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Commissioner’s Corner
Preliminary
Budgets for 2017… hold the line
May has been a very busy month in the Commissioner’s office, as it has
been around the County. Farmers have worked feverishly to get their
plowing and planting done. It hasn’t been easy with the rain earlier in
the month, but now as this is written, we could use a good shower to
help those crops grow. May is always a time of renewal, and this year
we suspect will be no different.
May is the month when all of our departments submit their budget
requests for next year. Although, we have no idea what the rest of the
year will bring, we ask department heads to give us an idea of what
they expect for next year. It is a guesstimate of the future needs of
each department, but it gives us some idea of what will be needed. All
departments are asked to hold the line as much as possible, and most do
a very good job of that, but there are always outside demands on some
of the departments that are coming down the pike that they have no
control over. This process gives us an idea of what is needed, but it
is not written in stone. We will know more by November when we do
appropriations for the departments. Be sure to thank your Elected
Officials for doing a great job of holding down costs, and making their
departments some of the most efficient in the State.
This past month the Commissioners have had a lot on their agenda’s. Not
only have we had budget meetings, but we have had meetings on the
Courthouse steps project, held a ground breaking for Erwin Brothers new
truck stop at the South Industrial Park, and saw O.D.O.T. finally get
started on their new facility across the street from Erwin Brothers. We
want to wish both facilities much success, and welcome them to the
Industrial Park. Commissioner Stegall, the chairman this year, had
Board of Revision reviews early in the month, and on the same day, May
3rd, Whirlpool had its official opening of their new manufacturing
facility. This month also saw the search for a new economic development
director continue, and we hope to be able to announce a new director
soon. Our Economic Development Forum was well attended by about 120
investors and guests and held at Romer’s here in Greenville.
Presentations by Lisa Wendel, the Career Pathway Coordinator,
highlighting our efforts with high school students, and our career day
were heard, along with Jared Ebbing from Mercer County presenting
updates on our website hometownopportunity.com. Julie Sullivan from the
Dayton Development Coalition gave an update on the outlook for the
Dayton region, and there seems to be no slowdown expected. Getting
enough workers continues to be a problem area that everyone is working
on. Continuing to supply our companies with an eager, competent
workforce will be our focus for the foreseeable future. There are
plenty of good, high paying jobs in all areas; engineering, medical,
financial, environmental, and of course manufacturing. If you know of
someone interested in finding employment, please visit the website
hometownopportunity.com and find the career you are looking for. The
highlight of the forum was the announcement of JAFE Glass as the
“Business of the Year”. Congratulations to Randy O’Dell and the whole
crew for this honor that was well deserved!
On May 19th, Sheriff Spencer held an awards and appreciation dinner for
his deputies, dispatchers, and one Greenville officer for their
outstanding work in saving lives this past year. Our deep appreciation
for all of our law enforcement and dispatchers cannot be overstated.
These people work extremely long hours to keep all of us safe, and they
do it with very little fanfare. It was nice to see them all recognized
for their fine work.
Saturday May 21st saw the first parade for the Elected Officials for
the year at Arcanum’s Old Fashioned Days, but earlier that morning was
the “Thank a Vet Run and Walk” at the fairgrounds. Commissioner
Stegall was there, along with Representative Buchy who M.C.’d the
event. Although it was a little gloomy with the weather, the rain quit
just in time for the participants in the 5k run and walk and for the
parade. Both events were well attended, and a lot of people were uptown
in Arcanum afterwards enjoying all the vendors who were there. This
starts the parade season for us, and next up is Poultry Days on June
11th.
June is upon us, meaning the year is at its midpoint. This year seems
to be flying by at a record pace. That is probably because everyone is
busy now. If you do happen to have some free time, why not stop by the
Commissioner’s Office for one of our public sessions? We meet every
Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in our office at 520 South Broadway,
just south of the Courthouse. Hope to see you there!
The Darke County Commissioners.
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