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Warren County Court Judge Joseph Kirby. The Enquirer/ Tony Jones

Paul McKibben reports:

Warren County wants to know if it needs all of its part-time courts.

The county has three municipal courts (Mason, Lebanon and Franklin, each of which has one part-time judge) and a county court with two part-time judges.

Municipal and county courts in Ohio handle preliminary hearings in felony cases and adjudicate misdemeanor charges. The courts also hear civil cases in which the money disputed is less than $15,000.

Under one proposal, the Franklin and Lebanon municipal courts would divide between them the cases once handled by Donald Oda when he was a part-time Warren County Court judge. He was elected to the Warren County Common Pleas Court bench last year. Gary Loxley, an assistant Warren County prosecutor, will take over Oda’s county court seat in May. Common pleas court judges are full-time.

The plan also calls to keep vacant the seat of Warren County Court Judge Joseph Kirby and split his cases between the Franklin and Lebanon municipal courts. Kirby’s seat will become vacant when he takes over as Warren County probate/juvenile court judge April 29. Probate/juvenile is full-time.

Mason Municipal Court, with its one part-time judge, would not be affected; it could become full-time at any time because of the large population it serves (Mason and Deerfield Township), according to Franklin Municipal Court Judge Rupert Ruppert.

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Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: consolidation, courts, dave young, franklin, gary loxley, joseph kirby, judge, lebanon, mason, mason municipal court, pat arnold smith, warren county

This illustration shows what the new Warren County racino near Monroe is expected to look like. It?s scheduled to open in 2014, pending various state approvals. Provided

Paul McKibben reports:

The owners of the racino that’s being built in Warren County near Monroe announced Tuesday it will give the county $3 million to help redevelop the Warren County Fairgrounds.

The county-owned fairgrounds – located on North Broadway Street in Lebanon – will be without horse racing and a major tenant when the Lebanon Raceway moves to the racino site. The racino is expected to open during the first quarter of 2014. The county has estimated the fairgrounds needs $2.5 million in repairs.

Among the ideas that have been mentioned for the fairgrounds is an equestrian center, a youth sports complex and convention space for smaller-scale events such as wedding receptions. The county could also sell the property and a find a new home for the county fair.

The county could receive a total of $6.5 million for redevelopment of the fairgrounds. Warren County Commissioner Dave Young said the county has already received $500,000 in deferred maintenance on the fairgrounds from the two trotting clubs that owned the Lebanon Raceway. The county could also get up to $3 million from the state for losing the track.

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Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: dave young, jim simms, miami valley gaming, racino, warren county, warren county fairgrounds

‘There’s too much taxes,’ says Cliff Kerr, who owns a barber shop. / The Enquirer/Paul McKibben

Paul McKibben reports:

At Cliff’s Barber Shop in Morrow, with Fox News Channel playing in the background, Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s proposal to tax services such as haircuts isn’t popular.

“It’s ridiculous, to tell you the truth,” said owner Cliff Kerr, a Republican who voted for Kasich in 2010.

“It’s just more government; something we need less of. …

“There’s too much taxes.”

Kerr, of Blanchester, charges $13 for a haircut. He expects he’ll have to pass the tax onto his customers.

Kasich is proposing to expand Ohio’s sales tax to 81 previously untaxed services.

The proposal also cuts state income taxes by roughly $2 billion a year, which would cause a fundamental shift in how state government is funded – from the income tax to the sales tax.

After three years, the new setup would deliver an overall tax break of $1.4 billion, the administration says.

He also wants to take over counties’ rates to prevent too big of a windfall.

If the plan unveiled Tuesday is approved by the General Assembly, counties would see increased revenue for three years starting with fiscal year 2014, which begins July 1.

Counties would receive at least a 10 percent increase in revenue during the first 19 months compared with collections over the next few months.

Still, interviews Thursday with residents and government officials across Southwest Ohio indicate largely a wait-and-see-approach.

Butler County officials aren’t sure how much additional sales tax they’ll see, although the Ohio Department of Taxation pegs it at $3.2 million a year.

County Administrator Charles Young said commissioners have decided that any additional money would be spent on several issues put off for the last five years while they tightened spending because of the economy.

“There have been little to no capital expenditures,” Young said. “There has been a significant amount of deferred maintenance on our facilities.”

In addition, the county will focus on reducing its $70 million debt.

The state estimates Clermont County could gain $2.2 million a year in additional sales tax.

“Until it gets rolled out, I think it’s a little too premature to talk about what we are going to do with it,” said Sukie Scheetz, director of Clermont County’s Office of Management and Budget.

Commissioners will make that decision, and Ed Humphrey, board president, said he had not yet given the matter any thought.

Warren County would get an extra $3 million per year.

But Commissioner Dave Young said he is leery of any type of new taxation on businesses and is concerned about giving up control to the sate of something that local government historically has overseen.

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Posted in: News, Ohio, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: beach waterpark, budget, dave young, entertainment tax, governor, income tax, John Kasich, kings island, ohio, sales tax, taxes, warren county

Warren County Commissioner Dave Young was interviewed on “Fox & Friends.” / The Enquirer/Paul McKibben

Paul McKibben reports:

Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: cintas, commissioner, commissioners, dave young, debt, debt free, fox & friends, fox news, kings island, procter & gamble, warren county, western & southern open

Paul McKibben reports:

As the nation teeters on a fiscal cliff due to growing deficits, Warren County sits pretty.

Warren is one of nine Ohio counties – the only one in Southwest Ohio – with no general obligation-limited tax debt as of Dec. 15, according to an Enquirer analysis of financial data provided by the Ohio Municipal Advisory Council. The other eight are generally more rural than Warren.

• Interactive map: Track Ohio counties’ debt

“Some governments prefer to pay as they go and do much less in terms of the scale of their capital projects so that they can finance a lot of current operations,” said Mark Robbins, a professor in public policy at the University of Connecticut.

That’s the approach in Warren County, which has grown rapidly as a Cincinnati exurban area and held down property taxes. It pays cash for big-ticket items, including $12 million for a new administration building in 2001. But there’s a downside. Its Common Pleas Courts Building, for example, has employees working in hallways because of overcrowding and commissioners’ refusal to go into debt for a large expansion.

Warren County’s conservative approach – “aversion to debt,” Commissioner Dave Young calls it – dates to the late 1980s, according to former Commissioner Mike Kilburn, who served 28 years on the board before leaving office two years ago.

Kilburn, a new commissioner in January 1983, recalls that the county couldn’t meet its payroll. So a bank advanced the county $500,000. Kilburn said he and other commissioners asked, “ ‘Do we need it? Can we afford it?’ And many times the answer was no. … We just ran that budget like it was our own company (and) like it was our own money.”

The county has experienced tremendous growth during this period long of tight fiscal management. Its population more than doubled from 1980 (99,276) to 2010 (212,693).

While Warren’s approach is uncommon in Ohio, Robbins said it’s not that rare for local governments to have no general obligation debt because other forms of financing are available. Those include leasing arrangements and revenue-backed debt that’s not general obligation.

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Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: dave gully, dave young, debt, deficits, larry sims, mike kilburn, property tax, taxes, warren county

Mason Food Pantry Director Gina Brown has plenty of shelf space to fill now that Warren County commissioners are kicking in $30,000 for the annual Warren County food drive. The Enquirer/ Tony Jones

Paul McKibben reports:

For the seventh straight year, Warren County commissioners are doing something unheard of in these parts.

They are organizing a taxpayer-funded food drive to benefit county pantries.

The commissioners’ role in a charitable campaign is unique among Southwest Ohio’s four county commissions – and possibly the state. But with zero general fund debt, the county can afford to donate, as commissioners did this year, $30,000 of taxpayer money to the drive.

The County Commissioners’ Association of Ohio said many counties often partner with the United Way on charitable campaigns, but its officials didn’t know of any county taking it further.

Commissioner Pat South originated the idea in 2006. She said “there’s a major need out there” that’s not being filled by government and social service agencies. She said those organizations have not been able to keep pace with the demand on food pantries.

Despite a relatively low unemployment rate – Warren County’s 5.8 percent unemployment rate in September was below the state’s 6.5 percent – there is still a need for food pantries in Ohio’s second-fastest-growing county.

“We still have a lot of people unemployed, and we have a ton of people under-employed,” South said.

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Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: charity, commissioners, dave young, food drive, gina brown, mason food pantry, needy, pat south, united way, warren county

Paul McKibben reports:

With one contested race, Warren County Republicans maintained complete control of county government in Tuesday’s general election.

With 92 percent of precincts reporting, Warren County Court Judge Donald Oda II was leading Libertarian Roger Staton, 64 percent to 36 percent, in unofficial preliminary results for Common Pleas Court judge. The seat is held by Neal Bronson, who is retiring.

Republicans who didn’t face opposition were Commissioner Dave Young, Commissioner Pat South, Clerk of Court James Spaeth, Coroner Russell Uptegrove, Engineer Neil Tunison, Prosecutor David Fornshell, Recorder Linda Oda, Sheriff Larry Sims, Treasurer James Aumann and County Court Judge Joseph Kirby.

In the contested race for a seat on the 12th District Court of Appeals, Judge Michael Powell was leading attorney Raymond Lembke of Clermont County’s Pierce Township, 79 percent to 21 percent.

Powell will fulfill the rest of the late Rachel Hutzel’s term through February 2017. Hutzel died in August. Gov. John Kasich earlier had appointed Powell to the seat.

The district is comprised of Butler, Warren, Clermont, Preble, Clinton, Brown, Fayette and Madison counties.

A proposed charter amendment to fund fire and emergency medical services was leading in Mason, 73 percent to 27 percent, with 92 percent of precincts in.

The income tax hike would affect employees at key employers that have facilities in Mason, such as Procter & Gamble and Cintas. An estimated 21,000 people work in the city, which is home to more than 1,100 businesses.

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: 12th district court of appeals, charter amendment, dave young, election, issue 7, mason, miachel powell, neal bronson, pat south, rachel hutzel, ramond lembke, republicans, roger staton, safety services, warren county

Horses race at the Lebanon Raceway. / Tony Tribble for the Enquirer

Lebanon Raceway’s impending departure opens up options

Paul McKibben reports:

When the Lebanon Raceway leaves the Warren County Fairgrounds next year or early 2014 for a new racino near Monroe, taxpayers will be left with a vacant 100-acre piece of prime real estate.

Warren County commissioners will decide the property’s fate. Recommendations so far range from a youth sports complex to an equestrian center to selling the property. Or the county could try to attract businesses to the site. Commissioners said it could be a year before a master plan is unveiled.

“That fairgrounds is like a jewel in Warren County, and it could really be a jewel if they make the right moves when the racing leaves there,” said Bill Smith, vice president of the Warren County chapter of the Ohio Horseman’s Council Inc.

Racinos are part of the gaming industry’s effort to expand in Ohio. Scioto Downs in Columbus, which opened June 1, is the only racino operating in Ohio. The Warren County racino, promising 700 jobs, is one of five racinos pending approval, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission.

Racinos combine horse racing and video slots.

The county owns 93 of the fairground’s 105 acres, 35 miles north of downtown Cincinnati. Lebanon Trotting Club Inc. and the Warren County Agricultural Society own the other 12 acres. The county’s portion has a $1.9 million assessed value.

For now, the county fair will stay put. Next year’s fair is scheduled for July at the fairgrounds, months before the racino would open.

Joe Wilson, president of the Warren County Agricultural Society, said the fair prefers not to move. But he said the fair is not compatible with a sports complex, primarily because of parking needs.

(more…)

Posted in: Business, News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: business, convention, dave young, lebanon, lebanon raceway, lebanon trotting club, ohio horseman's council inc, racino, real estate, tourism, warren county, warren county equine advisory board, warren county fairgrounds

Some relief is coming for motorists used to congestion at the Fields Ertel/Mason-Montgomery Interstate 71 interchange.

Officials announced Thursday they have secured almost $20 million in funding for three construction projects in the heavily traveled corridor.

“It’s probably one of the most critical projects in the region because of the safety aspect and also the economic … impact that the project has,” said Mark Policinski, executive director of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

The projects are:

• Expanding the exit lane at the northbound I-71 Fields-Ertel/Mason-Montgomery exit that will allow vehicles to exit I-71 and move onto an expanded off ramp sooner. Officials said this will create more separation between freeway and exiting traffic. The project costs $2 million. It is expected to start in the third quarter of 2013 and be completed by the second quarter of 2014.

• Building a “loop ramp” to relieve congestion at the Fields-Ertel/Mason-Montgomery intersection by allowing northbound traffic to bypass the intersection. The cost is $12.2 million. The project will start in the first quarter of 2014 and could be finished by the fourth quarter of 2015. During morning rush hour, 40 percent of traffic traveling through the intersection is from the northbound I-71 off-ramp.

• Access management improvements are planned for Gregory Street and Fields Ertel Road. The work costs $2.4 million. It will start in the third quarter of 2015 and could be done by the second quarter of 2016.

Already two projects are done.

• A $1.6 million project that involved building an additional northbound lane from Fields Ertel Road to Parkway Drive.

• A $1.4 million project where 22 traffic signals were coordinated in the area.

Warren County Commissioner Dave Young said the projects won’t completely solve the traffic headaches “simply because the problems are with growth and with congestion, (and) you’re never going to completely fix (it). … There’s still going to be congestion at times.” But he said the quality of life will dramatically improve for residents and visitors.

Posted in: News, Traffic |

Tags: Tags: commute, construction, dave young, deerfield township, exit, exit lanes, fields ertel road, i-71, improvement, loop ramp, mason, mason-montgomery road, Ohio Department of Transportation, ohio kentucky indiana regional council of governments, symmes, traffic, warren county commissioner

Dave Young is a Warren County commissioner.

We hear a lot these days about collaboration – regional cooperation, bipartisan teamwork, the list goes on. Too often, though, those ideals are more talk than action.

I’m part of a project team that truly is working across geographic and political lines to improve the quality of life for the people of Southwest Ohio.

The improvements taking place at the Fields Ertel and Mason-Montgomery roads interchange at Interstate 71 are truly an example of regional and bipartisan cooperation. I believe this project is the single most important infrastructure improvement in our region. The improvements will ease congestion, expand access to business and shopping, and improve safety for all who travel through the Fields Ertel/Mason-Montgomery roads area.

You may have already noticed a few of the changes – a new northbound lane has been added on Mason-Montgomery Road between Fields Ertel and Parkway Drive, and we’re working with the Ohio Department of Transportation to upgrade the traffic signals at 22 different places throughout the area. I’ve heard from numerous residents and commuters that those changes are already making a difference and reducing their travel time through the area.

But we’re not finished. Multiple roadway improvements have been approved – and funded! – and will continue over the next few years.

I’d like to invite you to learn more about these changes at an upcoming community meeting that will take place this evening. I’ll be there, along with many of my colleagues from Warren County, Hamilton County, Deerfield and Symmes townships – this project wouldn’t be happening without their support and cooperation. (You can also find out more about the project at www.AdvancingFieldsErtel.com.)

I believe working to ensure the safety of people traveling to and from home and work is one of the central functions of government. I can assure you that your tax dollars are being used wisely and constructively to improve the quality of life for people who live and work in the Fields Ertel/Mason-Montgomery roads area.

Warren and Hamilton counties are ripe for continued investment and job growth. These roadway improvements will support job creation and stimulate regional development.

Posted in: Uncategorized |

Tags: Tags: commute, construction, dave young, deerfield township, exit, fields ertel road, i-71, mason, mason-montgomery road, Ohio Department of Transportation, symmes, traffic, warren county commissioner