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Commissioners Corner...
The budget process
has begun
The month of May has started out very well for Darke County. The
crops are planted, and now getting enough moisture will be the
key. Mother’s day saw a lot of flower buying and planting in the
County, and as always the sunshine makes everyone feel better about
getting out and about. The Commissioner’s office is in full swing
this month, as this is the start of the Parade season. On May
19th, the elected officials were at the Arcanum Old Fashioned days, a
parade and event that everyone enjoys. Since this is the start of
the summer season, the commissioners encourage everyone in the County
to enjoy all the local festivals. It is a great chance to see
your neighbors and visit all of our communities, and the food, fun, and
fellowship are always good!
This month starts the budget process for 2013. From the 21st to
the 25th, we will review the County budget with the elected
officials. This year we are not reviewing the outside funds
budgets until November. As always, our elected officials are
holding the spending line in check. We feel that the
elected officials we have are doing an outstanding job. They have
held their spending in check for a number of years now, and their
dedication to the conservative spending of the public’s money has
allowed Darke County to come through this terrible economy.
Thank you to all for a job well done!
There are some important new developments with several projects that
the Commissioner’s have been watching. On the 911 cell phone tax,
House Bill 509, the “Next Generation- Moving Ohio Forward” Bill has
been introduced and is moving through the Legislature. As of now,
this Bill seems to be everything that we need to continue the funding
for 911. The details have not been worked out completely, but
from what we have learned, there will be no need for the Commissioners
to ask the citizens for a ¼ percent sales tax hike to upgrade and
maintain 911 services for the next 4 years. We are certainly
relieved to know that the legislature has addressed this important
issue, and we are happier still that the sales tax increase will NOT be
passed onto our citizens. Thank you to our Representatives who
listened to us and responded. The State Rte.
242/Airport project seems to be raising some questions for some
people. To refresh everyone’s memory, last year ODOT approached
the Commissioners regarding abandonment of State Rte. 242 and turning
it over to the County, Richland and Wayne Townships by May of
2013. ODOT will be giving a lump sum payment of $800,000.00 to
the County Engineer to bring 242 up to new standards and
conditions. The county and townships in turn, after the repairs
will assume the roads as determined. ODOT will purchase the
needed right of ways along 242 before the project starts. By closing
the north/south section of 242, we can then use 300 feet of displaced
threshold that is already in place. We are working
diligently to put in place funding to address Chase Road. The
earliest and best case scenario would be to begin in 2014.
Several funding sources are available to us (FAA, OPWC) and we are
looking into those. We will continue to keep people informed on
this project. If you have any questions, please call and ask
us.
Economically, the State of Ohio and Darke County continue to lead in
jobs and job retention. The Springfield News-Sun recently had a
story that start up investment is at a 10 year high in Ohio.
Venture capital is flowing into Ohio and is helping small business to
grow. Darke County Economic Development Director Marc Saluk
continues to do a tremendous job in keeping us moving forward. We
have at least 20 projects in the works, and Marc is making sure Darke
County continues to lead the Dayton region, and be a force in the
State. On May 14th, a ceremonial ground breaking was held for the
Darke County Workforce Center. This facility, the Greenville Tech
Center, will house the new Workforce Center.
Through the collaborative efforts of many people, this facility will
now be utilized by the entire County. This giant step forward
will help fill the workforce needs of manufacturing businesses in Darke
County for the future and beyond. The facility will train adults and
students alike. The purpose is to make sure our companies have a
steady, reliable, and knowledgeable supply of workers for the
future. With the schools co-operation and input from local
employers, this center will be instrumental in the growth of Darke
County. Congratulations to all who made this possible.
Darke County was showcased in an article in the Wall Street Journal in
their May 22nd edition. Whirlpool was chosen to be the lead story
on jobs coming back to America from China. Several local people
were shown in a video taken at the Greenville plant. This article
and video gives Greenville more exposure, and shows how Darke County is
leading in economic development. The Partnering for Progress (P4P)
initiative was instrumental in securing a substantial portion of the
budget that landed Whirlpool on the cover. P4P leveraged
$188,000.00 to fund an approximate $340,000.00 project.
Congratulations to Bill Good and all the hard working people at
Whirlpool. Darke County has also been chosen to be a pilot
program for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO).
The program is in conjunction with Palmer Energy. The program
will monitor energy usage in our buildings more thoroughly than before,
and will tell us where we can save the most dollars. This is a
statewide program and we are delighted that Darke County was chosen for
this project. The CCAO is funding the program, so no Darke County
dollars are being spent. Thanks to John Cook for his diligence in
getting us this program.
Darke County Solid Waste Director Krista Fourman announced that her
office has received a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources for $6,556 for recycling bins to be placed at the
Fairgrounds. Krista has done an excellent job as Solid Waste
Director, and has continually kept Darke County in the forefront with
all of their projects. The Trash Bash program had almost 1200
participants this year and covered 604 miles of roadway. This was
the largest contingent yet, and thanks go out to all who
participated. Congratulations to Krista and Melissa for a
great job.
On the State front, Ohio Government payroll shrank 4.6% in the last
decade. The number of Government employees shrank by 36, 600
employees, down from 801,500 to 764,900. Only 3 States lost a greater
share of employees. Ohio was one of only 7 States that registered
government payroll drops of more than 10,000 government
positions. The information is from the Business Courier, May 7th,
2012. Ohio’s unemployment rate continues to decline. The
unemployment rate stands at 7.4% down from 7.5% in March. In
April, 7000 more workers were put back to work than in March.
This is certainly good news for all of us. In other news,
Governor Kasich has vowed to use any surplus in the budget for a tax
cut for the people of Ohio, not for local Governments as before.
There is some resistance to this from County Governments, and
Townships, as they feel they have taken the brunt of the cuts.
The Governor stated that “the Federal Government did away with revenue
sharing in the 70’s, and this is revenue sharing.” “If you want
to spend, do it locally,” he said.”Do you realize we had a near death
experience?” “And when you have a near death experience you don’t go
back to the old behavior.” The Governor has stated he will veto any
legislation that restores local government funds, as he believes the
people will use the money more wisely themselves. We will
see how this plays out.
As always, we encourage everyone to come to a Commissioners
meeting. All meetings are open to the public, and we have a
session twice a week. Our meetings are Mondays and Wednesdays at
1:30 p.m. in the Commissioner’s office located at 520 South Broadway in
Greenville. Plan to attend and learn what is happening in Darke
County! See you there!
The Darke County Commissioners
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