable value.
The auditor shall not make up his tax list and duplicate nor advertise as provided in section 5715.17 of the Revised Code until the board has completed its work under this section and returned to the auditor all the returns laid before it with the revisions thereof.
Effective Date: 11-05-1965
What do you think?
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TweetButler County roundup - money talk
Quite a bit to report this morning on issues affecting government and household budgets:
- Butler County leaders are worried about a $7 million hole in their budget that may widen. I have that story here, complete with seafaring references.
- Amid the tumult of job losses and economic recession, officials from two Butler County agencies were careful yesterday to couch talk of new taxes with caveats that they’re only conceptual and years away. I have that story here, along with an overview of MRDD’s budget next year and a capital raising campaign at MetroParks.
- Butler County Commissioner Donald Dixon said yesterday that he and the state tax office have reached an agreement on a property tax reappraisal he has called unfair. Here is that story.
Any thought on any of these issues?
Here is the latest letter from Ohio Tax Commissioner Richard Levin to Dixon:
Here is the preceding letter from Dixon to Levin:
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TweetEmployee pay going up in new MRDD union contracts
Butler County commissioners today blessed a new union contract between Butler County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and one of the agency’s unions that amount to a 2 percent pay increase for some agency staffers.
Another contract for a larger union at the agency is expected to look about the same when put forward in coming weeks. Altogether, the agency is projecting the cost of paying its employees will go up roughly $200,000 next year.
But the agency is keeping its total $29.1 million budget roughly the same next year, due to expense reductions elsewhere.
Other agencies are also getting union increases as the county looks to cut its budget
Also today, commissioners approved a 3 percent across the board pay increase for Butler County Job and Family Services, as required by that agency’s union contract.
Commissioners have said they are not giving pay raises to any non-union positions, due to a projected revenue shortfall next year.
See a previous story here that I did on unions and their effect on employee pay in Butler County government.
More recently, the sheriff’s office budget is going up $1.9 million this year because of union contracts, though they’re trying to cut spending across the county. In the post about that, I pose this question:
How can government offices cut their budgets as revenues drop when they say their hands are tied by union contracts?
I ask that again now.
Here is the names, positions and salaries of every employee in Butler County MRDD:
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Developmental Disabilities
TweetLocals present Christmas list to Sen. Voinovich
Living in Cleveland and working in Washington D.C., U.S. Sen. George Voinovich doesn’t make it to Butler County much, his aide admits.
But the Ohio senator will hear the concerns of county leaders and everyday folks after a public meeting Tuesday, Dec. 2, with his district director, Nan Kohnen Cahall.
Hamilton officials, two county commissioners, the county engineer and a couple residents attended. Their concerns were far-ranging, but Cahall said she will present them all to Voinovich Friday, Dec. 5.
How could the federal government make your life better?
Pleas made Tuesday include one from Hamilton Economic Development Specialist Chris Xeil Lyons for the federal government to renew a program that allows the city to allocate up to $12 million in federal tax incentives every year.
This helps the city attract small businesses as it tries to renew itself, Lyons said. But the program expires in 2009.
Cahall said Voinovich sympathizes with they city’s efforts to help small business. “In this economy, anybody who employs anybody is an important person today,” she said.
But, she cautioned, Voinovich is a “deficit hawk.”
“He looks at everything very critically (asking) how much it costs,” she said.
County Engineer Gregory Wilkens asked for the senator’s support streamlining the approval process for road projects. He said the yearlong review process for major projects could neuter President-election Barack Obama’s idea of stimulating the economy with infrastructure investment.
“I’m looking at projects that need to get done, but we’re not in the process and I can’t get through that process in the time that it will be a benefit (to the economy),” he said.
Mike and Mary Lou Schuler, a retired couple from Hamilton, were the only residents to attend. They asked only that lawmakers put aside partisan bickering and their own aspirations and focus on the country’s tenuous situation.
“We don’t need them to start running for president right now,” Mary Lou Schuler said. “We feel in this day and age, when it’s so bad…they’ve got to work together.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: National issues
TweetObama, Jesus tied in write-in votes
Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul received the most write-in votes on Butler County voting machines on Nov. 4, according to Board of Elections records.
They received 57 and 41 votes, respectively, both securing landslide victories over Mickey Mouse.
Tied for third was Barack Obama and Jesus, with six votes each.
Of the 282 write-in votes for president, only the six for independent candidate Alan Keyes — who fielded a legitimate write-in campaign — were valid.
Other votes went to fictional characters, real politicians who weren’t running and several celebrities and sports stars.
Here is the complete list of write-in votes on touchscreen machines:
Click on the top right corner to enlarge. Do you know any of these people?
The analysis:
Election officials said several voters both voted normally and wrote out the name of legitimate candidates. In these cases, each voter got one vote.
“All those had to be remade because our scanner wouldn’t take them like that,” said Deputy Board of Electiosn Director Lynn Kinkaid.
An analysis of the 168 votes rendered on machines — the county doesn’t track invalid votes on paper ballot — found many wrote in the name of someone who wasn’t running, such as “George W. Bush” and “Gandi”.
Some of these may have been in protest, such as votes for Clinton, Paul or Mike Huckabee. Or more dramatic protest: “N/A”, “No one” and “None of the above”.
Misspellings were common. Clinton’s name was spelled 16 different ways.
Still others vote for fictional characters, such as Batman and Bozo the clown. Mickey Mouse received only two votes, tying him with John Edwards and Sarah Palin.
Celebrities and sports stars won some political support, including Martin Sheen, Stephen Colbert, Pete Rose, Tiger Woods, Mike Ditka and Brett Favre.
Though election officials say a write-in vote must include both the candidate for president and vice-president, few people did this. Those that did, decided to build their own ticket: Palin’s name was written in with both Clinton’s and Obama’s. Clinton was also paired with Jesse Ventura.
But the most unusual ticket was a write in that said, “JESUSRONPAUL.” The voter didn’t specify which he or she wanted at the top of the ticket.
The self vote
Jonah Haberstroh also received one vote.
“I just wasn’t in love with either of the two candidates so I figured instead of throwing my vote away on an independent that wasn’t going to get in, I threw it away on myself,” said Haberstroh, 26, of West Chester Twp.
Haberstroh said he only went to the ballot to vote on statewide issues; specifically, the payday lending measure, because he works in that industry.
“Pretty much everything I voted for went the other way,” he said. “I couldn’t even get my wife to vote for me.”
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TweetEPA loans county $3.2 million for Blue Max problem
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is loaning Butler County $3.2 million to replace sub-par underground water pipes, the agency announced Tuesday, Dec. 2.
The polybutylene pipes have been a soggy thorn in the county’s side since developers installed them between 1988 and 1996 in Fairfield, Liberty and West Chester townships.
They were supposed to last until 2040, but roughly 700 of them break or fail every year, according to Bob Leventry, deputy director of Butler County Water and Sewer Department.
The county sued Shell Oil, which developed the pipe material under the brand Blue Max, and settled in 2005 for $10.45 million. Local leaders called the settlement one of the largest of its kind, according to JournalNews archives.
But there were more than 14,000 water main connections using Blue Max, and they cost roughly $2,000 each to replace, Leventry said. The county budgets $1.5 million every year to replace failing pipes and there are roughly 7,000 left.
“We plan on having most of them replaced in 7-10 years,” Leventry said.
This is where the Ohio EPA loan comes in. For two years, it will cover the cost of replacing these pipes with copper.
With an interest rate of 3.52 percent, it will save the county roughly $798,000 compared to market rates, according to Ohio EPA Spokeswoman Heather Lauer.
The money is available through the Ohio EPA’s Water Supply Revolving Loan Account because dysfunctional water pipes are an environmental concern.
“If they can’t get drinking water because the pipes are rupturing or collapsing, that’s a problem,” Lauer said.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Water and wastewater
TweetCates fights for funding fix for fast-growing schools
See the press release below from Ohio Sen. Gary Cates, R-Butler County. Do you think these are needed measures?
The release:
COLUMBUS—State Senator Gary Cates (R-Butler County) today gave sponsor testimony on two important bills designed to address major challenges facing school districts in Butler County and across the state.
In the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee this afternoon, Sen. Cates urged his colleagues to support Senate Bill 363, legislation that would help ease the financial impact on fast-growing school districts like Lakota in Butler County, which is one of 19 districts across the state that see growth of 100 or more students per year.
Currently, the state school funding formula does not account for this jump in enrollment, so districts must scramble to find funds to pay for these extra students. SB 363 would help alleviate this funding gap by paying school districts, which experience growth of more than 100 students in a year, an additional transitional aid amount in fiscal year 2009.
“Since passage of the last budget bill, I have heard from students, parents, teachers, administrators and other concerned residents from across Ohio, asking the state to solve this funding dilemma and provide our schools with the funds they need,” said Cates. “While there are several areas of the state’s school funding system that could be improved, SB 363 is an important part of this effort that will ease the financial burden on Ohio’s fast-growing districts and allow these schools and communities to enjoy continued success.”
Sen. Cates also gave sponsor testimony in the Senate Education Committee on Senate Bill 360, a proposal which works to modify the state’s performance rating system for school districts and buildings.
Cates explained that in the past year, several high-performing schools that were previously rated “Excellent” have seen their state ratings drop to “Continuous Improvement,” because they failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards for certain subgroups of students. SB 360 would revise these standards by preventing a school district or building from dropping by more than one classification based solely on AYP requirements.
Specifically, a district or building would be declared “Excellent” if it meets at least 94 percent of the applicable state performance indicators or has a performance index score established by the Ohio Department of Education. However, if two or more of the same subgroups do not make adequate yearly progress for three or more years, the school would be declared “Effective.” If a district or building meets at least 75 percent of the state performance marks, it would be rated “Effective” unless two or more of the same subgroups do not make adequate yearly progress for three or more years. Then, the school’s rating would drop to “Continuous Improvement.”
“The state’s current rating system does not accurately reflect the overall performance of our school districts, threatening to cloud the reputation of traditionally high-performing schools,” said Cates. “SB 360 would create a system that provides more accurate information about the performance of our schools, while still holding districts and buildings accountable for the yearly progress of each student.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Statewide issues
TweetNRCC blasts Driehaus for ties to Rangel
See press release below from the National Republican Congressional Committee. I put in several calls to Driehaus’ office, but none were returned.
Here’s a primer on the many allegations facing Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. And here is the latest.
I checked with the Federal Elections Commission, and it appears Rangel indeed gave thousands of dollars to Driehaus’ campaign. Though it was a tiny fraction of the $1.2 million total war chest.
Driehaus, whose district includes Morgan, Reily, Hanover and Ross townships, unseated incumbent Republican Steve Chabot with a slim majority, and lost Butler County by a landslide.
Do you think Driehaus should give back the money? Do you think he has been “conspicuously silent,” as Republican allege?
The GOP release:
Driehaus Backer Caught Making Sweetheart Deals
Will Steve Driehaus Condemn His Benefactor or Keep Taking His Dirty Money?
Washington - It’s no secret that Steve Driehaus’ recent bid for a seat in Congress was bankrolled by the ethically tarnished New York Congressman Charlie Rangel. And now, Driehaus’ financier is in even more hot water - Rangel has been called upon to step down from his position as House Ways and Means Chair by yet another major editorial board for his appalling disregard of the most basic ethical standards.
The Washington Post takes Rangel to task for a possible quid pro quo deal with a major donor:
“[The] latest revelation of Mr. Rangel’s ethical tin ear is the most galling yet. While he remains innocent until proven otherwise, he should step aside as chairman while the ethics committee expands its inquiry.
“The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Mr. Rangel helped preserve a valuable tax loophole for an oil and gas drilling company while the company’s chief executive, Eugene M. Isenberg, was pledging $1 million to the Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service at City College of New York. Mr. Rangel insists that the mutual favors were entirely coincidental. And quite a coincidence it seems to have been. On Feb. 12, 2007, the Times reported, the day the tax legislation was being considered in his committee, Mr. Rangel met in New York City with Mr. Isenberg to discuss the businessman’s support of the Rangel School. Then Mr. Isenberg escorted Mr. Rangel across the room to his lobbyist, Kenneth J. Kies, who wanted to make sure Mr. Rangel would not close the loophole.” (Washington Post, 11/29/08)
The New York Post joined in by once again calling on its corrupt home town Congressman to give up his gavel and remove himself as the House’s chief tax legislation writer:
“Speaker Pelosi has all but ruled out relieving Rangel of his chairmanship, pending the Ethics Committee probe.
“Rangel’s ‘fear’ of that panel was illustrated by how quickly he reported himself: He knows it’s rare for members to get much more than a slap on the wrist.
“Bolder Democrats on the Ways & Means Committee need to step forward.
“Tax and spending bills begin in that committee: Do its members really think Rangel can credibly push through an ambitious agenda, given the cloud over his head?
“Charlie Rangel has fatally compromised his effectiveness as chairman of one of the most powerful congressional panels.” (New York Post, 11/30/08)
Now that the man who helped fund Steve Driehaus’ run to Congress has been outed for his most galling ethical violations to date, will Driehaus finally condemn Rangel’s actions and demand that the Harlem legislator step down from his post in the best interest of the American people? Or will Driehaus look the other way while Speaker Pelosi sweeps yet another of Rangel’s multitude of offenses under the rug? Given that Rangel lined Driehaus’ campaign coffers with $14,000 in campaign contributions, Ohio voters probably shouldn’t expect to hear Driehaus denounce his benefactor’s almost constant wrongdoing.
“Steve Driehaus was elected to Congress with the help of dirty money from one of Washington’s most blatantly corrupt legislators,” said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain. “If Driehaus truly is the ‘independent voice’ that he claimed to be on the campaign trail, he’ll come forward and join the calls for Charlie Rangel to step down from his committee chairmanship for the benefit of the American people. So far, though, Driehaus has been conspicuously silent, and he’s sending a clear signal to the people of Ohio that his idea of being an ‘independent voice’ is shirking his responsibilities to his constituents in an effort to stay in good graces with crooked Washington insiders.”
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Tweet2009 dog tags available online
Press release from the Butler County Auditor’s Office:
The Butler County Auditor’s Office will be selling 2009 Dog Tags beginning Dec. 1 through Jan. 31 for $14 on the fourth floor of the county Administration Building, 130 High Street. After Jan. 31 a late fee kicks in and the tag increases to $28.
It is the law in Ohio that ALL dogs three months of age and older be licensed through the auditor’s office. When an animal control officer finds a licensed dog running loose they can look up the information and make sure the dog is returned safely home. If a dog is found without a current license the animal may be impounded.
This year, for the first time, tags can also be purchased Online through our office Web site. The site accepts American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa. There are also 52 agents across Butler County who sell official county dog tags.
A complete list of agents and their locations can be found at the auditor’s Web site, www.butlercountyauditor.org.
The Auditor’s Office has mailed renewal forms to more than 27,000 county residents who registered approximately 36,000 dogs in 2008. The form includes information on how to renew or cancel a tag in addition to adding a new dog.
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TweetCompany says it will research property values for you
I know nothing about this product, but I thought I’d pass along this e-mail I just received. Please let me know if you’ve used this or something similar to it in the past:
Hi Josh,
My company ReduceHomeTaxes.com has several products that may interest you. Our Gold Package for $49.99 will audit a property to determine if an assessment value reduction should be pursued or is fairly assessed. Our Platinum Package will do all the work in preparing an assessment complaint for $389.00. If the assessment reduction request is not granted or we determine the property is fairly assessed we refund 100% of the purchase price. The burden of proof is up to the homeowner and our services are a true value. I would look forward to talking with you about property assessments you can contact me anytime on my direct line at (number redacted). It’s a great story that is rarely told.
Thank You,
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