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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 > 2009 > March
March 2009
State lawmakers weigh in on adoption debate
Butler County’s four state lawmakers are united in support of a proposed local Children Services policy that would give preference in foster and adoption decisions to traditional married couples over single or gay parents.
State Sen. Gary Cates, and Reps. William Coley, Courtney Combs and Timothy Derickson added their voices to the clamor of public opinion on the topic in a series of letters to county commissioners.
All four are Republicans, and constitute Butler County’s entire representation in Columbus.
The letters cite a legal review of the proposed policy by Cincinnati-based Langdon Law LLC, which states the policy is in line with federal and state statutes (See the legal opinion at the bottom of this post).
“Further and more importantly, we are confident that giving first consideration to intact families in the placement of children is consistent with years of social science research demonstrating that an intact married family is the optimum environment for raising children,” says the letter from Combs, dated Thursday, March 26.
“Such data demonstrates that children raised by both a loving mother and father in a stable married relationship far better in every measured category,” the letter states.
Here is the full text of Combs’ letter:
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
What do you think?
Background
The policy was enacted by outgoing Children Services Director Michael Fox in December, and suspended by commissioners earlier this month pending a legal review by the county prosecutor’s office.
The policy states that, all other things equal, the agency will give preference to married couples over single individuals, cohabitating couples or gay couples (More on the policy here).
Sides have formed in the debate. The Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values supports the policy, along with an Oxford man who handed commissioners a petition with 88 signatures. The American Civil Liberties Union opposes it, along a Liberty Twp. woman handed commissioners a 476-signature petition.
Two commissioners have voiced support of the policy if it is deemed nondiscriminatory, and one opposes it.
Here is the legal opinion from Langdon Law LLC:
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Children Services
TweetA friendly exchange
Reviews have been positive of a countywide summit Thursday evening where the entire power structure of Butler County came together to discuss ways to work together and share resources.
Not only did local leaders talk about collaboration without arguing over turf, many of them went afterwards to Ryan’s Tavern to watch the Pittsburgh-Xavier game.
Towards the end of the meeting, county Commission President Donald Dixon joked that Hamilton City Councilman Ed Shelton offered to buy the 100-plus attendees a round at the bar.
Shelton stood up and joked that the city was going to start bottling and selling its own water. “Hamilton Ohio has the best water in the United States,” he said, referring to a title recently won by the city.
Shouted Fairfield Mayor Ron D’Epifanio without missing a beat: “But it costs too much.”
Laughter ensued.
Here is the coverage of the summit Thursday night (Go here for the original story):
The days of political turf wars are over.
At least that’s the lofty goal after residents and government decision-makers from every jurisdiction of Butler County — more than 100 people in all — packed into a conference room at the Government Services Center in Hamilton Thursday, March 26, to find new ways to work together.
They broke into groups of a couple dozen each and made lists of areas where local governments could collaborate, ranking them in difficulty as easy, medium and hard.
Suggestions ranged from sharing emergency training to reducing the number of local governments, proposed by Middletown Economic Development Director Mike Robinette.
Then each person voted on one idea in each category they believed should be worked on.
The hands-down favorite was consolidated purchasing, which was ranked as easy. There’s savings to be realized, county and township officials said, if local governments went together on large bids and utilized economies of scale.
In the moderate column, merging county and area courts, electronic imaging work, police SWAT, information technology and human resources all received multiple votes.
Merging the administrative side of county and area courts would be easy, said Clerk of Courts Cindy Carpenter, because their funding comes from the same place and they do much the same thing.
The “hard” efforts to get multiple votes included public transportation and merging information technology.
What do you think of these ideas? Are they realistic? Worthwhile? Was there something else that should’ve been a finalist?
In the process of creating these lists, hints at future debate emerged. Rob Wile, owner of United Heartland Insurance, suggested merging all the fleet management and maintenance offices across different governments.
“A lot of this stuff is going to scare township government,” responded Todd Farler, Madison Twp. administrator. “It’s not so much that townships will be afraid of losing control, it’s a matter of losing their service our residents expect of us.”
County officials said they will assemble the list into a report in coming weeks and see if those who attended would be interested in forming task forces to accomplish some of the reforms.
It was a good first step, said county Commissioner Gregory Jolivette, who organized the summit to address governmental budget shortfalls.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County
TweetGOP: Ruscigno is not one of ours
Since this story ran about Joe Ruscigno being charged with tax obstruction — the story outlines his past dealings with several local political campaigns — local Republican officials have called to make one thing clear:
Ruscigno is not a member of the Butler County Republican party.
He was once very active in the party (served briefly as finance chair, legendary fund-raiser for former commissioner Michael Fox, etc.) but said in July 2006 that he and Rawnica Dillingham were ousted by party leadership from the executive committee as revenge for ramping up a challenge to Commissioner Charles Furmon in the 2008 GOP primary.
Party leaders say the couple were left out of a party reorganization because they did not pay their dues.
The campaigns Ruscigno was active in, including Dillingham’s and former auditor Kay Rogers’, were both in opposition to party leadership (neither were endorsed by the party).
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Republican Party
TweetChildren Services traditional marriage preference update
A Liberty Twp. resident this morning assailed a controversial, proposed Butler County Children Services policy that gives preference in foster care and adoption cases to traditional married couples over single, unmarried or same-sex households (more on the policy here).
In addition to handing over a 476-signature petition opposed to the policy, Carla Brittain made the following prepared statement:
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
This follows another petition handed over last week by a supporter of the policy. Read about that here.
What do you think of the proposed policy?
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment | Categories: Children Services
TweetCincy city council member to address PAC
Press release from Butler County Progressive PAC:
Newly-appointed Cincinnati City Council Member Greg Harris will return to Oxford as the Guest of Honor at the first Happy Hour Fundraiser of the Butler County Progressive Political Action Committee, PAC Vice-President Bill Gracie has announced.
The event will take place from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 3 at the A-List Bar (second floor) of the Alexander House, 22 N. College Avenue in Oxford. Admission to the Happy Hour is $10, and all are welcome.
Harris is a former Oxford resident who earned both his masters and doctoral degrees in English from Miami University, where he taught for six years before moving to Cincinnati.
According to Harris, “We have seen the strong results of Howard Dean’s 50 State strategy. Ohio now needs an 88 county strategy.”
“I’m convinced that the Democratic message can win anywhere with adequate resources,” Harris continued. “I’m equally convinced that Butler County Progressive PAC will result in Democratic gains in what is now a red county. I’m honored to be a friend of this movement.”
Harris was a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress from Ohio’s First Congressional District in 2004. He campaigned as an outspoken critic of the Iraq War and in strong support of universal health care, energy independence, campaign finance reform, and increased education funding.
Harris was appointed to Cincinnati City Council in January to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of John Cranley. He serves on Council’s Finance, Law and Public Safety, and Health, Environment, and Education Committees.
Since 2005, Harris has worked as a Public Policy Officer at KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Ohio’s largest education philanthropy. He oversees strategic communications and workforce education and economic development projects. Harris is currently staffing the foundation’s efforts to identify innovative strategies for Ohio to bolster educational opportunity and job training for its over 1.2 million working poor.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Democratic Party
TweetRuscigno pledges cooperation in plea agreement
Local political operative and nightclub owner Joe Ruscigno has agreed to plead guilty to charges of tax obstruction in return for a reduced sentence, according to a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court.
Ruscigno is facing federal charges that he over-reported the expenses of West Chester Twp.-based Fitch Reporting, Inc., to justify lowering weekly payments of back-taxes to the IRS.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of a $250,000 fine and three years in jail.
In addition to waiving his right to a defense, the agreement, signed by Ruscigno in November and filed March 10, also required Ruscigno to cooperate in unspecified ongoing criminal investigations.
The agreement isn’t finalized until Ruscigno formally enters a plea at arraignment before U.S. Judge Herman Weber in Cincinnati. His arraignment was rescheduled from today, March 26, to April 22.
In addition to being part-owner of V’s Nightclub in Hamilton — which was raided by police last month for allegedly violating the city’s adult entertainment ordinances — Ruscigno has been active in local politics for years.
Before the failed county commission campaign of his wife, Rawnica Dillingham, Ruscigno was active in Robin Piper’s campaign for county prosecutor in 2000 and Michael Fox’s re-election campaign in 2004. He also briefly served as finance chairman of the Butler County GOP.
He was also a close political ally of Kay Rogers, former county auditor who stepped down after pleading guilty to bank fraud in relation to a fiber-optics company allegedly taking out a multi-million dollar loan in Butler County’s name without county approval.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Crime and courts
TweetGovernment reform summit set for Thursday
Administrators and elected officials from cities and townships across Butler County will meet in a first-of-its kind summit Thursday, March 26, to talk about local government reforms.
Talks will focus on how county, township and municipal governments can share resources and work together to improve services and reduce costs.
How do you think governments could work better together? Do you think there are any redundant services, or services that could be more efficient?
The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the first floor conference room of the Government Services Center in downtown Hamilton.
In addition to bringing their own ideas, officials will discuss the results of a public opinion survey conducted through the county’s Web site. The survey asks residents what services they think need to be locally handled, and which ones need to be overseen by an elected board.
“You never know where a golden nugget of an idea may come from,” said county Commissioner Gregory Jolivette, architect of the summit.
Ideas about merging emergency dispatch centers, water utilities, health departments, transportation and numerous other services have been bounced around for years. They are often quickly rebuffed, as local governments are rarely willing to give up control of services in a merger.
But with local governments suffering revenue shortfalls as the recession drags on, Jolivette said there’s an unprecedented impetus for governments to work together.
At the summit, officials will break into smaller groups to discuss ideas. By the end of the meeting, Jolivette hopes to at least have a launching point for further discussion.
“I don’t expect that we’re going to have an agreement tomorrow night,” he said Wednesday, March 25. “It’s going to take some time and it will not be without some give and take with regards to whose turf is being talked about.”
Permalink | Comments (18) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County
TweetPartners in Prime head says closure threats were “hyperbole”
From our Web site:
Partners in Prime’s chief officer “exaggerated” when he said last summer the organization would be “extinct” in the next five years if it lost a key contract.
In August 2008, the multi-million-dollar business of providing senior services to the county’s 60-and-older population — specifically case management and intake — was up for grabs.
The Council on Aging of Southwest Ohio administers programs to local seniors as part of its contract with the Butler County Elderly Services Board; the COA was looking to contract out some of those services for the next five years.
Hamilton-based LifeSpan was awarded the contract to provide intake and assessment services to local seniors after its $1.68 million proposal to do the work was approved by COA. That was compared to a consortium of Partners in Prime and Middletown and Oxford senior centers, whose bid came in at $2.11 million.
Prior to COA’s Aug. 22, 2008, decision to go with LifeSpan, Partners in Prime’s chief executive officer Stephen Schnabl said “The loss of (the) contract would mean that our organization and our senior centers (in Hamilton, Fairfield and West Chester Twp.) could face extinction in the next five years.”
The statement set off a firestorm of reaction from the community, especially seniors who wondered whether the centers they attend regularly would last.
Schnabl said this week he was “speaking in hyperbole” and that “I exaggerated.”
“It was a heat-of-the-moment comment,” Schnabl said of the August 2008 conversation with the JournalNews. “We’re a stable organization.”
A member of the organization’s board said although Schnabl’s passion for providing senior services is a benefit to the county, his comments last summer simply were untrue.
“I wouldn’t expect a comment like that to be in our five-year forecast,” said Board Member Randy Oppenheimer. “I don’t think we’re going to be extinct because of the loss of that contract.”
Schnabl and Oppenheimer said the financial viability of Partners in Prime is strong despite its headquarters being hit by an unexpected flood in December and a souring local and national economy.
Schnabl told West Chester Twp. Trustees Tuesday that Partners in Prime will hold the line this year when it comes to employee salaries thanks to increases in health care and utility costs.
“We have a budget, and we live within it,” Oppenheimer said. “We’ve been around for more than 50 years, and I think we’ll be here longer.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Senior Services
TweetThe last minute rush
After this story ran in today’s paper, my phone has been ringing off the hook all day with people wanting to lower their taxable property values.
First off, there’s nothing I can do about your taxes. I can only refer you to the Butler County auditor’s Web site, where you can download a form that has to be delivered by Tuesday, March 31. Click on the BORform on the site for the correct form.
Several of the calls that I’ve gotten are from people simply upset their taxes are so high. Others ask how to get the form if they don’t have the Internet or the ability to drive to the auditor’s office. This is a good question, and I give them the auditor’s office phone number: (513) 887-3154.
Why do you think so many people are calling? Do you think this reflects the quality of the appraisal, is this par for the course, or is this just a symptom of so many people upset about how high their taxes are?
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: County Auditor
TweetDeadline near to appeal taxable property values
Less than a week remains for residents wanting to contest their property’s taxable value after last year’s countywide property value reappraisal.
The Butler County Auditor’s Office must have all appeals in-hand by the close of business Tuesday, March 31. The deadline nears at a time when home sale prices countywide — most notably in Hamilton and Middletown — are dropping significantly.
The office will extend its hours at both its Hamilton and Liberty Twp. locations until 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday to accept appeals. Forms can be downloaded from the auditor’s office Web site or picked up in the office.
The county’s board of revision will hear the appeals and decide if taxable values need to be lowered. Historically, roughly 60 percent of people who file appeals succeed in lowering their taxes, according to Deputy Auditor Michael Tilton.
Have you filed an appeal or held an informal review? What was the outcome?
More people are filing appeals this year: 1,985 as of Tuesday, compared to 1,296 after the last full reappraisal in 2002.
This follows an unprecedented 5,800 people who protested their property appraisal through informal reviews as the appraisal was wrapping up last year.
“Through our process of informal reviews, we were able to address a lot of questions and issues,” said Auditor Roger Reynolds.
The appraisal was a source of controversy, because many people saw their home’s taxable value increasing while sale values plummeted. Reynolds blamed many factors, including state rules that didn’t allow him to take into account the most recent sales data.
Reynolds is now closely watching the local real estate market, and still plans to conduct an off-year appraisal this year if sale values continue downward. Even though sale values have dropped roughly 9.6 percent countywide from February 2008 to last month, Reynolds said his average appraisal is still below the sale averages.
“We’re continuing to gauge those values as they’re coming in,” he said.
Here’s some bad news. This is a report generated by the Greater Cincinnati MLS comparing sale closings across Butler County in February 2009 to sales in February 2008.
(Click on the upper right corner to enlarge)
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TweetRuscigno facing federal tax charges
Local politico and nightclub owner Joe Ruscigno is facing federal charges that he misrepresented the profits of a West Chester Twp.-based court reporting agency to the Internal Revenue Service.
According to charges filed against Ruscigno by the U.S. Department of Justice March 10, he misrepresented the profits of Fitch Reporting Inc., from January through September 2007, to lower the company’s taxes.
Ruscigno is scheduled for arraignment before U.S. Judge Herman Weber in Cincinnati on Thursday, March 26.
Jane Fitch, owner of Fitch Reporting, said she and Ruscigno owned the company together before they divorced in 2005. Under the divorce arrangement, she said Ruscigno remained part owner and was responsible for the company’s finances until March 15, 2008.
“Joe’s responsibility pursuant to the contract that was signed was the financial aspect of the business, and I was to continue to run the business side,” Fitch said.
Fitch said she was aware her company was delinquent in its taxes and had made an arrangement to pay them, but knew nothing of the charges against Ruscigno.
“I am not aware of any fraudulent information being given to the IRS in regards to Fitch Reporting at all,” she said.
Ruscigno referred all questions to his attorney, Patrick Hanley of Covington, Ky., who could not be reached for comment.
In February, Ruscigno sued Fitch for half the company. Fitch is fighting that lawsuit, she said.
Ruscigno is part owner of V’s Nightclub in Hamilton, which police raided in February and charged six people with violating the city’s adult entertainment ordinances. Ruscigno’s wife, Rawnica Dillingham, was managing the bar that night and was of those charged. She pleaded not guilty.
Ruscigno has also been a behind-the-scenes political player for years. He was instrumental in Dillingham’s failed primary run for Butler County commissioner, and once served as finance chair of the Butler County Republican party.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Crime and courts
TweetLiberal PAC to elect officers
Butler County Change Political Action Committee press release:
Change Butler, a grassroots political action committee founded by local volunteers from the Obama presidential campaign, will elect officers at its general meeting on Monday, March 30. 2009. The meeting will begin at 7:00 PM at the IBEW Local 648 Hall, 4300 Millikin Road in Liberty Township.
Change Butler will elect four officers, including president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. The PAC also will elect three at-large members of the executive committee.
“We are excited by the enthusiasm and momentum we have already built,” said PAC co-founder and former Obama/Biden neighborhood team leader Julie Robinson. “These elections will solidify our leadership team and enable us to implement the mission of our group to advance progressive causes and assist local progressive candidates.”
The only requirement to vote in the elections is membership in Change Butler. Membership is open to the public and is completed by signing a membership application and paying annual $10 dues.
Change Butler PAC is focusing on three main legislative issues this year, including a recycling initiative in area townships, statewide health care reform, and education financing reform. The PAC also is recruiting neighborhood captains to help with voter outreach.
Change Butler’s fundraising is also in full swing, with a casual happy hour event on April 9th, and a celebration of President Obama’s first 100 days in office on May 17th. The celebration will feature a sit-down dinner, guest speakers and live music at the Riverbank Café in Hamilton. Tickets are on sale for $40 per person.
To join Change Butler’s email list or to request more information, sign up on the website at www.changebutler.org or email rsvp@changebutler.org.
Permalink | Comments (36) | Post your comment | Categories: Democratic Party
TweetCounty sales tax, investment revenues down
This was not a good Christmas for Butler County. And if revenues don’t improve, the county may be eying more budget cuts by Labor Day.
Sales tax collected in December dropped 5.5 percent from the prior year, according to numbers Butler County received from the state this week.
This number is adjusted to take into account quarter-percent sales tax reduction commissioners enacted in 2008. In total, the amount collected dove from $4.5 million to $3.2 million.
County Administrator Tim Williams said this is even worse than the county projected when they drafted this year’s grim budget. “It’s more off than I’m comfortable with,” he said.
The last month has delivered a one-two punch to the county, with projections three weeks ago that the county’s investments will return roughly $1.5 million less than expected. This is in addition to a $3 drop in returns they were expecting.
And recent action by the Fed could widdle down investment returns further, Williams said.
“There is a very good possibility that we’re going to have to make some additional cuts,” Williams said.
The county has already cut roughly 63 positions over the past year and worked will into this year to shoehorn through a budget with revenues projected to drop $7 million because of the recession.
Now that appears to have been optimistic.
Williams said the county is looking at its other revenue sources, such as building and zoning fees, to identify other potential shortfalls.
Commission President Donald Dixon said county commissioners and the other county offices that share the general fund will form a budget commission in April to identify future areas to cut.
Dixon said the cuts likely won’t happen until September.
“If that (revenue declines) continues the next couple of months, we’re going to have to come up with a plan,” Dixon said. “It doesn’t appear anything is going to turn around anytime soon.”
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TweetFox cleans out desk: ‘It was a good run’
For a man well-known for long speeches, Butler County Children Services Director Michael Fox said few words as he boxed up his files on his last day in the office today, March 20.
“It was a good run,” he said, after trying to log into his office computer and finding his account already turned off.
After nearly 23 years as a state lawmaker, 10 years as a county commissioner and 20 months as Children Services director, Fox retires on March 31. But with knee surgery scheduled next week, his last day came early.
Fox admits Children Services staff was skeptical when he, a politician with no formal training in social work, took over the agency in 2007. Fox had been one of the agency’s harshest critics after 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel died in foster care.
On Friday, some of them literally embraced him as they wandered in and out of his doorless office saying goodbye.
“I felt like Mike left the agency and families in Butler County better than when he found them, and if we could all say the same thing, it would be a better place,” said Bill Morrison, Children Services ombudsman.
The future is uncertain for Fox. He and his wife are packing up their Fairfield Twp. home after being foreclosed upon. His finances are a wreck partially because of an ongoing FBI investigation that could lead to an indictment against him.
Fox doesn’t know where he’s moving. He hopes to relocate closer to Miami University so he can use their library as he writes about public policy, and works on a children’s book and movie script.
As he leafed through his files before placing them into a push cart loaded with banker’s boxes, Fox mused about the changes each file represented. The changes he has made have been numerous and sometimes controversial. The changes saved the agency money while keeping children safer, Fox said.
“Over time, your policies and practices speak for themselves, they either work or they don’t work,” he said, adding that so far he believes they have worked.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Children Services
TweetCould, should mass transit return?
New regional partnerships could lead to a modest resurgence in mass transit in Butler County, Regional Transit Authority officials told county commissioners today, March 19.
BCRTA provided 198,896 trips in 2008, a 2.5 percent increase over 2007, according to BCRTA Executive Director Carla Lakatos.
There are many reasons for this: gas prices spiked in 2008, a recession began that drags on and the agency started offering new services such as a shuttle to get people to medical appointments.
And with $1.6 million in federal stimuls funding en route and new partnerships with local governments and agencies on the horizon, Lakatos expect more growth this year.
“I think that we’re seeing an increased awareness of the importance of having options for people in terms of quality of life and access to jobs,” Lakatos said.
In April, BCRTA will launch a fixed route between Hamilton and Middletown. The agency is talking to Miami University about letting residents pay for access to a current student shuttle between Oxford and Hamilton. And there are talks with Hamilton County’s bus system to provide a regional network to get people to jobs.
The BCRTA already has a park and ride to get people to jobs in downtown Cincinnati, which saw ridership increase 2,772 last year. And a $4 shopping shuttle in Hamilton and Fairfield gave 1,511 more people rides to area shops.
The agency has been cash-strapped since 2002, when a failed levy forced them to get rid of 50 buses. But a 2006 survey found that 83 percent of local working adults support public transportation, they just don’t want more taxes to pay for it.
New partnerships will allow the county to expand services without raising taxes a dime, said Christine Matacic, BCRTA board member and Liberty Twp. trustee.
The board approved Wednesday, March 18, ordering 5 replacement buses and eight modified vans for medical transport with more than $1.6 million BCRTA is expecting in federal stimulus funding.
They will also use some of that money for bus maintenance and to build a storage shed for buses, Lakatos said, which frees up money for operational costs.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Transportation
TweetButler County resident gets food stamps with $50K in bank
The practice of giving people food stamps who have thousands of dollars in the bank and expensive homes drains the fund for the truly needy, Butler County commissioners said this morning, March 19.
And they want it to stop.
Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution this morning to work with the state to try to change the rules, which don’t take into account resources other than income when determining food stamp eligibility.
“It’s a shame that people really in need of food stamps aren’t going to get it because someone who has the means are taking them away,” said Commissioner Gregory Jolivette.
This was an “unintended consequence,” of a change in state rules in October, said Bruce Jewett, director of Butler County Job and Family Services.
That change streamlined the food stamp process by automatically making people eligible for the benefit if they receive unemployment and the household income makes them eligible. This replaced a 45-minute interview to determine a resident’s finances, and doesn’t take into account assets and bank accounts.
Jewett said an informal survey of local cases found 50 Butler County residents are receiving food stamps based solely on their eligibility for unemployment.
“There were perhaps 15 of those 50 that were people that seemed to have significant savings or other things that would normally raise an eyebrow,” Jewett said. “There was one case that someone had mentioned where they seemed ot have around $50,000 in the bank.”
The issue came to light in Warren County this week, when commissioners there railed against an area family receiving $500 in food stamps because the mother was unemployed despite having assets of more than $400,000, including $80,000 in the bank.
Since then, state Rep. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, has said she will initiate an amendment that would put a stop to statewide distribution of food stamps to wealthy individuals.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission
TweetPortman to speak at Lincoln Day
Here is a copy of the invitation that just went out for the Butler County Republican Party’s 2009 Lincoln Day celebration.
The event is set for April 3 at the Savannah Center in West Chester Twp., and it looks like the keynote speaker will be Rob Portman, former Ohio congressman and Bush administration official.
Tickets cost between $125 and $25,000. In addition to a nice dinner and Portman’s presentation, attendees will be treated to elbow rubbing and hand pumping by nearly every local official or would-be official cranking up a run for election.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Republican Party
TweetOwe court fines? Pay up or else
Anyone with outstanding fines and fees in the three Butler County Areas Courts has until April 3 to pay up — or else they pay more later.
Area Court I in Oxford, Area Court II in Hamilton and Area Court III in West Chester Twp. are partnering with Capital Recovery Systems of Columbus to collect the courts’ outstanding debt, according to court officials.
In the past four years, the three courts have been involved in an “in house” effort to collect unpaid fines, but limited resources did not make a dent in the debt.
“We neither have the staff nor the resources to track down defendants who are delinquent in their payments,” said Area I Court Judge Robert Lyons, the courts’ administrative judge.
There will be no cost to the county for the partnership with the collection company.
The courts sent notification letters to defendants in November, December and January informing them about the change and to give them a chance to pay their balance without additional fees being assessed.
Defendants have until April 3 to pay their fines in full with no additional costs. As of April 6, all delinquent cases will be sent to CRS and a collection fee will be added.
Payments may be made at each court during from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or drop boxes at Area I and Area III Court may be used any day and any time.
For address and directions to the courts, go to www.butlercountyohio.org/areacourts.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Crime and courts
TweetLocal elections director asks state to address duplicate registrations
Butler County Board of Elections Director Betty McGary spoke in Columbus last week on reforming the election process to eliminate duplicate registrations.
Here is the story (From the Dayton Daily News):
A southwest Ohio election official called for speedy action, by the end of the year, to resolve the problem of voter names appearing on registration roles in more than one county or state.
Speaking as a panelist Friday, March 13, at the Ohio Elections Conference, Butler County Board of Elections Director Betty McGary said the duplication problem is costly to taxpayers and needs fixed quickly.
She and others emphasized that the duplication issue is not one of registration fraud. The duplication happens when people move, register to vote at their new home and their names remain on the voter roles where they lived before.
Speakers and panelists called for a variety of fixes, including changes to the state-wide voter registration database kept by the Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner using data from the counties.
Currently counties use software made by a variety of vendors to produce voter registration lists and to perform a variety of board tasks. The software does not have uniform coding or language so counties have to rely on paper lists, phone calls, and faxes to communicate with other counties and states to determine where a voter is appropriately registered.
McGary said that duplication is one of the biggest problems facing boards and it results in a tremendous use of employee time, often in the midst of already-busy election seasons, and leads to over-ordering of election supplies for people who do not live in the county.
“It’s just a nightmare,” McGary said.
One audience member who spoke suggested that it be made easier for voters who move to electronically cancel their registration in their old community at the same time they register to vote, or when they fill out a change of address form at the post office.
Speakers also talked about the need to have “clean” data to verify registrations and said boards need to have more efficient access and more accurate information from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which provides counties with residents names, addresses, birthdates and other identifying information.
Beverly A. King, supervisor of registration at the Montgomery County Board of Elections, said a simple change that could help is if every county’s registration system included a uniform field, recognized by every vendor’s system, that recorded the last date of the vote’s activity in that county.
She and others also emphasized the importance of making sure that voters are not improperly removed from the rolls.
“We do not want to disenfranchise any voter,” King said.
Speakers during a session on illegal voting emphasized how rare voter fraud is, despite all the attention the issue got because of questions about voter registration drives by groups like ACORN during the fall election season last year.
“(It is important to) not allow ourselves to be sucked into stories about fraud when it is not a rampant problem,” said Eleanor Speelman, general counsel and director of legal services for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
There are plenty of laws that make “gaming the system” illegal, she said.
“Jail can be an effective deterrent,” she said.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner called the two-day conference to collect ideas for a report her office will present to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio Legislature about changes needed in Ohio’s election laws.
Among the other issues raised during panel sessions:
- Unfunded mandates that have made it increasingly expensive to operate elections boards and run elections.
- Complex campaign finance laws that can discourage candidates from running for office.
- Outdated laws and procedures and conflicting technology that hinder statewide standardization and efficiency opportunities.
McGary said she would like to see Brunner form small working groups to address the various issues, particularly those involving voter registration lists, by the end of the year.
Jeff Ortega, Brunner spokesman, said he could not specifically address McGary’s idea but said Brunner “is committed to working with the counties on these and other issues.”
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Board of Elections
TweetChildren Services traditional marriage preference update
I talked to Butler County commissioners today about their views on a controversial Children Services policy that gives preference in foster care and adoption cases to traditional married couples over single, unmarried or same-sex households (more on the policy here).
It looks like the fate of the policy is dependent on the county prosecutor’s opinion on its legality.
Here is how they stand:
- Commission President Donald Dixon: Supports the policy if it’s legal.
- Commissioner Gregory Jolivette: Supports it if it’s legal.
- Commissioner Charles Furmon: Opposes it.
Here is a letter Oxford resident Richard Baker read to commissioners this morning. He handed it over with 88 signatures supporting the policy.
The Associated Press has also picked up the story, and it has ran in countless media outlets nationwide. Here is the AP story, with some national perspective thrown in.
What do you think?
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Children Services
TweetCounty could be assessed $500,000 in back taxes for employee perks
I wrote two stories for this weekend on Butler County possibly owing the IRS back taxes for employee perks not claimed as income.
Here is the first story (Read the full story here):
Butler County could have to pay roughly $500,000 in back taxes for not reporting use of county cell phones, uniforms, cars and other fringe benefits as employee income, according to county officials.
The Internal Revenue Service is wrapping up an audit of the county’s books in 2005-07 that found the county spent about $1.5 million in fringe benefits that should’ve been reported on employee taxes. The taxable portion of this is about $500,000.
Butler County Commissioner Gregory Jolivette said the assessment is unfair and based on a “crazy policy.”
While in Washington, D.C., recently, Jolivette urged area lawmakers to push the IRS to exempt the county from the assessment or provide stimulus money to pay it, while changing the tax code regarding fringe benefits.
“It doesn’t make governmental sense,” Jolivette said, for the federal government to be handing out money to create jobs with one hand and draining local government budgets — which could force layoffs — with the other.
This comes after county leaders spent months working through a budget crippled by major reductions in sales tax and other revenues during the recession. Commissioners have cut roughly 63 jobs in the last year.
Commission President Donald Dixon agreed the IRS should waive the assessment as long as the county adopts a policy to comply in the future.
“I don’t know why they would want to take public dollars and have a finding against us,” Dixon said. “If it’s found that we owe it, we’ll pay it and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
But he also said the county should have had a policy in place already, and questioned why the county gives away so much stuff to its employees. “That’s a problem in itself,” he said.
Here is the second story (Read the full story here)
Staring down the barrel of a potential $500,000 assessment for back taxes, Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds said the county is drafting policies to make sure employees pay taxes on fringe benefits in the future.
It’s unclear why the county wasn’t paying these taxes. Former deputy auditor Randy Groves said in 2007 county officials were unaware these items were taxable until shortly before an ongoing Internal Revenue Service audit began that year.
That audit is wrapping up now, and is finding that county employees should have paid taxes on roughly $1.5 million for perks such as use of county cars, cell phones and uniforms. Since the county didn’t report those perks as income, that bill may soon go to the county.
While county leaders agree the county will comply, some also question the wisdom of the tax code.
For example, the IRS wants to tax employees who are given county cell phones because they could use them off the clock. But county policy prohibits employees from using cell phones for personal use.
“Why is the telephone on my desk any different from my cell phone?” said Commissioner Gregory Jolivette, who called the IRS rule “crazy.”
The IRS wants to tax the county for roughly $580,000 spent on employee cell phones, roughly $720,000 spent on uniforms and roughly $250,000 for vehicles employees take home.
This includes parts of uniforms worn by sheriff’s deputies, such as T-shirts and certain pants that could conceivably be worn mowing the lawn at home. But a deputy would be fired for doing so, according to Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer.
In addition to deputies, Jolivette said it’s vital that utility workers and others in the public have uniforms that clearly identify them as county employees.
“Is that worker, when not in the field, supposed to go back to the office and change into a shirt that they own to go out to lunch?” Jolivette said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Other fringe benefits the IRS wants to tax are tuition reimbursement, travel allowances and parking passes.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County
TweetGive commissioners a piece of your mind
Let Butler County commissioners know how you think government could be more efficient.
Here is the Web site where commissioners are asking for feedback on how government is doing, and for advice on how local governments can be more efficient.
The date is set for March 26 for a regional summit where local governments will talk about how to save taxpayer dollars by collaborating when possible.
Commissioner Gregory Jolivette, architect of the summit, said leaders from across the county will take into consideration suggestions proposed through the above Web site.
Go ahead, let your voice be heard, then come back here and let us know what you suggested.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission
TweetCommission support for traditional marriage preference split; CCV chimes in
There is a three-way split among Butler County commissioners on support of a new policy that gives preference in foster and adoption proceedings to traditional married couples.
The headcount:
- Commissioner Gregory Jolivette: Supports policy (contrary to other media reports)
- Commissioner Charles Furmon: Opposes policy
- Commission President Donald Dixon: Said he needs more information
The below “action alert” from Citizens for Community Values hopes to tip this scale:
Butler County’s common-sense adoption policy is under attack!
Will commissioners do the right thing, or the “politically correct” thing?  Butler County Commissioners appear to be yielding to pressure to ignore both common sense and social science data, and change the county’s adoption policy in a way that will be detrimental to the best interests of children placed for adoption. Click the link below to ask them not to yield to liberal political correctness.  “It appears that Commissioners Chuck Furman and Greg Jolivette do not understand the advantage of an intact married family over a same-sex couple or any other arrangement when it comes to adoption. As a resident of Butler County I am extremely disappointed in these two elected officials.” Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values  (Editor’s note - again, Jolivette does not oppose the policy. He said today he supports it as long as the county prosecutor deems it legal. Now back to the press release)
It is a truth confirmed by decades of social science data: The optimal environment for raising children is an intact married family. In every measured category, children raised in a family headed by both a loving father and mother fare better than those raised in any other environment. Their physical, mental, and emotional health is superior.
Given that universally recognized truth, common sense dictates that when placing children for adoption or foster care, the first option should be an intact married family.
Clearly, there are numerous examples of children raised successfully in something other than an intact married family. Many single parents, through hard work and with the support of loving friends and relatives, raise children who reach their full potential and become productive, well-adjusted members of society.
But ask any single mom how well she is able to replace the unique contribution of a loving father. Or ask any single dad how well he is able to replace the role of a loving mother. Can it be done? Sure it can in some circumstances. Is it harder? Of course it is. And it’s the exception, not the rule.
It’s common sense! An intact married family is always the best option!
But in the politically correct, liberal media world, common sense and social science don’t count — if they interfere with their anti-family agenda. What is in the best interest of children doesn’t count either.
CREATING CONTROVERSY OR COMMON SENSE?
When the common-sense adoption policy of the Butler County Children Services recently was made public, the ACLU, homosexual activists, and some in the media attacked that agency and its director, Michael Fox.
Here’s what the agency’s policy says:
“Butler County Children Services strongly supports adoption. The purpose of adoption is not to provide children for adults who want them, but to provide for children, families that give them the experience of intact married family life as much as possible. Notwithstanding this, Butler County Children Services recognizes that we do not have a sufficient number of adoptive families, and anyone who meets the state criteria is welcomed and encouraged to become an adoptive parent.”
“This is a summary of the county’s preferences for the adoption matching process, in order of preference: (1) relatives of the child, or someone who the birth mother designates as a potential adoptive parent for her child; (2) married couples; (3) foster parents; (4) other suitable adoptive parents.”
In other words, Butler County Children Services simply is saying that whenever possible, they’ll do what is best for the children. They’ll place them in a family environment where research shows that they’ll have the highest probability of success.
What’s best for the children clearly is not the concern of the ACLU and homosexual activists. They accused Fox of violating the “rights” of same-sex couples and single parents. Such lack of concern for the children is true to character for the ACLU and the activists whom they represent.
TAKE ACTION — for the sake of the children!
Sadly, at least two of Butler County’s three commissioners immediately caved into pressure from such sources.
Said Commissioner Charles “Chuck” Furmon, “It’s [this policy’s]not proper and, obviously, we don’t agree with it.”
And Commissioner Greg Jolivette said that there are too many other concerns to focus on something like an adoptive parent’s marital status or sexual preference.
How many children would the commissioners offer up on the altar of political correctness?
Please click the link below to ask all three Butler County Commissioners, County Administrator Tim Williams, and County Prosecutor Robin Piper to support Director Michael Fox in retaining an adoption policy that focuses on the best interests of children.
Click the link below to log in and send your message.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: Children Services
TweetCounty opposes E-Check’s return
Butler County commissioners fumed Monday, March 9, about the possibility that the Ohio E-check could return to Butler County and the rest of Greater Cincinnati.
Commissioners passed a resolution 2-0 — Commissioner Gregory Jolivette was absent — in opposition to the unpopular vehicle emissions test.
A cloud of concern has arisen that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could mandate emissions testing as it revises its classification of areas that meet or exceed ozone standard because of a federal lawsuit.
“I definitely want to go on record as being opposed to another e-check situation in Butler County,” said Commissioner Charles Furmon. “It did not work and it did not do what it was supposed to and there’s got to be another means.”
Commission President Donald Dixon agreed.
“It didn’t work the last time, there’s no sense in wasting more money and doing it a second time,” Dixon said.
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency officials also oppose the U.S. EPA’s plan to change Greater Cincinnati’s ozone classification.
The state’s position is that the federal government is using air quality data from 1997 in its ruling, according to Ohio EPA Spokeswoman Heidi Griesmer. She said more recent data would put the region within reach of basic nonattainment — meaning no emissions testing.
Add to this the prospect of getting the dozens of E-Check stations dormant since 2006 up and running again while government budgets are running on empty, and opposition is likely to mount further, officials predict.
“We have a lot of concerns with what they’re doing,” Griesmer said.
But even if the U.S. EPA holds off on reclassifying the area’s ozone levels as the state is requesting, it may not last for long. The federal government is also changing to a more stringent standard for ozone that would put this area even further from attainment.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission
TweetGOP club offers scholarship
Press release from the Butler County Republican Women’s Club:
Butler County Republican Women’s Club is offering a $1,000 scholarship for a Butler County resident that is currently attending a 4-year program at any accredited college or university. Applications must be postmarked by May 4, 2009. For more information see www.butlercountygop.org/bcrwc or stop in the Butler County GOP headquarters on 5964 Golf Club Lane in Fairfield Township.
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TweetFox’s farewell
Below is a copy of Children Services Director Michael Fox’s notice of retirement he sent Butler County commissioners Friday (read the full story here).
Before I post that, I have gotten numerous questions about how, at 60, Fox has 44 years in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. Here are Fox’s words on that:
“Because of the way OPERS works I am able to purchase so many years of credit…transfer the time when I was a teacher…purchase additional credit for a percentage of years served as an elected official…”
“I actually have around 35 years in actual work…and around nine years of purchased credit which is quite expensive…I purchased 6 years when I left the legislature and I’ll purchase almost four years now.”
Now here is Fox’s letter to commissioners:
All
Attached you will find my confirmation from the Ohio Public Retirement System, acknowledging my application to retire effective March 31 of this year.
I am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to serve children and families of Butler County as Director of Children Services. To everything there is a season, so says the Bible, and my season for retirement has come. I will continue my interest and involvement in matters of public policy and particularly matters that affect the well-being of children.
I am always available to assist you in helping to improve child welfare on a volunteer basis. As you know this cause is close to my heart. Child Welfare across America remains “broke.” I can report to you that during my tenure I did my best to fix the child welfare system in our county and I know that we were able to make many important improvements. Yet, much work remains to be done.
As I leave I know with certainty that I made a positive difference for our children and families. I will forward to you a summary of the many changes we made that are important to children. I hope that you will resist efforts to go back to the “old” way of doing business. The pressure to do so will begin immediately. I encourage you to continue to move down the path we have traveled—- having an agency that is more open, accountable, and effective in meeting the needs of children.
One of the most important things I have been able to accomplish in my short tenure has been to reconnect our agency to the public. They are our partners and that fact should never be forgotten as it has often been in the past. Our policies, practices, and actions during my tenure have reflected their values and priorities.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to serve.
Sincerely,
mike
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Children Services
TweetCommissioners to review Children Services preference for traditional marriage
Butler County commissioners never approved a new Children Services policy that gives preference in foster and adoption cases to traditional married families, and at least one commissioners opposes it.
“I don’t agree with it. It should’ve been run through the (county) prosecutor,” said Commissioner Charles Furmon.
The policy, created in December (more detail on that here), doesn’t prevent single parents, unmarried couples or same-sex couples from fostering children or adopting. But it gives preference to married couples. This has drawn ire from single foster parents, gay foster parents and civil rights activists.
“It doesn’t make sense to keep certain groups of people from having equal rights,” Furmon said. “The main thing is caring people that have the wherewithal, ability and desire to take care of kids in a safe manner, they way they should be cared for.”
Commission President Donald Dixon said he needs more information before forming an opinion on the new policy, and would like the full board to review it.
This likely won’t happen at the commission’s Monday, March 9, meeting, Dixon said because Commissioner Gregory Jolivette is out of town.
“I’m sure that the whole commission will take a look at the policy and other policies that have been put into effect recently,” Dixon said. “I think (Children Services Director Michael Fox) sort of got the cart ahead of the horse. The commission did not have any input on that and it’s an issue we’re going to have to discuss.”
Fox said he created the issue after a local gay couple adopted a 2-year-old girl. He said it’s not meant to discriminate, but is based on evidence that children do better in traditional married families.
When asked for that data, Fox produced a series of studies conducted by the Family Research Council, which describes itself on its Web site as “as an organization dedicated to the promotion of marriage and family and the sanctity of human life in national policy,” including “combating the homosexual agenda.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Children Services
TweetFox to retire March 31
Butler County Children Services Director Michael Fox plans to end his epic and controversial career March 31, he said in an exclusive interview Friday, March 6.
In more than two decades as a state lawmaker, several terms as a county commissioner and nearly two years as Children Services director (read a brief bio of Fox I previously posted on this blog here), Fox as been reviled by some, elected by the populace 15 times and scrutinized by the FBI for years,
Fox said Friday he’s “tired,” and can do more good as a private activist than an agency director.
“I plan to continue being an advocate for children and families and doing whatever I can to make the system better,” Fox said. “I think at this point I can be more effective outside the system.”
Fox has pushed through a raft of reforms since he stepped down from the county commission to take over the agency in 2007. Reeling from the death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel in foster care, the agency’s director had been fired and governing board disbanded.
Within months, Fox increased screening of foster parents, decreased caseloads for social workers and increased unannounced visits of homes in the system. And he has balanced the agency’s budget by focusing on family preservation over foster placement.
“Child welfare in Butler County is much better than it was 20 months ago,” Fox said. “I’m going to miss the opportunity to be directly involved in directing that change.”
“Child welfare is a long way from being where it needs to be,” he added.
But every step along the way was hard-fought with criticism, including two recent policy changes that drew fire from commissioners. The first gave caseworkers the ability to ignore agency rules if they thought it was in the best interest of a child. The second gives traditional families preference in foster and adoption placements.
Meanwhile he has juggled personal financial problems — including a foreclosure filing against his house — serious health concerns, and an ongoing FBI investigation into his role in a fiber optic contract that led to the county auditor pleading guilty to bank fraud.
Fox, 60, currently makes $116,603 and has 44 years in the Ohio public employee retirement system. He said he plans to do some writing, working on a couple of screenplays and a children’s book about a Canada goose who doesn’t fly south for the winter.
“I’m going to try to simplify my life as much as I can,” he said.
Commissioner Charles Furmon said the county will conduct a national search to find a new director once Fox submits his retirement notice.
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: Children Services
TweetNew Children Services policy gives preference to traditional families
A pair of stories in today’s paper talks about a new Butler County Children Services policy that gives preference in foster parenting and adopting to traditional married families.
Gay men criticize new adoption, foster care policy (read more here)
Grace calls Michael “Daddy,” and calls his partner Andrew “Dada.”
And as the 2-year-old pedaled around Michael’s feet on her red tricycle, Michael said he was “incensed” by a new Butler County Children Services policy that he takes to mean he’ll only be used as a last resort foster or adoptive parent because he’s gay.
The agency quietly created the policy Dec. 8 after Andrew — who asked to not use their last names over safety concerns involving the biological family — adopted Grace after caring for her as a foster father since birth.
The agency’s policy gives traditional married couples preference over single parents or same-sex couples in fostering and adopting children.
Children Services Director Michael Fox said the policy — possibly the only one of its kind in the state — is not meant to discriminate, and the agency didn’t oppose Grace’s adoption.
“The right thing to do was to let the child continue to live with them,” he said.
But he defended the policy.
“Data-wise, and there’s tons of it, kids do better in families when there is a traditional married couple,” he said.
The new policy doesn’t mean the agency won’t use single parents or same-sex couples, Fox said. In fact, he said, the agency usually gives preference to unmarried Butler County foster parents over out-of-county residents, and gives preference to whoever has been taking care of a child in adoption proceedings.
“Without exception, the best interest of the child trumps,” Fox said.
But Michael said he takes it personally, and says it is discrimination. “We will not be contacted until every other avenue has been exhausted,” he said.
Michael said he and his partner became foster and adoptive parents two years ago and have had one foster child in addition to their adopted daughter. But despite complaining about children needing foster parents, the agency hasn’t placed a child there since September 2007, he said.
“We see the ads in the newspaper, we’ve seen the ads on TV … we have called. We’ve made tons and tons of phone calls asking (about foster placement),” Michael said. “They always say, ‘Yes, we will keep you in mind.’ “
Agency’s tilt toward married couples riles some (read more here)
As Butler County Children Services complains about a lack of foster and adoptive parents, civil rights advocates and foster moms question a new policy that gives preference in foster placements and adoptions to traditional married couples.
The policy states: “The purpose of adoption is not to provide children for adults who want them, but to provide for children families that give them the experience of intact married family life as much as possible.”
“I’ve done a good job as a foster parent,” said Meg Melampy, single mother of a 4-year-old adopted boy and foster mother of a 3-week-old.
“I feel like I’m being punished by not feeling I will be one of the top choices when it comes to adopting,” Melampy said.
Melampy said she works from home most of the year. And sure, it’s hard work taking care of the 10 children that have passed through her home in six years, she said, but, “If I was married, I would be doing the exact same thing.”
Statewide, such a policy appears rare, said Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spokesman Dennis Evans.
“Establishing preference for placement is not something that’s addressed in either rule or law and we are not aware of any other county who has established such a preference,” Evans said.
Scott Greenwood, a Cincinnati civil rights attorney and general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said there is no evidence traditional married couples make better foster parents, and no provision in state law that allows the county to use sexual orientation in its decision.
“This policy violates the rights of prospective foster parents and it violates the rights of the kids to be placed,” he said.
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TweetChildren Services struggling to pay bills, foster parents on time
Butler County Children Services is having trouble paying its bills, which is alienating foster parents and forced a brief shutdown of a system used to conduct criminal background checks, according to agency officials.
Children Services Director Michael Fox confirmed that a problem exists Wednesday, March, 4, and said he his working with county commissioners to resolve it.
He said bills are being paid late because mergers, layoffs and new rules left those responsible for paying the bills backlogged.
The result: the system Children Services uses to conduct state-required fingerprinting on potential foster parents or relatives who temporarily house children was shut down Monday, March 2, for nonpayment.
A county employee drove a check for $8,142 to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation office in London, Ohio Tuesday, March 4, after commissioners approved the payment Monday.
County Administrator Tim Williams said there is no backlog, and no reason foster parents should be getting paid late.
“I will go to work in order to try to improve that for foster parents,” Williams said.
Numerous foster parents are also complaining that their checks show up weeks — sometimes months — late.
“It just seems the whole system is not running the way it needs to be ran,” said Sue Gregory, a foster parent who said she routinely gets her checks late. “But realistically they’ve never been able to get these checks out on time.”
But this is trying for foster parents who aren’t in it for the money, Gregory said, but they’re not loaded with cash either. They just want reimbursement for the clothes, food, toys and other things they purchase for their wards every month.
“With these economic times what they are it’s getting hard on these families,” Gregory said.
Fox said this has been a source of frustration for him, and he wants commissioners to allocate resources to get all the bills caught up before foster parents start to leave.
“Whatever we have to do to make these payments get out on time to our foster parents, we have to do this,” Fox said.
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TweetLocal GOP may sell headquarters
Attendees at a Butler County Republican party meeting in Fairfield last week say party leadership announced they would be putting the party headquarters on the market.
The two-story office and meeting hall is in Fairfield Twp at 5964 Golf Club Lane (Off Ohio 4 near Walden Ponds). No word yet on what the asking price is, but sources recollect it cost more than $800,000 to build in 2005.
The building has long been a source of controversy within the party, with some members complaining of the high cost. Detractors have dubbed it the “Todd Mahal,” in reference to Carlos Todd, who was GOP party chairman at the time.
Fans of the building say it came in useful as the local headquarters of Sen. John McCain’s campaign last year and numerous other local campaigns since it was built.
The building scored a mention in a Huffington Post piece on party headquarters’ last year:
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.
What do you think? Would the building be a good buy?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Republican Party
TweetRegional summit set for March 26
The following letter is going out this week from Butler County commissioners to every local elected official in the county. This is the kickoff of the regional summit Commissioner Gregory Jolivette is proposing.
As of this writing, the Web site listed isn’t running. What suggestions do you have on how local governments can share resources to save money?
Here is the text of the letter:
Subject: Regional Cooperation Among Local Government
The multiplicity of local government services creates an opportunity to look for mutual ways to eliminate duplication, improve efficiency, serve the public and reduce government costs. A discussion about reformation of local government is timely due to the condition of local and national economies. While the Federal Government economic stimulus package calls for additional spending, local governments will still be plagued with state budget reductions and apathy for changes in the local tax rates.
As result, it is mutually beneficial to engage in discussion about opportunity that might exist to find ways to share resources and save money as we “work better together”. In order to create a backdrop for a conversation to take place, we invite you to attend a Regional Summit to discuss these issues.
We are designating Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 6:30 PM a conference in the Butler County First Floor Conference Room to listen to and discuss the topic of “work better together”.
Prior to this date, we would like to hear from office holder, citizens, and relating to suggestions and comments for regional cooperation. You can forward suggestions and comments to www.butlercountyohio.org by clicking the ICON “work better together”. Once you access the “work better together” web page, please click the link and complete the “Survey on Regional Cooperation”. Finally, there is an e-mail link on the page to forward any comments or suggestions.
We sincerely appreciate and value your attendance and participation at the Summit Meeting on March 26, 2009. If you are interested in being a presenter during this meeting, please contact Timothy R. Williams, Butler County Administrator at 513-887-5647 or email at williamst@butlercountyohio.org. See you there.
Sincerely,
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
BUTLER COUNTY, OHIO
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TweetButler County roundup - county pay and “common sense”
Two Butler County commission stories were in our paper today:
Deep pay cuts begin for county (read more here)
Butler County commissioners say many county employees are overpaid compared to their private-sector counterparts and they are taking the first steps to tighten the spigot at the public trough.
Two county employees took dramatic pay cuts Monday, March 2.
Rhonda Freeze, Records Center manager and also Trenton mayor, saw her salary reduced from $85,772 to $69,899 Monday. Laura Campbell, assistant human resources director, had her pay cut from $92,771 to $76,800.
According to county records, Freeze was making $62,638 when she became records center director in 2004. She was making $40,194 in 2000. Campbell was making $50,740 in 2000.
Commissioner Donald Dixon cited rapid-fire pay increases as the reason many county employees see their pay balloon. Campbell, for example, has seen 14 pay increases since 2000.
County employees generally get a 3 percent cost of living increase most years, an automatic step increase of up to 4 percent some years, and a probationary increase some years. The specifics vary in different departments with different union contracts.
“These are just the first ones, but we’re going to do all of them,” Dixon said. “(We will) do a comparison against the private sector and see how they stack up.”
County’s ‘common sense policy’ under review (read more here)
Butler County commissioners on Monday, March 2, questioned the common sense of a new Children Services policy that allows agency employees to ignore the rules if staff members determine they’re not in a child’s best interest.
Commissioner Charles Furmon said the rules are there for a reason, and leaving it up to employees which rules to follow “leaves the citizens of Butler County exposed to some degree.”
“It’s good to have common sense, but you have to pair it up with rules and regulations,” Furmon said. “If you drive across town once, you’ll see from the other drivers people don’t have much common sense,” he said. “I think you have to make sure you have the right regulations and policies in place. If you can’t handle it yourself, you talk to your supervisor or someone in the prosecutor’s office.”
Any thoughts on either of these?
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TweetCombs re-submits animal cruelty bill
Press release from state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton:
State Representatives Courtney Combs (R-Hamilton) and Brian G. Williams (D-Akron) announced today the introduction of House Bill 55. The two legislators re-introduced this legislation from the last General Assembly where it was HB 418.
This legislation would increase the penalties of cruelty to animals, requires mandatory evaluation of minors who torture or abuse animals, and includes pets in court protection orders issued by a judge in domestic violence cases.
“HB 55 will fill the gaps in current law where horrible, and many times avoidable, situations can result in tragedy and mistreatment of animals,” Rep. Williams said. “The legislation accomplishes this through two main components: it assures that proper evaluation and counseling is provided to children that are guilty of abusing helpless animals, and it provides protection for animals caught in domestic violence situations. Research supports that both of these situations occur frequently. I am glad to be introducing legislation that can help put an end to that.”
Studies show that people who commit violence toward animals as children have a greater chance of being violent towards humans later in life. This legislation would require that any child under 18 convicted of cruelty of an animal undergo a mandatory psychological evaluation. If individual or family counseling is recommended by the evaluation it requires the court to order the child to attend counseling and determine the frequency and length of treatment.
“The current penalties for animal abuse in Ohio are no more than a slap on the wrist and do nothing to punish the abuser or prevent future acts,” Combs said. “In addition, current law does not connect the dots between children abusing animals and the potential for future violence.”
Under this bill judges would be allowed to include any companion animal that is in the complainant’s or alleged victim’s residence in the protection order. Five different studies determined that up to 71 percent of battered women reported that their pets have been threatened, harmed, or killed by their partners and that many battered women do not leave a dangerous situation because they fear for their pet’s safety.
“Public outcry and calls for increased penalties from officials across the state have led to this demand for change. This bill would go a long way towards reducing and preventing cases of animal abuse here in Ohio,” said Combs.
Williams and Combs’ bill will be referred to a committee this week and hearings will begin soon after.
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TweetAnd the safe door swung open
Dean Swartz sat cross-legged on the floor in the middle of a dozen breathless onlookers. The only sound was the rattle of the safe’s dial as Swartz turned it, and an occasional click as it settled into place.
The contents of the safe were a decades-old mystery. The concrete and steel time capsule was recovered from the rubble when the Reily Twp. fire house burned down in 1967. It has sat in the township community center ever since.
No one knew whether anything was inside. Township records from 1943 mention a combination that didn’t work; at that time, the fire house was the town hall.
Charles Deneler, 75, was the last one to see it open. He said the township clerk used it, and it sat behind the furnace suspected of burning down the building.
Swartz, who had done security work for the Air Force and General Electric, read in the JournalNews about the safe, and promised he could break in.
Tuesday morning, March 3, the assembled residents’ confidence in Swartz began to waiver.
“I don’t think it will open,” said one man. A woman hushed him, urging him to think positive.
Then with a click, it swung open on its hinges and everyone pushed in to see. On the back of the door was a painted rose with the words “Hall’s Patent.”
Inside, yellow papers bundled with pink thread were neatly stacked. Twp. Trustee Tim Miller carefully unwound them and thumbed through township records from a century ago.
There were receipts dated 1907. An Ohio Farmer’s Insurance policy dated 1919 on the building that burned down; the policy was for $3,000 and had cost $75.
A book apparently listing local tax rolls in 1919 listed Miller’s grandfather, Otis Miller.
“We had no clue,” marveled Twp. Trustee Dennis Conrad, leafing through the forgotten records.
He said the documents will be an asset when the township starts assembling its museum later this year.
“Our historical society is going to go crazy when they see this stuff,” Conrad said. “We’re going to donate the safe to the museum.”
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TweetWhat will we find? Local relics? Old air?
Reily Twp. Trustee Dennis Conrad says a former military man has contacted him, saying he can open the mysterious Reily Twp. safe.
I’ll be there tomorrow morning (10 a.m. at the Reily Twp. community center) to see it opened. We’ll have a photographer there (and maybe shoot some video), so you can all see what’s inside.
What do you think we’ll find inside?
This will undoubtedly remind some of you of a similar media stunt in 1986 (but please let any comparisons with Geraldo Rivera end there):
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TweetSome intrigue for the week
From this story in our paper today:
For decades, a small safe has sat covered with junk in a back room of the Reily Twp. Community Center.
No one knows what, if anything, is inside. No one knows the combination.
The knee-high, steel and concrete box was retrieved from the rubble after the township fire house burned down in the late 1960s, said Reily Twp. Trustee Dennis Conrad. Before it became the fire house in 1947, Conrad believes the safe was used when the building was the town hall and opera house.
No one knows the last time it was opened.
Twenty-five years ago, when Conrad was a new trustee, he had some guys move it from the township garage and paint it black with the intention of using it.
“When we moved it in there, we carried it with a backhoe down there then rolled it in,” Conrad said.
But he couldn’t get it open.
Conrad said he has scoured through local records and thought once he found a combination. But it didn’t work.
“I sat down there for hours playing with it one day and couldn’t get it open,” he said. “The guys at the sheriff’s department want to blow it open, but I didn’t want it blown up.”
After all, Conrad said, it could have old records in it, or nothing, or, “Like my wife said, maybe there’s $1 million in it.”
The story is a segue into another piece on an interesting little museum Reily Twp. trustees are planning with a $75,000 pass-through grant from Butler County. Here is that story:
Back when West Chester Twp. was still mostly miles of uninterrupted farmland, Reily Twp. was a bustling little burg with a bank, opera house and all the amenities of small town life.
Much of this is gone, but residents are rushing to capture the memories and artifacts that remain. And with a $75,000 community development block grant Reily Twp. is slated to receive from Butler County, they hope to tell their village’s story through a museum.
The museum will include numerous newspaper clippings from the past century, telling some quirky stories. This includes the township’s embarrassment when the fire house burned down in the late 1960s. It had been the town hall and opera house until 1947.
In the late 1800s, bandits dynamited the vault at the town’s bank and rode off on horseback. They had burned down the bridge in Millville to slow down the police. Their haul: roughly $500.
The township was formed in 1807. Before that, it was home to the Miami Indian tribe, and the museum will display artifacts found from that era as well, said Reily Twp. Historical Society board member Pam Sprague.
Sprague said her group has already collected dog tags and a tank driving license from a local World War II veteran, a chair from the old barber shop, and letters from residents talking about the minutia of their lives over the past centuries.
All this will be displayed in a two-story house in the middle of the village that township trustees purchased from the federal government last year for $1.
“We hope to furnish it how the house was furnished, have newspaper clippings and things like that,’ said Carol Schwab, historical society board member.
The township will use the federal grant to fix the building, which was constructed in the early 1900s.
The historical society is rushing to get written and oral histories from residents who remember when the train stopped in Reily. “There are so many people who grew up here, so our history is already here,” said Nicholas Schwab, township trustee.
And the historical society hopes to some day bus children from the local schools — Reily’s high school closed in 1968 — to hear and see what small town Butler County was once like.
“They want kids from Reily to be proud of Reily,” Nicholas Schwab said.
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