ASSISTANCE LEAGUE HELPS MANY B1
CLERMONT
Your Community Press newspaper serving Amelia, Batavia, Batavia Township, New Richmond. Ohio Township, Pierce Township, Union Township, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Township E-mail:clermont@communitypress.com Web site: communitypress.com We d n e s d a y, O c t o b e r
Vol. 30 No. 38 © 2010 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
6, 2010
B E C A U S E C O M M U N I T Y M AT T E R S
New Richmond schools seek input By Mary Dannemiller
mdannemiller@communitypress.com
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In anticipation of an $8 million loss in revenue in 2016, New Richmond Exempted Village School District officials are asking residents where they should cut. The loss comes from state utility deregulation, said district Spokesman Enos Pennington. New Richmond also stands to lose about $1.4 million a year if Duke Energy wins an appeal regarding the amount it pays in property taxes, Pennington said. Cuts ranging from teacher layoffs to state minimum busing aren’t likely to happen until next year, but Superintendent Adam Bird said he wants to know now what residents think of the situation. To reach out to residents, Bird has planned several meetings throughout the rest of the year to give New Richmond residents the chance to share their opinions about possible cuts.
Possible cuts The list of options the committee will discuss for future financial savings include: • Reduction in primary level teachers and reduction in secondary level teachers. • Reduction in art, music, physical education and technology teachers. • Reduction in custodians. • Reduction in aides. • Reduction in busing to state minimum. • Reduction in the number of athletic teams offered. • Reduction in staff salaries. • Pay freeze for all staff. • Provide additional retirement incentive. • Mandatory furlough for hourly staff. • Fluid elementary boundaries that “We’ve invited business leaders, parents and anyone from the public,” he said. “We’ve got to get together to decide what we need to do. This is not just my problem, this
allow for yearly change. • Reduction in field trips. • Reduction in the purchase of curricular material. • Close or sell Market Street building. • Close or sell maintenance building on Front Street. • Close or sell New Richmond Middle School. • Eliminate optional pre-school. • Do not hire sub custodians. • Adjust start of school day to save transportation costs. Options for future revenue generation to be discussed include: • An income tax levy. • A property tax levy. • Move inside millage. • Pay to participate for athletics. • Building levy for new music wing. is the community’s problem and I want our community to be treated openly and honestly.” Bird also said he wants every New Richmond resident to be edu-
cated about the financial difficulties the district is facing so they won’t be surprised by the cuts. “It’s important we share with our community what’s going on so six years from now they’re not blindsided by what’s happening,” he said. New Richmond Board of Education President Sharon Stark said she wouldn’t feel comfortable approving any plans for the district’s future which included cuts or levies without hearing from the public. “It will probably take the whole school year to come up with a plan,” she said. “We have to have the open meetings with the public to discuss this with the taxpayers. Hopefully, something will come up by 2016 and we won’t have to do anything, but we have to act now so we’re not broke in 2017.” The next meeting is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, at the district office, 212 Market St. New Richmond residents and business owners are invited to attend.
Levy sought to fund Amelia police By John Seney jseney@communitypress.com
Unless additional funding sources are discovered, failure of the proposed 10-mill Amelia police levy will result in layoffs. That was the message delivered by Mayor Leroy Ellington at the Sept. 28 town hall meeting. Amelia village council members in August voted to place the 10mill police levy on the Nov. 2 ballot. Council also passed a resolution to terminate the existing 3mill and 7-mill police levies if the 10-mill levy passes. In May, voters approved a 3mill replacement levy, but rejected a 7-mill replacement levy. The 7year levy was passed in 1999. Ellington said the 3-mill levy passed in May did not generate enough extra revenue to fund the police department. Because the old levies are based on property values at the time of passage, they do not bring in as much revenue as a new 10-mill levy would, he said. The proposed 10-mill levy would generate $734,144 a year in revenue, based on tax year 2009 valuations, according to information provided by the Clermont County Auditor’s Office. The combined 3-mill and 7-mill levies generate $587,493 a year. Fiscal Officer Bill Gilpin said expenditures for the police department have exceeded police fund revenues for four of the past five years. The shortfall has been made up by money from the general fund. “It’s going to be difficult the next couple of years without addi-
Appropriations sams as 2008-2009
Despite the increase in costs and inflation, the West Clermont Local School District will keep next year’s spending at 2008-2009 level. District Treasurer Alana Cropper discussed the permanent appropriations for fiscal year 2011 during the school board meeting Sept. 27. The board voted to accept the appropriations following her presentation. FULL STORY, A3
New Richmond church turns 160
St. Peter Catholic Church in New Richmond once had a steeple that soared 128 feet in the air. “Boat captains on the Ohio River knew where they were because they could see the steeple,” said the Rev. Michael Leshney, the church’s pastor. FULL STORY, A4
Judge candidates answer questions
Clermont County Court of Common Pleas judge candidates Republican Richard Ferenc and Democrat/ incumbent Kenneth Zuk recently answered questions pertaining to their candidacies. FULL STORY, A5
JOHN SENEY/STAFF
Amelia Mayor Leroy Ellington discusses the proposed 10-mill police levy at a town hall meeting Sept. 28. tional funding,” he said. Ellington said the additional funding from the levy would be used to replace a police officer who retired in 2009. This would allow the department to improve response times, he said. Ellington said police cruisers and equipment also need to be replaced within the next few years. “I hope the residents realize how important this is for safety,” Police Chief Jeff Sucher said. For the owner of a $100,000 home, passage of the 10-mill levy would result in an additional $64.67 in property taxes a year, according to the auditor’s office.
BRANDON SEVERN/CONTRIBUTOR
Captain takes charge
Batavia High School captain Luke Bradburn brings the ball downfield. The clash of the titans happened as Bethel and Batavia put their first-place-in-the-division titles on the line. Both teams came into the game with four conference wins, but Batavia came out on top 5-2 Sept. 28. For more about the game, see Sports, A8. To place an ad, call 242-4000.
Amelia Police levy
This 10-mill continuing replacement levy would cover police operations. Residents can estimate their new and old net annual costs from the chart below. Appraised value New additional annual cost $50,000 $32.33 $100,000 $64.67 $200,000 $97 Source: Clermont County Auditor’s Office. This information is for this levy only