Posted: 6:46 p.m.Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Text of Middletownmayor’s State of the City speech

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

2015State of the City address

    Good evening! Thank you Jeff (Diver) forthat introduction! I also want to thank you and the historical society forhosting the state of the city address. It is fortunate that we have an activesociety dedicated to preserving and sharing our history here in Middletown. Each year forthe address, I look to find new and different venues to highlight. The societyis not new, nor is its focus, but the new location here at the historic ShartleHouse is a great venue for the society. Everyone is invited to stay afterwardsand take in all the exhibits here on the first floor and upstairs. Jeff is alsorecognized for his leadership at SELF, Supports to Encourage Low-incomeFamilies, Butler County’s Community Action Agency. SELFis an award winning leader in helping families achieve self-sufficiency —employment, transportation and housing. They touch lives across the county andmake a significant difference for many families.

    Thanks also to Pastor (John) Wagner foroffering tonight’s invocation. Your leadership and connection to the communityare appreciated. I want to recognize you and the Methodist Churchfor the support of our annual Martin Luther King Day service. Each year theactivities and participation grow, and this year’s was certainly a greatcelebration.    Additionally, the supportprovided to SHALOM illustrates your commitment to helping those in need.

    Thanks to the police and fire honor guardfor your participation in tonight’s address. We are fortunate to have dedicatedpublic safety officers here in Middletown.Events across the nation remind me of the perils faced every day by our policeofficers and fire fighters. Your service and commitment are appreciated.

    My fellow council members, Anita ScottJones, Dan Picard, Dora Bronston and my brother, Vice Mayor Joe Mulligan alsodeserve thanks for their service to our community. 2014 was a new format forcouncil, with its change to five at-large members and we’re making progresstogether. The city benefits from your leadership and direction.

    I would like to express my appreciation toour Clerk of Council, Amy Schenck, City Manager Doug Adkins and his entireleadership team for the work they do. Doug was selected by council to lead thecity and work with us to advance our progress towards success. We all benefit fromhis vision, leadership, experience and dedication.

    Middletownis in the midst of a rebirth as a revitalized city! In 2008, my first year asMayor, Middletownwas labeled a dying city; I believe that we have turned the corner and arepoised for many great things. Last year I spoke of change in the city: the waywe govern; the operations of the city; and our evolving economy. This year wesee some of the results of those changes for the betterment of Middletown. We can say with confidence that Middletown is looking tobetter times.

    In 2014 we made progress in a number ofareas: Increasing economic development throughout the city; reworking publicsafety forces to improve operations and efficiencies; and focusing our effortson improving the community. This evening, I will touch on a few of the moresignificant accomplishments that have helped move our city forward.

    The city completed the divestiture of itsSection 8 program to Warren and Butlercounty metropolitan housing agencies in 2014. For too long, the administrationof the housing voucher program was a drag on the city: it took time toadminister—time that could be spent on more important priorities. Also, theSection 8 program had grown much too large for a city of our size. Our goal isto restore balance and we have moved closer to achieving that balance byallocating vouchers to the county housing agencies. This transfer to the countyagencies opens up additional housing possibilities for those in need in areaswithin both Warren and Butler counties, not justMiddletown.These changes improved opportunities for all participants and for our city.

    The next step in stabilizing ourneighborhoods is continued enforcement of our housing codes. Middletown does not have the resources tofind, investigate, and resolve all the problems with blighted and abandonedproperties in our neighborhoods. We face a downward spiral with our housingquality and values … absentee landlords are acquiring properties on the cheap,renting them out and pulling resources from our community, and leaving blightand further disinvestment behind. This contributes to an image problem in thecity. With focus, we can reverse that course and encourage investment thatleads to increased property values.

    Through a new volunteer reporting programfor identifying issues and violations, the city will step up enforcement in thecoming year. We addressed the worst structures by demolition in partnershipwith the Butler County Land Bank. That effort over the last two years hasremoved over 300 eyesores, problem properties that were targets for vandals,vagrants, and illicit drug use. A blighted property devalues an entire block orneighborhood and is a disservice to responsible owners. Stepping up codeenforcement will help improve our entire community by making our streetscapesmore attractive to current and potential residents. Through Jeff Diver’sleadership, the SELF sponsored work camp will return this summer for a housingimprovement blitz, when 800 volunteers will assist elderly and disabled homeowners with needed repairs. This is one example of a way that public andprivate organizations can come together to improve our city.

    Addressing the housing issues helps withour rebirth!

    I challenge the council, administration andthe entire community to work together to clean up Middletown. The council and administrationmust find funds and strategies to help raise our standards, clean up ourneighborhoods, and improve our image. There are two simple things everyone cando … pick up and clean up. The city can facilitate larger efforts.   The community can report problem areas:junked cars, trash strewn lots, and other litter and debris.

    Our residents have immense pride in ourcity. We must work together to exhibit that pride through clean neighborhoods,by holding everyone accountable and letting visitors see signs of a clean city.Working on this will allow people to see all the wonderful things Middletown has tooffer—which is too often hidden by litter, debris and neglect.

    Additionally, the planning commission,council members and staff, together with an outside consultant, have embarkedon a comprehensive re-write of our zoning code. This process will take manymonths, and much thoughtful consideration.    At the end, we will have a useful, currentand user friendly zoning code to help us reach our goal of attractive, lastingcommercial and residential developments in appropriate locations.

    Leveraging the pride we have in ourcommunity further supports our rebirth!

    Significant and visible structures indowntown: the Manchester Inn, Barnitz Bank building and the former MiddletownFederal building—now known as the Goetz Tower, illustrate thechange and improvement of downtown and the entire city.    All three land marks have survived the manyups and downs of our city and economy. They also highlight the progressive andevolving nature of partnerships. The city’s acquisition of the Manchester and our work to find a developerwho understands the community’s vision for the space, show how we can takecalculated risks to be a catalyst for improvements. When we sold the Barnitz Bank Buildingto the Windamere, the city recaptured the investment we had made, and opened upan opportunity for full utilization of the building. The city took a morepassive role with the Goetz Tower, but did movequickly with the developer to secure historic designation, facilitate planningand other details like parking. All are key examples of collaboration with theprivate sector.

    Likewise, the east end Renaissance Districtcontinues with opportunities for growth. Last month’s announcement of the newAK (Steel) research and innovation center at Renaissance is a great stepforward for the city and AK. It was the result of several years of work anddiscussions, and well worth the effort. We have a long history together, andthis sets the stage for a bright future together. We look forward to continuedgrowth and development as the growth from Daytonand Cincinnati marches toward Middletown. We are fortunate to have ampleland along the I-75 corridor to offer developers and to build on the commercethat is already in place. Large operations such as Atrium Medical Center and AK Researchserve as the building blocks for further growth.

    It was also gratifying to see a stepforward with the redevelopment of Towne Mall Galleria and the opening of Burlington earlier thismonth. With Planning Commission’s approval of new out lot locations last year,we look forward to additional growth and ribbon cuttings! Towne Boulevard road improvements willalso aid in attracting new tenants and retailers.

    The entrance to our city from I-75 iscertainly enhanced with new landscaping, lighting and hardscapes. The news ofadditional development at Commerce Drive will further improve our entry way. Thesewere the results of years of work, good planning and patience — and broughtimprovement to the city despite the economic headwinds over the last six years.

    The progress on economic developmentfurther supports our rebirth!

Weare proud of the work that our public safety employees do every day. We must,however, examine how best to deliver those services in the most cost effectiveand efficient manner. Council approved the reorganization of the public safetyleadership. This change created the public safety director position and alignedthe Chief and Deputy Chief in both police and fire as a new approach tomanaging these vital services.

    The city has partnered with the (Ohio) Highway Patrol forinvestigations of routine traffic accidents. The OHP specializes in that andthis has freed officer time for local police work. It frees up the equivalentof one full-time officer over the course of a year — 2,000 man-hours. Themanagement team is charged to evaluate how we can best serve the citizens of Middletown, whileimproving operations and efficiency. The State has directed us to reducedispatch centers in Butler County; this team is charged with evaluating the bestsolution for Middletown— how we might partner with other agencies for effective and efficient service.

    In 2014 we were encouraged by improvedcrime statistics. Total Part 1 crimes, the most serious of crimes, were down4.5 percent from 2013, and response times held steady. Certainly one year doesnot a trend make, but these improvements are worth noting.

    In late 2014, the fire departmentimplemented a new response model, known as first emergency first. This responsemodel sends the most appropriate equipment to the call. For a medical call, anambulance is dispatched, rather than previously where a fire truck andambulance were sent together. For a fire or rescue call, a fire apparatus isused. This allows for the most effective use of equipment and personnel.

    The restructured management team will beworking closely with the city manager to provide recommendations to council forimproved safety services in the coming year.

    The financial results from the city alsoshow that we’ve turned the corner. In 2014 we experienced an increase in taxrevenue … a slight one at about 3 percent, but an increase none the less. Datashows that those increases came from a wide variety of sources, so improvementis happening in many areas of our economy.

    We remain focused on being fiscallyresponsible, and that is best illustrated in the savings that were accomplishedwhen compared to the city’s 2014 budget. We looked for every opportunity tosave and set priorities, and that effort created over $2 million in savings.The first two months of 2015 show similar trends. Council restored streetimprovement spending and will be prioritizing other areas that need to beaddressed. Accomplishing this financial performance did not come easily, but werecognize the hard work of all of our employees in making it happen. The cityinstituted a performance based compensation model over the past year, and wewere able to make the first award this year, based on the improvements made in2014. We can no longer afford across the board pay increases – that compoundannually. We are fortunate to have dedicated employees, and it is important toshare a portion of the positive financial results outcomes with the employeeswho work hard to deliver city services. As we continue to increase the numberof jobs in Middletown,and the tax revenue that comes with that growth, I anticipate council and theadministration will work to provide the competitive compensation packages forour employees so that we can better retain and hire talented team members.

    City Manager Adkins has recently introduceda rallying cry to focus the culture of the city staff. He’s created a programcalled “The Middletown Way.” It establishes common themes around the role ofcity staff, creates a sense of commitment to the cause of serving the citizensof our city, and sets promises for delivering on their work. Council fullysupports this effort and it is critical to make sure all employees are engagedand working towards the same common cause. The timing for this is alsoespecially important as we embark on our rebirth as a revitalized city.

    The operational and financial results showthat our rebirth is underway!

    Council and the city manager are evaluatingpriorities for the next few years. Over that period, we have several largescale construction projects that will generate payrolls and related taxes ofabout $3.5 million. It is best to plan ahead for identifying key projects thatwill best position Middletownfor future growth and development. Council has just started the process, soplease weigh in on any suggestions or thoughts.

    High on my list will be a continued focuson improving our roads. We restored some funding in the 2015 budget for somelocal street resurfacing. As we continue to focus on improving our financialperformance, it is important that we address the condition of our roads. It wasnearly 30 years ago that the voters directed the dedicated funding source forour streets and capital projects back into the general fund. Over that time,the conditions have deteriorated and time has taken a toll on our roads …restoring funding dedicated to roads may be a way to address this issue, but Ibelieve we should exhaust all other efforts before looking to a tax for theanswer.

    We can build on our success to continue therebirth of our revitalization!

    Even with the progress our city has made,we face continued challenges, and the council is working to address those forthe betterment of our community. The most significant, in terms of the humancost, is the Heroin Epidemic that is affecting our country, region, state,county and city. We must address this problem from new angles — the old waysare not creating change. We can no longer arrest and jail our way out of thisproblem. The financial cost to the city is large, but the cost to families andthe individuals is immeasurable. Middletown is working regionally with manypartners to grab ahold of the issues and develop new solutions. I am not anexpert by any means, but have learned and recognized that we must work togetherto solve this growing drug problem.

    Council is also working on a number offronts to address other issues in the city. Middletown has a proud history overtwo centuries, but with that history comes an aging infrastructure and dealingwith new rules and regulations which must be addressed. Many cities in Ohio andthe region face similar challenges. Our combined sewer system and relatedoverflows are no longer acceptable by federal and state standards. The city hasbeen in years-long discussions with the   Ohio and U.S. EPA to attempt to resolve this.There are different points of view on how much we can afford and what is themost cost effective way to address the overflows. Everyone recognizes theimportance of preserving the environment, and we have seen dramaticimprovements in water quality over the past several decades. We must workdiligently and allocate our limited resources carefully to solve thischallenge.

    The national economy has made some stridestowards improvement, but there remain many hurdles yet. Including our localemployment opportunities. We’ve seen some improvements but securing fullemployment will take additional work.    Oureconomy has continued to shift away from manufacturing—where a strong back,good work ethic, and 30 years on the job earned a high school graduate a steadyjob and retirement — to jobs that require different skills. Education iscritical for the betterment of the individual, the economy, and our community,whether it be a traditional college education — bachelor’s degree and beyond —or an advanced technical certificate. Most everything in our economy hasadvanced — machines and systems are computer controlled, we are using moreadvanced materials in everything from manufacturing to home construction. It isvital that our workers have the necessary skills and access to acquiring newand improved skills in order to compete in a global jobs market. We arefortunate to have Miami University and Cincinnati State in Middletown; and thatare both developing new programs, along with associate and bachelor degrees tohelp improve and develop our work force for jobs in the 21st century. Theregional campus of Miami recently announced there was 100 percent job placementin two of its new degrees; and it achieved an overall 88 percent placement ratefor students in either careers or continued to advanced education. The cityremains focused on working with our current employers and companies to helpthem grow — while also attracting new companies to the area to capitalize onour assets.

    We have challenges to overcome, however weare on the right path to our rebirth.

    We are in a fortunate position and shouldbe proud of our accomplishments! We must look forward to our opportunities.Henry Ford once said “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together isprogress; working together is success.” Working together as a council,government and ultimately the entire community are critical to our futuresuccesses. Progress has been made in the areas I’ve mentioned: transfer ofSection 8, addressing our image through improved zoning and clean-up efforts,opportunities for development in our Downtown, east end and Renaissance, andprioritizing our spending will move us down the road to success … We are on theroad to a new era … the rebirth and revitalization of Middletown!

    Good Evening and thank you for joining meat the State of the City address. May God bless you, our city and our country.