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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 > November > 02
Monday, November 2, 2009
Jolivette: ‘We’re in for a hell of a confrontation’
“We’re in for a hell of a confrontation,” Butler County Commissioner Gregory Jolivette said at the end of a budget meeting today, Nov. 2.
This was in response to budgets still trickling into the county commissioners office after the deadline Friday Oct. 30. The budgets from other elected offices around the county were supposed to include cuts to address a recession-wrought deficit estimated at $6.6 million.
Many of them did. But some officeholders with the largest budgets refused to make the cuts. Others increased their budgets.
County Finance Director Pete Landrum said today the Board of Elections appears to be asking for a $1 million budget increase, instead of the $305,193 decrease requested from the agency.
“I don’t know if it’s something with special elections, or several of them next year,” he said. “Even compared to other years of that kind (including a gubernatorial election) it’s above (average).”
This followed an announcement Friday that Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones — whose budget accounts for more than a third of the ailing general fund — is refusing to make the more than $2.5 million budget cut requested from his office.
County Prosecutor Robin Piper — one of the other large budgets in the county — is one of many departments still crunching numbers, slowed by a new computer system the county enacted this year.
But he said the closer he gets to the $428,774 cut requested by commissioners — worth up to 10 jobs, he said — the more he worries about the impacts to services.
“Any time I’m not there to help law enforcement, any time I’m not there to aggressively prosecute cases, that’s not a good thing for the community,” Piper said. “The ultimate result of that is jeopardizing the safety and well being of the citizens in the community.”
“I’ve heard rumblings that not everyone is complying (with proposed cuts),” Jolivette said today. “What are we going to do about it?”
The answer from his fellow commissioners was unclear. The ad-hoc county budget commission — formed this year by elected officeholders to advise commissioners on addressing the budget crisis — has suggested sending back budgets that don’t comply.
But Commission President Donald Dixon only expressed frustration that the county hadn’t already come up with a plan in the past few months — and years.
“Six out of the last nine years, you spent more money than you took in,” said Dixon, who joined the commission in 2007.
“No matter how much money we gave them (other offices), Don, that wasn’t enough,” responded county Administrator Tim Williams.
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Tweet‘Impersonator’ rankles GOP with negative e-mail blast in commission endorsement bid
Political civil war has broken out within the Butler County Republican party over who should get the party’s endorsement for county commissioner this week.
In addition to candidates themselves sending out fliers and videos, anonymous surrogates are waging negative campaigns using blogs, e-mail and web videos.
Over the weekend, someone masquerading as party leadership used the party’s e-mail list. Using the name “Real ButlerCty GOP,” he or she spread information critical of two candidates: former West Chester Twp. trustee Jose Alvarez and Clerk of Courts Cindy Carpenter.
In e-mails, that person sent copies of a local blog that accuses prominent elected county officials of forming a back-room “cabal” to steer the party toward endorsing Alvarez.
The e-mail came with this disclaimer:
Please see attached. The Commission endorsement vote is YOUR vote, and YOUR vote only. We don’t need any back room deals, no matter who is involved.
And he or she passed along on old news video questioning whether Carpenter’s employees engaged on political activities on county time. Here is a copy of the video you can download:
It came with this message:
The attached video is something EVERY Butler county GOP member should see. Questions remain as to whether her county property was used and when vacations were actually requested. This video plus the events in the newspaper this past week, are stark reminders that our party MUST move forward with a fresh approach, and leave behind the negatives of the past…
County GOP Chairman Tom Ellis denounced the e-mails — apparently sent to the thousands of people on the party’s confidential e-mail list — Sunday, Nov. 1.
Here is Ellis’ statement:
The Butler County Republican Party is denouncing e-mails that were sent to a large number of its membership and County residents this past Friday (10/30/09 approx. 3pm ET) and on Sunday (11/01/09 approx. 4pm ET). Neither of the e-mails were authorized or sent by the Party.
Someone claiming to be the ‘Butler County GOP’ and ‘Real ButlerCty GOP’ sent mass e-mails from two Gmail accounts and used the subject lines ‘Butler County GOP News’ and ‘Butler GOP short video’. The sender attempted to mask their identity and provided no name. The content of the first message consisted mostly of an attached copy of a recent blog post from a local political opinion blog. The second message contained an old video attachment from Channel 12 WKRC.
The Butler County Republican Party does offer a voluntary subscription to occasional e-mail updates. However, the e-mail addresses are kept confidential to avoid abuse and to respect the privacy of its members and others in the community that want official communication from the Party. Those addresses have never been sold, distributed or made public for any reason.
Executive Chairman Tom Ellis explains, “Someone is deceiving our membership by sending these unsolicited e-mails. That isn’t acceptable in business and will not be tolerated by our Party. We will protect our members, our community, and the GOP brand. We are investigating these incidents and pursuing every avenue, including legal remedies. This attempted deceit will stop.”
Vote is Thursday night
In addition to Alvarez and Carpenter candidates include Gregory Jolivette, Treasurer Nancy Nix and Hamilton resident Wes Retherford.
All five will appear before the party’s massive central committee Thursday, Nov. 5, seeking a majority of the party’s support through several rounds of run-off voting.
Historically, candidates who do not get the party’s endorsement don’t run in the primary. But Jolivette — who came under fire from his party when the Ohio Ethics Commission confirmed it was investigating him voting on jobs for his children — has said he’ll run even without the party’s nod.
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TweetSheriff refusing staff cuts
This story almost got lost in the hubbub of the indictment of Michael Fox:
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones sent a letter to commissioners Thursday, Oct. 29, refusing to cut personnel 11 percent as they suggested.
“This office has reduced costs and has generated a significant amount of revenue,” Jones said in the letter. “At this time I feel that it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to submit a budget that would require such additional drastic reductions and potentially put the public at further risk.
“Hopefully there are alternate solutions, but ultimately the decision is yours.”
Jones could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
Chief Deputy Anthony said personnel is the biggest expense for the office and the sheriff has declined to make further cuts that would amount to 2.5 million.
In a letter sent Tuesday, Oct. 13, commissioners asked their departments and other elected officeholders for 11 percent cuts in non-mandated services to patch a projected $6.6 million hole next year.
They are asking for proposed budgets from these offices by today, Oct. 30, along with a list of which services they provide that are mandated by law. Everything else is on the table as commissioners work to craft a budget by Jan. 1.
Under initial projections, the hardest hit would be the sheriff’s office. It accounts for more than a quarter of the county’s total $89 million budget and is proposed to lose $2.5 million next year.
Cutting that much would “dramatically and severely impact public safety for the citizens,” said Dwyer earlier this year.
County Finance Director Pete Landrum said the sheriff’s office budget accounts for more than a third of the county’s general fund and more than 40 percent once mandated services are subtracted, he said.
Commissioner Gregory Jolivette said he finds it “very distressing” Jones would take such a stance.
Jolivette said Jones is “playing a power game and using public safety as the weapon.”
He added balancing the budget is not an option, noting if it is not done the county will go into default, the state will take over its finances and make the cuts.
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