Question for Steve Bohannon

“what will you do to continue reducing the number of vouchers in the city, So far the City has a plan and it seems to be working.”

 

Smartman
    I would like to correct your above statement. The current city council members and Mr. Adkins DID NOT reduce the number of Section 8 vouchers in Middletown…period
    Because the MPHA was not being run in compliance with HUD rules it was removed from Middletown’s control and is now being run from the county level of Butler and Warren counties.
     What did happen is that the council members and Mr. Adkins have wasted thousands of dollars of our tax money on legal fees.
     The legal cases against the city over this program are still ongoing in the Butler County courts.
     

 

I apologize for being wrong. I just forgot. My point is that we do not need someone on council that owns so many properties. Their opinions may be skewed.

Miss Vivian -

It wasn't too long ago that The Dougmeister publicly proclaimed, "give me the power and I'll get things done." We can also remember him cavalierly praising the capabilities of Nelson & Asociates plus the Inspection Group being just what was required to straighten out the HUD Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program. And what about the $250,000 Section 8 software program that was purchased by the city at The Dougmeister's urging? Both he and the City Council learned a painful lesson in that The Dougmeister was not more powerful and influential than HUD. His policies and plans were a costly failure.

I know Vivian. Still I have a hard time respecting anyone that milk's the system and tries to use their position for favors. I will never support r Bohannon. I do not support the section 8 program or the landlords. And more importantly someone that tries to use their position for favors. His disrespect to the AD of Middletown HS Friday night was enough for me.

Smartman
No need to apologize to me. We all need to cast are votes for the people we believe will do the best job for the community.
I'm planning on going to meet the new canidates for city council on Oct. 24 to learn more about their future plans for Middletown before I cast my vote..

Over the Hill, I'm not surprised at all. I know many of them. In my business I get to know them. As people I like them. Not a fan of section 8. Don't misunderstand, I feel that there is a need for it. But the system is abused. We have 2nd and 3rd generations in section 8. Its a way of life. Most of the landlords put very little into those properties. They always look for the cheapest way, and sometime put the tenant's lives in danger by the way they do repairs. I've seen this personally. I am a manager at a big box home improvement store. I just want someone who has no interest in the program on council.

That is not true either the case has been moved to Federal Court and is getting ready to start let the finger pointing begin. As for the old city council that was involved in the fruad and misrepresentation of the MPHA program. The people of this city need to look at the past 5 years and think what they want for the next five. I say replace them all.

could one of u actually produce or lead us to any court records or schedule concerning any of this? It should surface eventually if anything is going to happen.

can't change the past, but hopefully we can have a "brighter future"(lol)

Section 8 is everywhere(definitely here!). It has played a part in our situation. Personally I have more of an interest in where/how the funding was used.

Spider, it wasn't too long ago that you were praising the efforts of the Dougmeister for straightening out the city's HUD-funded programs. By doing so, you carelessly slammed a former city employee who did much to unveil many of the dirty little secrets about waste, inefficiency, etc. This person may have been forced out by senior city staff, but, they are still concerned about the questionable condition of the city and the welfare of the citizenry.

I did not run away Mr. Dillman. I was forced out by Ginger Smith at the direction of Judy Gilleland. It's because of sanctimonious and egotistical people like you that the average Middletonian has very little, if any, say in how the city is administered. Your ego is quite enormous. You don't know nearly as much as you pontificate on this blog.

Mr. Dillman -

Once again you indulge in baseless character assassination without the benefit of any knowledge. Here are a few accomplishments of mine for you to try hard to grasp.

1) Owner-Occupied Housing Rehab Program Revolving Loan Fund -- I discovered a total lack of loan servicing for this sizable fund. I was told by my staff that the Finance Director and Planning Director had written off roughly $300,000 in repayable loans around 2003. Furthermore, I was told by staff that another $300,000 plus in similar loans were written off by him and a member of the Finance Department in 2006. Upon my arrival in 1/2007, I discovered that most of the remainder of the portfolio was significantly in arrears. I am the one who inherited a mess and instituted measures to straighten things out.
2) Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program Guidelines and Procedures -- the two of my staff members most familiar with this program prior to my arrival, provided what little was left of so-called "RETIRED HOUSING REHAB APPLICATION FILES." After much searching, I discovered that staff had been using guidelines and procedures that included such things as refinancing credit card or other consumer loan debt into their rehab loan packages. One example was a City employee who owned a home on 8th Street. In her case, some $28,000+ in personal debt was refinanced along with the cost of housing rehab. This account was already significantly in arrears. The house was declared unsuitable for occupancy and demolished. How's this for proper use of taxpayer's funds?

There are many other irregularities and deficiencies that I tried to resolved. My actions were perceived by Judy Gilleland as detrimental to my supervisor. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Stevie!

That questions is not a fair question because the program is not and was not the city of Middletown's to reduce. Steve if elected would not have any power over the program. Thats a question for the city manager he has his own blog ask him and FYI I would think that this would be a topic that he would steer clear of.