Local politics
Lodging tax benefiting area communities, tourism efforts
Cities and townships in Butler and Warren counties have collected more than $14 million in lodging, or hotel, taxes over the past five years — funds they’ve used to improve roads, sustain police and fire services and market events and attractions that bring thousands of out-of-towners to the area.As the ...
GovWatch: Speeding cameras, state parks hijinx and federal fraud
Some claim Dayton’s speeding cameras are unconstitutional. Others simply decry them as unfair. But the most important question some ask is: Are they accurate? In response to a reader request, the I-Team used Ohio’s open records laws to obtain more than a year’s worth of calibration records for the 10 ...
Ohio projected to lose $53B if it rejects Medicaid expansion
Nearly a quarter of the estimated 1.5 million uninsured Ohioans live with mental illness and would benefit from expanding Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a report Thursday from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Only two states — Nebraska and Minnesota — have a ...
House panel moves to curb military sexual assaults
WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of a House panel angry over the growing epidemic of sexual assaults in the military took a key step toward tackling the problem by passing legislation Wednesday that would strip commanding officers of their longstanding authority to unilaterally change or dismiss court-martial convictions in rape and ...
Hamilton to lay off 6 firefighters
Six Hamilton firefighters will be told this week they no longer have a job as of June 5, according to union officials.The layoffs will mean the closure of Station 27 on Shuler Avenue in the Lindenwald neighborhood, according to Hamilton Fire Chief Steve Dawson.The news comes just days after city ...
Local governments plan to pay off debts with rebate
Paying down debt tops the list of what local government leaders say they will do with an anticipated windfall in the form of a rebate from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.Butler County public employers are estimated to receive $2.9 million as part of a $1 billion rebate proposed last ...
Board of Elections approves precinct boundary changes
Thousands of Butler County voters will have a new precinct number when they head to the polls in November as a result of boundary changes made by the county board of elections this week.The board approved the changes Monday in West Chester, Liberty, St. Clair, Madison, Wayne and Milford townships, ...
Butler County governments get windfall from bureau of worker’s compensation
Butler County public employers are slated to receive $2.9 million from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation as part of a $1 billion rebate proposed last week by Gov. John Kasich and the agency’s Administrator/CEO Steve Buehrer.Under the proposal, the bureau would return $112.8 million to nearly 3,800 local governments ...
Council creates finance manager position
Hamilton is adding a new position to help it manage its financial present and prepare for any possible economic impact to come.City council recently voted to create a finance manager position. The city currently has one staff member dedicated to preparing forecasts, analyzing budget trends, performing fiscal policy analysis or ...
IRS admits to targeting tea party groups
The Internal Revenue Service Friday admitted to targeting tea party groups during the 2010 and 2012 elections for extra scrutiny, saying “mistakes were made” in the handling of those organizations’ applications for tax-exempt status.The IRS apology came after complaints from tea party organizations including the Ohio Liberty Council that they ...
Civil lawsuits cost local governments millions
More than 100 lawsuits against city, township and county governments in Butler and Warren counties have resulted in almost $10 million in payouts over the past five years, a Middletown Journal/Hamilton JournalNews analysis of city and court records found.But because the majority of those civil cases were settled by governments’ ...
VIDEO: Speaker Boehner shows reporter how to tie his tie properly
Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., is known on Capitol Hill for his dapper look and perfectly tied neckwear.Recently after an interview with Peter Cook of Bloomberg News, Boehner gave the reporter a lesson in how to tie the perfect knot.“You don’t have a dimple. You’ve got ...
Former councilman plans run for mayor
Former City Councilman Steve Miller has filed to run for the mayor of Fairfield, a position he once held for seven months.Miller served as a city councilman from 1997 to 2007, reaching his term limit after those 10 years.“Since then I’ve been biding my time until Ron hit his term ...
Wright-Patt employees want greater say on when to take furloughs
Air Force Materiel Command employees want a greater say in when and how they take mandatory unpaid furlough days, union leaders said Friday. The American Federation of Government Employees Council 214 and the AFMC, headquartered at Wright-Patterson, were back in contract negotiations over 14-day furloughs after an agreement on 22-day ...
How Congress voted last week
How Congress voted last weekReaders have told us they want to know how local and Ohio members of the U.S. House and Senate are voting on major issues. In most Monday editions, we will publish a list of votes.HouseLocal southwest Ohio members in bold.H.R. 882A bill that would prohibit contractors ...
Portman loses some GOP support over gay marriage
While Ohioans back gay marriage by a slim margin, public support for U.S. Sen. Rob Portman has slipped since the Ohio Republican came out in support of the issue last month, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.The poll, released Friday morning, found Portman particularly lost ground among Republicans since ...
Gas tax not keeping up with road needs
Federal and state motor fuel tax receipts — the billions that pay for road construction, repaving, maintenance and operations of highway and street departments — are not growing as fast as the cost of those projects. And that may mean more potholes and deteriorating roadways during the coming years. A ...
Ohio Sen. Brown introduces bill to raise minimum wage to $10.10
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has introduced a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour in three steps.The bill would provide the first minimum wage increase to tipped employees in more than 20 years.“Working full-time in a minimum wage job in Ohio pays about $16,000 per ...
Police levy would cost taxpayers $50-$60 per year
Returning a full-time police force to Ross Twp. could cost taxpayers between $50 to $60 more a year if voters approve a police levy.Such a levy has not been placed on the ballot yet, and trustees have not decided on the amount of the levy. However, trustees must make these ...
Township to name new police chief Friday
Fairfield Twp. trustees will appoint a police chief Friday.The trustees will hold a special meeting at 3 p.m. to take action regarding appointment of the police chief, said Assistant Township Administrator Skylor Miller.Trustees have discussed the candidates in a number of executive sessions, the last of which was held Tuesday ...
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