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Middletown City Council sets priorities for new year

No. 1 is Cincinnati State Community College project, with jobs creation at No. 2.

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By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer 11:22 PM Saturday, January 22, 2011

MIDDLETOWN — Even with the fear of state funding cuts looming, City Council plans to make police and fire services and Middletown’s roadways a priority in 2011.

Just how much Council is going to have to pay for them is the real question. Members discussed at their annual retreat Saturday ways to rein in the city’s budget in the face of state funding cuts, coupled with ongoing deficit spending.

Police and fire services

With a $30.5 million budget in 2011, Councilman Josh Laubach said there is no reason why Middletown can’t afford to provide police and fire services, but it may need to find ways to provide them more efficiently, such as having part-time firefighters or police officers or privatizing certain services.

He also did not support the proposal of asking voters to renew the quarter-percent public safety levy set to expire at the end of 2012. Laubach said he viewed the levy as a temporary solution for funding police and fire services.

“Our problem is not are we taxing enough? It’s that we are spending too much,” he said.

City Council will be asking each city department to present a budget plan if their funds were slashed by 20 percent in 2012 to prepare for any lost revenue streams.

And while Laubach was against renewing the public safety levy, the other six members directed City Manager Judy Gilleland to work on developing a plan of action if a renewal were placed back on the ballots.

Gilleland said she will ask the union representatives from the fire and police departments to present their position on the levy at the first council work session set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 1.

Members plan to discuss in what form the possible tax levy may be presented to voters, what marketing may be done to promote it and when it may be placed on the ballots.

New program for roads

Public Works Director Dave Duritsch told council only $800,000 is earmarked for road work in 2011, which is about 2.6 percent of the city’s entire budget. Duritsch said he plans to roll out a new program soon where residents could petition the city to complete work on their streets if 60 percent of all property owners on that street agree.

At least a portion of the work on those streets would be directly assessed to those property owners’ taxes. While residents may have interest and petition to have work done on their streets, the city still has to figure out a way to pay for it on the front end, which means collecting those assessments, Duritsch said.

The city currently depends heavily upon state and federal incentives to fund road work, Duritsch said. He told council he would like to see the city designate at least $3 million a year to bring the city’s roads to a “good rating” within the next 20 years.

Cincinnati State a priority

Beyond safety and infrastructure, City Council also formally made the Cincinnati State Technical & Community College project the No. 1 priority for Middletown in 2011.

Economic Development Director Mike Robinette, who is resigning from his position Jan. 31, warned council the project may “meander” in its development, but there was no reason why Middletown should not be able to close the deal.

“It’s more of a question of how you make it happen than what is getting in the way,” he said. “It’s a financial and cash flow issue and that is a solvable issue.”

The city is negotiating a financial agreement for Cincinnati State to open a new branch campus downtown. City Council already approved spending up to $500,000 to acquire buildings for the project — of which $275,000 has been spent appropriating four buildings. Gilleland said the city hopes to purchase the Manchester Inn for the project in coming weeks. The hotel would house a new culinary school if a deal can be reached.

Most members agreed if the Cincinnati State project can be achieved, it could go a long way to help increase education and job opportunities in Middletown while potentially spurring more development.

“It’s the one thing we have in the process that can bring jobs and turn around our downtown,” said Vice Mayor Anita Scott Jones.

That priority was closely followed by jobs, which City Council members stressed will be imperative to increase revenues and improving the city budget.

Members also directed city staff to make improving Middletown’s image a priority in 2011.

While City Council did not hash out all the details for how these priorities can be achieved, Gilleland said it will help staff make decisions and draft proposals for council as issues and opportunities arise.

Kendall C. Wright, a Middletown resident and professional facilitator who donated his time to facilitate the Saturday retreat, said the list of priorities will help City Council as it discusses options for achieving those goals.

“City Council is in agreement that jobs are a priority, but you don’t have to specifically say what jobs,” he said. “It is your job as leaders to work that through and find some common ground.”

Contact this reporter at (513)

705-2843

jheffner

@coxohio.com.

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