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Your Community newspaper serving Colerain Township, Green Township, Groesbeck, Monfort Heights, Pleasant Run, Seven Hills, White Oak E-mail: northwestpress@communitypress.com We d n e s d a y, J a n u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 0
Mary and Ken Fritz at Bet She’an, Israel
Volume 92 Number 49 © 2010 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
High school hoops
The Lady Cardinals downed No. 1 Oak Hills and the Colerain boys are ranked No. 2 in the GMC. FULL STORY A8
Saying farewell
Colerain Township Senior Center Director Kay Klosterman died Jan. 4, losing her battle with cancer. Services were Jan. 8. FULL STORY A2
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Money woes start year for district Levy renewal is first order of business
JENNIE KEY/STAFF
Snow business
By Jennie Key
Colerain Township resident Sarah Kist, 16, keeps her puppy Rozas warm as she pulls her little brother Alex, 8, in his sled along Woodsong Drive last week. For more snow photos, see page A4.
jkey@communitypress.com
The Northwest Local School District starts the new year the same way it ended the old one: worrying about money. The Northwest board of education will focus on finance at its first business meeting of 2010, set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, at Colerain High School, 8801 Cheviot Road. This is not the normal meeting date or location. The date was c h a n g e d The Northwest because the regular meetboard of ing night fell education will on Martin focus on Luther King Day. The site finance at its was changed first business to accomodate the Colerain meeting of High School 2010. M a r c h i n g Band, which will be recognized for its perfect rating from the Ohio Music Educators Association last fall. On the agenda for the meeting will be the first motion necessary to renew a three-year, 3.9-mill emergency operating levy that raises about $6.4 million annually. The renewal would not raise taxes. The issue would be on the May ballot. The board discussed the renewal at the first work session of 2010 on Jan. 4. Board member Dan Unger says while he is not saying the district doesn’t need the money, he cannot support a levy until the school district makes more progress with transparency issues. Unger, who says the financial transparency issue was part of his campaign in 2007, wants the district to post its expenditures online, like Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes and the county commissioners do on their Web sites. Board President Pam Detzel says the district isn’t sure it can be done. “I am not sure the softward required by the state for financial
Detzel
Unger
Possible cuts
Northwest schools Superintendent Rick Glatfelter discussed budget scenarios with the board at the Jan. 4 work session. If a Northwest levy renewal passes in May, no further cuts would be needed. If it fails, an additional $2.5 million in cuts must be made by Aug. 1. The board is working to identify those reductions. Input will be gathered at conference survey nights to help board members as they deliberate and reductions will likely be approved by the board by the end of March. The reductions being discussed include the elimination of secondary electives, salary and benefit savings, and reductions in classified and administrative departments. If the levy fails, the board would consider placing another renewal on the November ballot. If it passes in November, no additional cuts would be necessary and the $2.5 million in cuts following the May loss would be reinstated as quickly as possible. If it would fail again in November, an additional $2.4 million in reductions would be implemented by August 2011. reporting will support that,” she said. “And we can’t hire anyone to do this while we are faced with the possibility of laying off teachers.” There also is some disagreement over the length of the renewal. The administrative team recommends five. Some board members may favor three. Detzel said she hopes the board can reach some kind of consensus at the Jan. 21 meeting. New board member Elaine Gauck says she’s still not sure she has all the information she needs to make a decision about a levy renewal. She says she will try to survey her support base as she decides how to vote on the levy renewal. “I know who voted for me,” she said.
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Bill could help Colerain clean up By Jennie Key jkey@communitypress.com
Colerain Township Zoning Administrator Susan Roschke says her office is spending a lot of time and money chasing down residents who don’t take care of their property. She asked lawmakers to give her and her staff a break. Roschke Under current law, the township must send a certified letter to the property owner and all lien holders spelling out the violation and giving them the opportunity Birkenhauer to address it. And those certified letters must be sent for every repeated violation. There is also a delay factor. The post office tries three times to deliver the certified letter before the township can take any action. And that takes time. And when you have repeat violations, the time and cost add up quickly. So State Rep. Louis Blessing Jr. (R – 29th District) is sponsoring House Bill 393, which would streamline procedures for townships trying to deal with abandoned and nuisance properties. “Current law allows for the township to cut grass and fix up
Other townships say change is needed
Springfield Township officials approve of the proposed bill but said it doesn’t go far enough to really help. Chris Gilbert, township assistant administrator, said it will indeed save the township money, but he’d like to see a law change that would save time. Gilbert, who is responsible for dealing with nuisance properties, said last year his staff logged 658 complaints. “While this bill is a good one and we support it,” said township Administrator Mike Hinnenkamp, “what would be of more benefit is giving townships the authority to have their own legislation like we do for zoning.” Gilbert said the current system takes anywhere from weeks to months to remedy a nuisance violation. “The bill is baby steps,” Gilbert said, “but it’s a start.” – Heidi Fallon these properties, but only with a pretty costly notice,” Blessing said. His bill proposes that only the first notice be required to be sent certified with subsequent correspondence by regular mail. “It seems reasonable and will save the taxpayers some money,” he said. Township Assistant Administrator Frank Birkenhauer says he thinks the bill is a step in the right direction. “Nuisance abatement of commercial properties is a critical issue in economic development and I applaud Representative Blessing for making the process less cumbersome for the enforcing authority,” he said.
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