VIEWPOINTS
A8
Suburban Life
March 3, 2010
EDITORIALS
|
LETTERS
|
Editor Dick Maloney | rmaloney@communitypress.com | 248-7134
COLUMNS
|
C H @ T R O O Your MCommunity Press newspaper serving Columbia Township,
Deer Park, Dillonvale, Kenwood, Madeira, Rossmoyne, Sycamore Township
communitypress.com E-mail: suburban@community
LIFE
Health care proposals are not good for Ohio
Like many of you, I have been following the national healthcare debate for the past several weeks, as the decisions made in Washington, D.C., will have a major impact on our state and its citizens. As legislative leaders work to reconcile the differences between the reform bills passed by House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, serious concerns are being raised about the potential costs to the states as well as proposals involving Medicaid and other health services. I, too, am troubled by the proposals under consideration and the effects they could have on families, businesses and our state as a whole. That is why I have introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 24, which urges the members of Ohio’s Congressional Delegation to oppose the federal healthcare bill. While I believe that many reasons exist for Ohio’s Congressional representatives to vote against the healthcare bill, I am particularly concerned about the backroom deals that have been struck, the use of taxpayer funding for abor-
tions as well as the high costs that could threaten Ohio’s future fiscal stability. One of the main features of both reform bills is a requirement State Sen. for states to Shannon expand Medicaid. Jones U n f o r t u n a t e l y, how states will Community pay for these Press guest additional people columnist has not yet been determined. A publication by the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures estimates this proposed expansion of Medicaid could cost the state $349 million for calendar years 2017 through 2019, a move that could result in tax increases or severe cuts to other state programs in order to keep a balanced budget. Ohio spent $4.5 billion in state funds in fiscal year 2008 on Medicaid – roughly 22 percent of the state money in the general rev-
CH@TROOM Feb. 24 questions
Madeira School Planning Commission members have recommended a 1 percent to 2 percent salary increase for eligible teachers, down from a 1 1/2 percent to a 2 1/2 percent increase recommemndation from the 2008-2009 study. Is this a fair increase given the economy? Why or why not? No responses. A proposal is in the works that would eliminate Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputies responses to non-emergency vehicle lockouts, referring nonemergency lockouts to the sheriff’s office instead of the dispatch center handling the call. Is this a good idea? Why or why not? “I do not think it is the duty of the police to save people who get locked out of their vehicle. This is a job for the AAA or a mechanic. Why should my taxpayer money go to this? When I get locked out of my house I have to get a locksmith and I don’t expect the police to waste their time on my forgetfulness. If it is an emergency (such as a child trapped inside) that is an acceptable use of police time. Otherwise, don’t waste my money!” B.H. Are you pleased with the way your public works crews have responded during the February snows? What could they have done better? “A+ for the public works crew. I live on a dead end street with not much traffic except for the local residents. The snow plows did not ignore us. They plowed the street at least twice a day to keep the roads very clear.” K.K.C. “Yes! Very pleased ... and quite impressed. That’s a massive undertaking – dealing with all that snow and ice – and those men and women out there plowing and shoveling and salting did an excellent job! Thank you city of Cincinnati! “And I’d like to give a shout out to all the fabulous people at Lindsay Lane Apartments for doing
Next questions Deer Park Community School District is looking into installing 32 security cameras around the high school campus. Is this a good way to spend money? Why or why not? Would you consider or are you considering a Toyota for your next car, given the company’s recent recalls and safety concerns? Why or why not? Every week The Suburban Life asks readers a question they can reply to via e-mail. Send your answers to suburban@communitypress.com with Chatroom in the subject line. such a great job for us! The driveways, parking lots, parking spots and sidewalks were all plowed, shoveled, and salted in excellent time (including weekends!) for the residents to come and go ... safely. Thank you sooooo much!” J.K. “Let all of us remember that the publics works is trying to clear the roads for everyone with limited equipment. Everyone wants the same thing at the same time – clean roads, which allows for plowing just enough that they can move on to others who are waiting. And let us not forget that this work is being done while most of us sleep and on longer shifts than most of us work.” T.S. “As far as I am concerned, the public works crews deserve a medal for the good job they did on our community’s streets. One could not have asked for more. Maybe when I was younger, I could have worked that hard, but I just marvel every time I think of the hours they had to keep, and the effort they had to exert, and I am grateful.” B.B. “I think the road crews do a great job! Our street does seem to not get plowed quite as quickly as others, but I really don’t mind. Hey, if snow on my street is all I have to worry about these days, I am doing pretty good!” L.D.
enue fund. Placing new Medicaid mandates on our state without covering the increased costs would place even more pressure on our budget, which is already stretched thin due to the economic challenges we are facing. The current state budget was balanced with billions of dollars in one-time funds, money that will not be available when we begin deliberations next year on the state budget for fiscal years 2012-2013. The additional costs from healthcare reform would only exacerbate this problem. In addition, the Senate version of the bill contains what some people have termed the “Cornhusker kick-back” – a provision that would have Ohio and other states paying for Nebraska’s Medicaid enrollees to the tune of millions of extra dollars. U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson from Nebraska worked out a deal where in exchange for his “yes” vote on the bill, Nebraska received a permanent exemption from the state share of Medicaid expansion, which means taxpayers from the other 49 states will be on the hook
for an additional $45 million in the first decade. Nelson and Sen. Carl Levin from Michigan also worked to insert a provision in the bill that will exempt non-profit insurers in their states from an excise tax. This unequal treatment of the states when it comes to doling out federal resources is outrageous and these sweetheart deals should be removed before final passage of the bill. The Senate version of the healthcare reform bill also contains a provision that would use taxpayer dollars to fund insurance programs that cover abortions – a change to long-standing state and federal policies. Ohioans have overwhelmingly opposed the use of tax dollars to fund abortions in the past – a study by Ohio Right to Life found that 70 percent of Ohioans agree that their tax dollars should not be used to pay for abortions. It is my hope that legislative leaders will recognize this and remove this language from the bill. The bottom line is this, the proposals under consideration by the
Appealing property values While voter approved tax levies have the major impact on property taxes, your property’s valuation is the foundation on which the rate Dusty you pay is figured. We reapRhodes praise (revalue) Community Hamilton County Press guest properties every columnist three years by state law. The legal requirements of the reappraisal process mean we are always behind the market. That may be more apparent now than it was when real estate values were rising. The effective date of the appraisal currently in force is Jan. 1, 2008. If you believe the value we
have for your property is inaccurate you can file a complaint with the board of revision. The board’s requirement this year is to look at your value as of Jan. 1, 2009. Based on the evidence presented, the board can raise or lower a value or leave it unchanged. To file a complaint, call 513946-4035 and we will send you the state’s form and instructions, rules and guidelines. Read them carefully to prepare for your hearing. Complaint packets may also be downloaded and printed from our Web site, www.hcauditor.org. Click on Departments and Board of Revision. Complaints must be received in our office (the postmark is irrelevant under state law) by 4 p.m. on March 31 so if you are not in a position to mail in plenty of time we suggest you play it safe and
LIFE
hand-deliver to room 304 of the County Administration Building, 138 E. Court St., downtown Cincinnati. At your hearing you will need to make your case for the value you seek. Remember: our office’s only goal is to get your value right. Even if we summarily reduced all Hamilton County property values, it would have a minimal effect on taxes. The millage of most levies is reset after a reappraisal. Taxing entities get the amount you voted. So, if values overall go down, millages increase. Our work in setting values is controlled by state law and overseen by the state tax commissioner. We do our utmost to get it right. We welcome your help and participation. Dusty Rhodes is the Hamilton County auditor.
Be resolute, but not critical One of my interesting and very rewarding activities is visiting with the older veterans at the VA Hospital in Fort Thomas. Once a week I go over there for a few hours to keep them company. My first duty is to thank them for serving in the military. After that, we chat about whatever is on their minds. I use my ID card as a method of introduction. It has my name and the fact that I served in the Army. It also has what most of my new friends consider a good likeness of me. Some would call it a picture of a gorilla. However you view it, it sets the mood for genial conversation. Some of my friends are there for many reasons. They range from very serious conditions to simple respite for family purposes. As a volunteer, I am not always informed about the actual situation, but it often comes up in subsequent conversations. My job is strictly to be a friend, as such, confidences are very important. Some of them have
regular family visitors. In that case, I encourage the family to keep doing the right thing. Others inform me that they never or very rarely Edward Levy have visitors. It is Community important to react either Press guest properly way and to be as columnist supportive as possible. It was this week that an interesting conversation led to this essay. I had met a new friend who immediately felt at ease talking to a gorilla. He brought up an interesting philosophical topic. As a former teacher of philosophy, I was very interested. He said that at this late point in his life there were two things he wanted to discuss. One was the things he did that he shouldn’t have done. The other was the things he should have done and didn’t do.
A publication of
Your Community Press newspaper serving Columbia Township, Deer Park, Dillonvale, Kenwood, Madeira, Rossmoyne, Sycamore Township
Congress are not reform at all, and states such as Ohio could be saddled with tax increases and burdensome mandates as a result. Senate Concurrent Resolution 24 sends a message to those in Congress that they should delay a vote until changes are made that will bring about true reforms. I would encourage everyone who cares about the future of health care in our country to contact their representatives in Congress and voice their opinions about the proposals under consideration. You can find contact information for your congressperson or U.S. senator by going to www.house.gov. Senate Concurrent Resolution 24 has been assigned to the Senate Health, Human Services and Aging Committee, and I will be sure to keep you updated on its progress through the Legislature. Contact State Sen. Shannon Jones at 614-466-9737, via e-mail: sd07@senate.state.oh.us or by mail: State Sen. Shannon Jones, 1 Capitol Square, Statehouse, Columbus, OH 43215.
Suburban Life Editor . . . . . . . .Dick Maloney rmaloney@communitypress.com . . . . . .248-7134
We agreed that most of these problems occur early in life for moral people and that our youth is a learning period. The problem as we get older is that there are the things we should do and don’t get around to them before it is too late. Then, we are left with regrets that linger with us forever. The things we did in error stay with us unless we have some way of righting the wrong. Some of them may even be minor, but they still nag at us. It is best just to forget them if we can. With most of us, our religious training leaves us with guilt that is hard to completely overcome. Sometimes the only thing we can do is to correct the things we should have done, but didn’t. The important lesson here is not to judge yourself too harshly. We have all made mistakes. Let one of your resolutions be to do random acts of kindness to strangers. It really helps. Edward Levy is a longtime resident of Montgomery and a former college instructor.
s
A WORLD OF DIFFERENT VOICES
Office hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday | See page A2 for additional contact information. 248-8600 | 394 Wards Corner Road, Loveland, Ohio 45140 | e-mail suburban@communitypress.com | Web site: www.communitypress.com