Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Every Time a Fiasco - the Marting's Saga Continues

Will these boys ever learn? The answer is no. Read it for yourself:




Scroll through the boys long email (at the link below) and you will note all the elected officials involved. Don't miss Basham's proposal to include space in the Marting's building for SOGP and the Chamber of Commerce. Oh, and for all of us that were up at 4:00 am checking to see if we had sewage coming into our homes, I hope the rest of you will continue to pray for us...that's all we can hope for.

http://portsmouthcitizens.info/Council/CityBuilding/11-15-11E-mailcorrespondence.pdf

Thursday, February 23, 2012

More Money to Spend

After the state auditor ensured in 2010 that Trent Williams knew that he had the legal obligation to submit Amended Certificates of Available Resources when funds increased or decreased and that he would in fact submit them (he didn't do anything in 2009 even though he publicly stated that revenues were down and the city would finish the year in a deficit), he's now proud to say that owing to tax increases, the city has more money to spend. We know they will. First priority...new city offices...not fixing the sewers or the streets.





Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Lucky You - Malone Raises Sewer Rates by 10%

Not only do we get to pay more in income taxes this year, the un-elected mayor of Portsmouth has raised our sewer rates 10%. One might ask why, especially if you are among the hundreds affected by sewage backup into your homes?

The truth is, the boys misappropriated (raided) the sewer fees we've paid for years...which are supposed to go toward the maintenance and upgrade of our sewer system...to pay general government operations. This is against the laws of the State of Ohio and the City of Portsmouth.

So, as a result of their unlawful actions the estimated beginning balance in January 2012 is -$600,000. That's right, a huge deficit. Now we get to bail the boys out yet again.

See this "guesstimated deficit" from the unknowing city auditor on the next page and then the "charge-offs" the boys did in 2010. You will see how much was "charged off" to water. That's why we received an 18% increase in our water rates last year.

I'll post more once I've received the new rate sheets and will be able to tell you more.




Monday, February 13, 2012

Check Your Property Tax Bill and Auditor's Website

Although first half year property taxes are due February 14, you still have time to contest any problems you might observe after reviewing your property tax bill and the auditor's website. Adjustments can be made.

The first thing you should do is take out your tax bill and (since you are reading this) go to the Scioto County Auditor's website to search properties: http://www.sciotocountyauditor.org/

1) Click on "Start Your Search"
2) From the menu on the left, I find it much easier to search by Street Address; click this.
3) Now enter your house number twice (low and high) and then enter street name but DO NOT include street, drive, etc.
4) You should see your property. If not, try entering low and high numbers on your street and then you can click on yours. For your information, you can use this site to check on properties anywhere in the city and county. These are public records.

Once your record is up, you will see a Summary. Read this carefully to compare with what you actually have. A friend recently discovered she was listed as having several hundred square feet more than she has along with 3 full baths and 1 half bath when, in fact, all she has is 1 full bath.

You can now go through the other menu items on the left below "summary". Assessments show the reassessed value of your home. By state law, this is done every 6 years and shows up on your taxes in years 3 and 6. This reassessment is currently performed by a firm from Dayton. More about this later.

If you see major discrepancies that could lower your bill, you can file an appeal to the Board of Tax Revision. Contact the County Auditor's office for information on and date by which you must file in 2012: 740/355-8324; 8 am - 4 pm Monday-Friday. Good luck!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Property Tax Time

I've started putting up some useful information regarding property taxes. The first is on the "Useful Data and Information" tab and includes a full list of all exempt and abated properties in the city - properties for which no tax is paid.

I'll be adding more information and an analysis of who pays what...so check back.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

2012 City Building Committee - January 18, 2012 Minutes

So you will know.



                               City Building Steering Committee Meeting Minutes

                                                            January 18, 2011

Members Present: Alan Barlow, Wayne Kempf, Sean Boldman, Mistie Spicer, Sharon Bender, Rich Saddler.
Also Present: First Ward Councilman Kevin Johnson

The committee elected Alan Barlow to serve as chair of the committee and Mistie Spicer will serve as secretary.

First Ward Council Kevin Johnson sent committee members via email the information obtained by a former city building committee who was formed by Mayor Jim Kalb to look at the city’s properties and make suggestions to city council for the location of a new city building. Wayne said based on the information already received he believes the current committee has a good start in this current effort. He said the basic information from the report has not changed except for the financial costs associated. Wayne said he would like to visit the sites the city owns. Kevin Johnson told the group that Bill Beaumont would have access to all of the city owned properties.

Kevin Johnson told the committee that an offer has been made to purchase the Martings Building and to lease the building back to the city. He said an organization wants to use a portion of the building as a training facility. Johnson said if this occurs the city would no longer own the building and the Martings Foundation would release the 1.4 million it has been holding for investment into the building. Johnson said the organization is expected to meet with local banks and the Martings Foundation. Rich asked if the organization would make all modifications to the Martings Building.

Johnson told the committee that the current city building is not salvageable. He said the foundation is cracking. Johnson said it is considered to be the most valuable property the city owns. Estimated worth is 1 to 1.2 million dollars.

Johnson advised the committee to look at all options that were presented to them in the information the previous Building Committee had gathered. He said David Stone of Tanner Stone would be able to give the committee rough cost estimates on all options. He advised the committee to suggest three options for council to consider. He said council needs to be able to communicate those options to the community. There was discussion as to whether the Martings Building would be an option again. It was determined the lease agreement could enable the Martings Building to be an option to be presented to the public.  In addition to possible options, Rich said the committee should also consider ways to fund the options such as issuing bonds or selling the properties the city owns and present those to council for consideration as well.

Wayne Kempf said the committee needs to look at all the properties the city owns and have an open discussion about each property. Committee members were asked to write down pros and cons for each location to bring to the next meeting.

Sean Boldman said the Martings Building is the only property the city owns that would be a rehab; all other properties would need to be a new build. He estimated a new build would cost at least 9 to 10 million for a 75,000 square foot building. Boldman said the city can’t afford to build a new building. He said the Martings Building offers the best infrastructure.

The committee talked about the Adelphia Building which according to Kevin Johnson would need to be rewired. The building is not big enough to include all departments but the city owns property across the state to expand. Johnson said the building is not acceptable as it is. There are benefits to the Adelphia Building considering its proximity to the courthouse and the city health department.

It was decided that the committee meetings in the future would be an hour in length and that the committee would stick to an agenda. The agenda would be emailed to everyone prior to the next meeting. In regards to the next meeting time Mistie said she would email everyone to determine the best time to meet in February. Allen said he would talk to the mayor about attending the next meeting to provide more details about the proposed lease agreement with the organization. Sean said he would contact David Stone and get updated figures on all properties to present at the next meeting.

Allen moved to adjourn and Sean seconded the motion. The committee’s next meeting  is February 15 at 5:30 in council chambers.