Hamilton County homeowners face four more years of higher property taxes to provide more money to the stadiums and the teams who inhabit them. That's the plan that has been submitted by Commission President Greg Hartmann and the County Administrator. The other two Commissioners, Chris Monzel and Todd Portune, have each submitted their own plans which include no property tax increases.
As part of the 1996 Stadium Sales Tax vote, homeowners were promised that 30% of those Sales Tax revenues would be refunded to them in the form of the Property Tax Rollback (PTR). Through 2009 this promise was kept. In December 2010, Commissioner Greg Hartmann and then-Commissioner David Pepper broke this promise, taking away most of that rollback for 2011.
Hartmann and the County Administrator are looking to strip 70-75% of this PTR through at least 2015. Both Monzel and Portune believe that the PTR promise should kept. All three plans currently lack a second vote, which provides a good opportunity for citizen involvement to affect the final outcome.
Everyone is encouraged to contact the Commissioners with their thoughts. Hartmann is looking to pass his plan Monday morning before the Commissioners have any opportunity to hear the public's thoughts. Please encourage all three Commissioners to: 1) support a plan which includes the full PTR; and 2) postpone Monday's planned vote to allow for public comment.
Showing posts with label Hamilton County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hamilton County. Show all posts
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Former Commissioner Neyer files bankruptcy
Tom Neyer was one of Hamilton County's worst Commissioners ever. Neyer is most known for joining with fellow Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus to pass the stadium deals that have bankrupted Hamilton County. Born with every advantage possible, Neyer has squandered all of it and recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Neyer's filing revealed assets of $1.4 million with debts of $69 million. In other words, Neyer ran his own finances about as well as he and Bedinghaus ran Hamilton County's.
When appointed to be County Commissioner, Neyer was a 30-year-old neophyte with no elected experience, no financial skills, no ability to understand issues, no business skills, and even his work history was limited. So that was the best the Hamilton County Republican Party could find? Somehow I don't buy that. They could have thrown a water balloon into Fountain Square and hit someone more qualified to be County Commissioner.
Perhaps in the comments section, someone can explain to me how this incompetent person was the Hamilton County GOP's choice to be appointed Hamilton County Commissioner in 1997. Please name names and point fingers. This region needs to start learning from its mistakes so we can stop repeating them.
There are serious consequences to selecting unqualified hacks to fill important positions, and there's a lot of people (especially the current County Commissioners) who need to understand this. Thanks to Neyer and Bedinghaus, Hamilton County is bankrupt today. Bedinghaus and Neyer said we could build two stadiums for $500 million combined, heavily subsidize the Cincinnati Public Schools, build the Banks, build Fort Washington Way, build the Transit Center, give away the store to the Bengals, and reduce property taxes through the Property Tax Rollback, all for a 1/2 cent Sales Tax hike that would expire by 2017 at the latest.
In reality the stadium Sales Tax will stay on the books through at least the year 2032. Even worse, in spite of these 35 years of stadium taxes the stadium fund will be running large annual deficits through 2032 which will likely total $700 million or more! This means Hamilton County will have to pass another stadium tax increase, or follow Neyer's example and file Chapter 9 Municipal Bankruptcy which looks like a better option every day.
Tom Neyer has managed to bankrupt not just himself, but also an entire urban county. That's quite an accomplishment for one person.
Neyer's filing revealed assets of $1.4 million with debts of $69 million. In other words, Neyer ran his own finances about as well as he and Bedinghaus ran Hamilton County's.
When appointed to be County Commissioner, Neyer was a 30-year-old neophyte with no elected experience, no financial skills, no ability to understand issues, no business skills, and even his work history was limited. So that was the best the Hamilton County Republican Party could find? Somehow I don't buy that. They could have thrown a water balloon into Fountain Square and hit someone more qualified to be County Commissioner.
Perhaps in the comments section, someone can explain to me how this incompetent person was the Hamilton County GOP's choice to be appointed Hamilton County Commissioner in 1997. Please name names and point fingers. This region needs to start learning from its mistakes so we can stop repeating them.
There are serious consequences to selecting unqualified hacks to fill important positions, and there's a lot of people (especially the current County Commissioners) who need to understand this. Thanks to Neyer and Bedinghaus, Hamilton County is bankrupt today. Bedinghaus and Neyer said we could build two stadiums for $500 million combined, heavily subsidize the Cincinnati Public Schools, build the Banks, build Fort Washington Way, build the Transit Center, give away the store to the Bengals, and reduce property taxes through the Property Tax Rollback, all for a 1/2 cent Sales Tax hike that would expire by 2017 at the latest.
In reality the stadium Sales Tax will stay on the books through at least the year 2032. Even worse, in spite of these 35 years of stadium taxes the stadium fund will be running large annual deficits through 2032 which will likely total $700 million or more! This means Hamilton County will have to pass another stadium tax increase, or follow Neyer's example and file Chapter 9 Municipal Bankruptcy which looks like a better option every day.
Tom Neyer has managed to bankrupt not just himself, but also an entire urban county. That's quite an accomplishment for one person.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Bengals ranked worst franchise in sports
Each year ESPN's The Magazine ranks each sports franchise based on how much they give back to the fans for the amount of time and money invested in them. Out of 122 professional sports franchises, the Cincinnati Bengals ranked dead last. This is no surprise to anyone who has watched how the Bengals conduct themselves on the field, off the field, or with their lackeys on the County Commission.
In addition to being bottom-feeders in their overall rating, the Bungles also ranked dead last in each of the following categories:
1) Fan relations - openness and consideration of players, coaches and management toward fans;
2) Players - effort on the court/field/ice and likeability off of it; and
3) Title track - championships won, or expected to be won, during the lifetime of current fans
Hamilton County taxpayers have made a massive investment in the Bungles and have nothing to show for it but a mountain of debt and a county on the verge of bankruptcy. We didn't need ESPN to tell us how bad the Bungles are at treating their fans. We know the Bungles are a lousy investment. If the team's clueless fans want to begin each season thinking this is our year, then that's on them, but our county shouldn't invest any more money in them.
This year and next year the stadium fund faced deficits of $15 million/year, which was plugged by two Commissioners who broke their word to the voters and repealed most of the Property Tax Rollback that was promised to us. After that it only gets worse, as the annual deficit will rise to $30 million/year. That makes the Property Tax Rollback in serious jeopardy of being eliminated entirely.
COAST has advocated time and time again for maintaining the PTR. Our advocacy - and everyone else's - for this principle is needed now more than ever. The citizens of Hamilton County are entitled to the money they were promised from the Stadium Sales Tax increase. And just as importantly, Hamilton County needs to stop investing any more of its limited tax dollars in the worst franchise in North America.
In addition to being bottom-feeders in their overall rating, the Bungles also ranked dead last in each of the following categories:
1) Fan relations - openness and consideration of players, coaches and management toward fans;
2) Players - effort on the court/field/ice and likeability off of it; and
3) Title track - championships won, or expected to be won, during the lifetime of current fans
Hamilton County taxpayers have made a massive investment in the Bungles and have nothing to show for it but a mountain of debt and a county on the verge of bankruptcy. We didn't need ESPN to tell us how bad the Bungles are at treating their fans. We know the Bungles are a lousy investment. If the team's clueless fans want to begin each season thinking this is our year, then that's on them, but our county shouldn't invest any more money in them.
This year and next year the stadium fund faced deficits of $15 million/year, which was plugged by two Commissioners who broke their word to the voters and repealed most of the Property Tax Rollback that was promised to us. After that it only gets worse, as the annual deficit will rise to $30 million/year. That makes the Property Tax Rollback in serious jeopardy of being eliminated entirely.
COAST has advocated time and time again for maintaining the PTR. Our advocacy - and everyone else's - for this principle is needed now more than ever. The citizens of Hamilton County are entitled to the money they were promised from the Stadium Sales Tax increase. And just as importantly, Hamilton County needs to stop investing any more of its limited tax dollars in the worst franchise in North America.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sheriff's Department out of control
Leadership starts at the top. In Hamilton County, the incompetence and lack of professionalism from Sheriff Simon Leis has increasingly put citizen safety at risk. Recent discoveries bring to light the chaos and poor discipline inside the Sheriff's Department.
The first in a series of Enquirer articles about the Sheriff's Department introduces us to deeply disturbing abuse perpetrated by Hamilton County Deputies. As John Harmon was driving home from working and suffering diabetic shock, he was pulled over by deputies. What happened next should never happen to anyone.
Deputies proceeded to smash Harmon's windows, Tase him SEVEN times, then pummel him some more. He suffered a severely dislocated elbow as well as shoulder and thumb injuries. Harmon may have been injured worse, possibly even killed, had State Highway Patrolman Chris Sanger not arrived on the scene. Sanger had to physically stop two of the deputies from further abusing Harmon. As a subsequent Enquirer editorial stated, "What's most troubling is that had an Ohio State Highway Patrol officer not come upon the scene and expressed his concerns to his supervisors, Harmon could have been hurt more severely and the full incident might not have come to light."
Further discoveries lead any reasonable person to wonder if this behavior isn't common inside the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. Indeed, the same editorial remarked, "it's clear the public has reason to at least wonder not only whether the deputies were disciplined sufficiently, but whether the department is doing all it can to maintain a culture in which citizens are treated with as much restraint and respect as possible."
For the worst of these deputies, John Haynes, incidents such as this one are all-too common. During one investigation, Haynes was described by his fellow deputies as, "basically out of control" and that "it is only a matter of time before Haynes seriously hurts or kills someone". The Madeira Police Department ordered its officers to "steer clear" of Haynes, with a lieutenant stating, "It is only a matter of time before something bad happens." He further stated that Haynes was "a lawsuit waiting to happen" who manages to have "gunpoint" incidents daily.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this ordeal is that it could have been avoided if Hamilton County had a Sheriff with common sense. It has now come out that Haynes was fired from a Northern Kentucky police department before being hired by Simon Leis. One has to wonder why Leis hired an individual who was already proven to be unfit for the job. In addition, why was Haynes moved around from post to post as these incidents piled up instead of taken off the street?
We will have to hope that the Democratic AND Republican parties will each search for a qualified candidate for Sheriff in 2012. The incompetence, poor discipline, and lack of professionalism of Sheriff Simon Leis needlessly endangers Hamilton County citizens. Leadership comes from the top. When you have a Sheriff who is incapable of performing his job duties with competence and professionalism, you will have deputies who behave the same.
The first in a series of Enquirer articles about the Sheriff's Department introduces us to deeply disturbing abuse perpetrated by Hamilton County Deputies. As John Harmon was driving home from working and suffering diabetic shock, he was pulled over by deputies. What happened next should never happen to anyone.
Deputies proceeded to smash Harmon's windows, Tase him SEVEN times, then pummel him some more. He suffered a severely dislocated elbow as well as shoulder and thumb injuries. Harmon may have been injured worse, possibly even killed, had State Highway Patrolman Chris Sanger not arrived on the scene. Sanger had to physically stop two of the deputies from further abusing Harmon. As a subsequent Enquirer editorial stated, "What's most troubling is that had an Ohio State Highway Patrol officer not come upon the scene and expressed his concerns to his supervisors, Harmon could have been hurt more severely and the full incident might not have come to light."
Further discoveries lead any reasonable person to wonder if this behavior isn't common inside the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. Indeed, the same editorial remarked, "it's clear the public has reason to at least wonder not only whether the deputies were disciplined sufficiently, but whether the department is doing all it can to maintain a culture in which citizens are treated with as much restraint and respect as possible."
For the worst of these deputies, John Haynes, incidents such as this one are all-too common. During one investigation, Haynes was described by his fellow deputies as, "basically out of control" and that "it is only a matter of time before Haynes seriously hurts or kills someone". The Madeira Police Department ordered its officers to "steer clear" of Haynes, with a lieutenant stating, "It is only a matter of time before something bad happens." He further stated that Haynes was "a lawsuit waiting to happen" who manages to have "gunpoint" incidents daily.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this ordeal is that it could have been avoided if Hamilton County had a Sheriff with common sense. It has now come out that Haynes was fired from a Northern Kentucky police department before being hired by Simon Leis. One has to wonder why Leis hired an individual who was already proven to be unfit for the job. In addition, why was Haynes moved around from post to post as these incidents piled up instead of taken off the street?
We will have to hope that the Democratic AND Republican parties will each search for a qualified candidate for Sheriff in 2012. The incompetence, poor discipline, and lack of professionalism of Sheriff Simon Leis needlessly endangers Hamilton County citizens. Leadership comes from the top. When you have a Sheriff who is incapable of performing his job duties with competence and professionalism, you will have deputies who behave the same.
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