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Commissioner: Policies will run country off cliff

Connie Powers steps off a Warren County Transit bus at her home in Warren County. Powers has been using the busses since 1992 after she went blind.

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By Marie Rossiter, Staff Writer Updated 6:13 PM Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Democrat? Republican? It doesn’t matter who’s giving out the money to Warren County Commissioner Mike Kilburn.

A day after his commission office was bombarded with criticism and praise, Kilburn said he stands behind the county’s refusal to accept federal stimulus dollars.

Warren County told the Ohio Department of Transportation to keep $373,000 allocated for transit improvement. In fact, commissioners also are looking for a way to turn down another $1.8 million in stimulus funding available to the county for energy efficiency improvements to government buildings.

Commissioners said they rather have the money go to pay down the national debt. Warren is the only county in the state to refuse the money.

“I was critical of Bush when he supported the bank bailout and the fact he didn’t veto a single budget,” said Kilburn, a staunch conservative. “The fact is, Obama is the man now. No one should be surprised. He’s never run anything, never done a payroll. I’m singling out actions and fiscal policy that will run this country off a cliff.”

But not all Ohio county officials feel the same about the stimulus money. Lucas County commissioner Ben Konop, a Democrat, sent a letter to the commissioners Tuesday, April 21, stating “if Warren County doesn’t want or need the help, Lucas County will take it.”

Konop told the commissioners that high unemployment and foreclosure rates compel his county to welcome every available dollar to put people back to work. He said the stimulus money comes from tax dollars paid by citizens.

“I am confident they want to see that money returned to the community,” Konop wrote.

In a written response, Kilburn told Konop the stimulus money is additional debt and not from tax dollars. He added the commissioners wanted to use the money to reduce the national debt and to send a message to Washington, D.C. that says enough is enough.

“Stop spending money you don’t have and start being accountable to the taxpayers,” Kilburn told Konop. “God only asked for 10 percent, why do the politicians in Washington, D.C. think they deserve more than 40 percent?”

Jerry Haddix, Warren County grants coordinator for transit, said rejecting the funds won’t affect county services. He said the money was to be used to purchase three vehicles originally slated for next year, a new computer system and maintenance.

“We sent the Office of Transit a wish list,” Haddix said. “We still have money for maintenance from other funding. Instead of being reimbursed 100 percent, we’ll maybe only get 80 to 90 percent. I don’t think it will be a big impact.”

Warren County Transit serves county residents needing transportation to medical appointments, social services, employment and educational opportunities. According to Haddix, Warren County Transit gave 60,000 rides in 2008.

As for the other $1.8 million, Kilburn said it was offered to use toward the courthouse expansion project. He said the county already has plans to pay for the project.

“We were going to do this with or without this money,” Kilburn said. “We can pay our own way.”

The stimulus fund debate may not be over any time soon. Warren County Engineer Neil Tunison said he will ask the commissioners to approve $2.9 million dollars for county road projects. The money comes from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments, which is funded by stimulus dollars.

“We are glad to get this money,” Tunison said. “We were falling behind on a lot of resurfacing projects. Now, we will be working on nine miles of road around the county which need repair.”

The project list includes Columbia Road, Lytle Five Points Road, Kings Island Drive, Stubbs Mill Road, Manchester Road, Dixie Highway and Frankin-Trenton Road.

Tunison said he believes the commissioners will agree to the project because it is focused on infrastructure needs.

“Dave Young was with me at the OKI meeting back in February,” Tunison said. “He has said he isn’t opposed to stimulus money if it is used for capital improvements.”

Young said Tuesday, April 21 he would be more likely to spend stimulus money on larger, infrastructure projects.

“We might not like deficit spending, but at least we could live with it if the funds were being used for those things,” Young said.

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