Middletown Forum : City Govt IS THE PROBLEM

City Govt IS THE PROBLEM : "Adkins said some neighborhoods...

Tue, 03 Apr 2018 13:18:40 +0000

Author: VietVet
Subject: 6713
Posted: Apr 03 2018 at 1:18pm

"Adkins said some neighborhoods approach 80 to 90 percent rentals. He says that's bad for the city, especially since those houses are more rundown than houses in other cities nearby.
It is without question that parts of Middletown are in the throes of extreme poverty, with streets like Baltimore Avenue and Crawford Street just two of many.
And with that the city has observed steady crime rates and police calls for service."

Ok, admitting we have a low income, drug and crime infested, low quality housing and excessive rental property city is the first step in solving problems Mr. Adkins.

I guess my question to you is....

Who invited all this poverty to town? Why.......you, Gilleland and others did!

Why, when you were the Revitalization Director, under Gilleland, didn't you see this and talk to Gilleland about the problems it would create for the city? Why, just now, are you admitting we have had these issues all along and that they are killing this city? Posts on this site have talked about this for years but fell on deaf ears at the city building. I guess now that you have acknowledged this, it is a legitimate concern.

You went right along with the program when Gilleland, you and others thought it would be a great idea to invite over a thousand Section 8/HUD voucher low income people to town in order to reap the almighty fed dollars that were to follow. Why did you want Section 8 in here in the first place? Now, we can't seem to farm out the overabundance to town's that have little HUD activity and they don't want the problems with good reason. There is nothing positive about saturating the city with low income. With your low income invitations comes major problems for a city who can ill afford any more problems now, especially with it's ghetto creating image.

City Govt IS THE PROBLEM : Middletown city manager says overabundance...

Mon, 02 Apr 2018 19:34:10 +0000

Author: Analytical
Subject: 6713
Posted: Apr 02 2018 at 7:34pm

Middletown city manager says overabundance of low-income housing contributes to poverty

Jay Warren, WCPO-9

7:34 PM, Jan 12, 2017

7:58 PM, Jan 12, 2017

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio –

There could be changes on the horizon for low-income housing in Middletown.

This comes after City Manager Doug Adkins blogged about what he sees as an overabundance of rental properties in certain neighborhoods.

Adkins said some neighborhoods approach 80 to 90 percent rentals. He says that's bad for the city, especially since those houses are more rundown than houses in other cities nearby.

It is without question that parts of Middletown are in the throes of extreme poverty, with streets like Baltimore Avenue and Crawford Street just two of many.

And with that the city has observed steady crime rates and police calls for service.

Adkins declined to talk to us today for this story, but his blog post states clearly what he thinks is the problem.

"The real problem is the abundance of worn-out housing stock in Middletown at the end of its useful life. We have too much older, worn-out, smaller, lower value housing units than surrounding communities," he wrote.

READ Adkins' complete blog post.

Middletown used to have a disproportionate amount of Section 8 housing, which was reduced and not without some controversy. But Adkins says he never was one to bash Section 8 or its participants.

He adds that those who were kicked off the program for breaking the law are still contributing to the crime problem in Middletown.

"We have a large amount of 70+ year old, smaller housing that is reaching the end of its useful life," he wrote. "What has taken place is that instead of having a Section 8 family in a $15,000 house, we have an extremely poor non-subsidized family living in the $15,000 house."

Adkins says a housing study under way will recommend large changes that will reduce poverty rates over time and make housing more competitive.

He says the changes will require difficult decisions.

I asked if part of that meant acquiring houses and tearing them down, but Adkins did not respond to questions today.

Beginning In 2009 Doug Adkins, with the approval of Judy Gilleland, made several significant policy changes regarding the usage of HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Improvement Partnerships (HOME) program funding then totalling $1.1 Million annually. Contrary to the 2005 Master Plan, these were:

1. Eliminate the former Ward 1 and 2 CDBG target areas and make the ENTIRE CITY a target area (including the Highlands, Renaissance, Manchester, etc.);

2. Eliminate the Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program;

3. Divert over $500,000 from the Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program revolving loan fund to help conduct the nearly 400 house mega residential demolition blitzkrieg;

4. Eliminate CDBG-funded First-Time Home Buyer Education Classes (during the last year of my tenure 300 prospective home buyers attended classes held at One Donham Plaza);

5. Farm-out the HOME-funded First-Time Home Buyer Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance (DPA) Program to a Hamilton-based entity (funding allocated for this purpose is now about $200,000 compared to $400,000 plus during the last year of my tenure);

6. Scale back the Elderly/Handicapped Owner-Occupied Emergency Home Repair Program from $500,000 annually during my tenure to $100,000 today;

7. Wastefully spend HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds. In contrast to the proposal that I prepared and submitted to Ginger Smith in late 2008, only 10 rather than 80 foreclosed homes were bought, rehabilitated and resold. Furthermore, over $200,000 of these Residential Foreclosure Funds were siphoned off to acquire and demolish "downtown" properties that were eventually sold to Liberty Spirits LLC for $1.00; and,

8. Nearly two-thirds of the city's annual CDBG allocation of $700,000+/- are devoted to administration, program delivery (a HUD term for related administrative costs) plus Housing Code Enforcement staff costs. In addition, $25,000 in allowable HOME Program administrative funds are given to the Hamilton-based entity to undertake the downscaled First-Time Home Buyer Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance (DPA) Program.

Of course, Doug Adkins and Kyle Foooks succeeeded in haphazardly wiping out hundreds of former Ward 2 homes. I encourage anyone to drive down some of the affected streets to see the results of their priorities.

The above facts speak for themselves!

City Govt IS THE PROBLEM : Not long after relinquishing control...

Mon, 02 Apr 2018 19:27:12 +0000

Author: Analytical
Subject: 6713
Posted: Apr 02 2018 at 7:27pm

Not long after relinquishing control of the HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program to the Butler Metropolitan Housing Authority (BMHA), Doug Adkins boasted that the number of Section 8 vouchers within the city limits had mysteriously dropped from 1,662 to 950. When questioned about this other-worldly fall, he declined comment on Section 8 any futher.

Since Doug Adkins has subsequently voiced so much concern about his new housing study and the development of strategies to improve housing conditions/percentage of owner-occupied housing, wouldn't it make sense to maintain a new database of Section 8 units by address? Wouldn't that information be valuable to the City Planner, Community Revitalization and Economic Development Departments?

Said information is readily available from BMHA. When I served as the city's Community Development Coordinator, I easily obtained similar data from CONSOC (administrator of Section 8) and provided same to the City Manager, Planning Director, Law Director, Police Department and Finance Department. It seems that Doug Adkins needs to document the accuracy of his bold, unsubstantiated claim.

City Govt IS THE PROBLEM : According to 7-1-2016 estimates...

Mon, 02 Apr 2018 19:25:29 +0000

Author: Analytical
Subject: 6713
Posted: Apr 02 2018 at 7:25pm

According to 7-1-2016 estimates provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, Middletown has endured several disturbing changes since the 2010 Census. Among these are:

1) Population loss;

2) Reduction in owner-occupied housing;

3) Reduction in median household income; and,

4) Increase of persons in poverty.

It's anyone's guess what the forthcoming 2020 U.S. Census will reveal about Middletown? The following link provides the above-mentioned information. Are things really getting better?

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/middletowncityohio/PST045216

City Govt IS THE PROBLEM : A COMPARISON OF MIDDLETOWN AND...

Mon, 02 Apr 2018 19:23:26 +0000

Author: Analytical
Subject: 6713
Posted: Apr 02 2018 at 7:23pm

A COMPARISON OF MIDDLETOWN AND HAMILTON HOUSING MARKETS

A) Middletown Home Prices and Values

The median home value in Middletown is $90,400. Middletown home values have gone up 9.8% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 2.9% within the next year. The median list price per square foot in Middletown is $77, which is lower than the Cincinnati Metro average of $112. The median price of homes currently listed in Middletown is $106,450. The median rent price in Middletown is $750, which is lower than the Cincinnati Metro median of $1,250.

Foreclosures will be a factor impacting home values in the next several years. In Middletown 3.5 homes are foreclosed (per 10,000). This is greater than the Cincinnati Metro value of 1.9 and also greater than the national value of 1.6

Mortgage delinquency is the first step in the foreclosure process. This is when a homeowner fails to make a mortgage payment. The percent of delinquent mortgages in Middletown is 2.0%, which is higher than the national value of 1.6%. With U.S. home values having fallen by more than 20% nationally from their peak in 2007 until their trough in late 2011, many homeowners are now underwater on their mortgages, meaning they owe more than their home is worth. The percent of Middletown homeowners underwater on their mortgage is 12.2%, which is higher than Cincinnati Metro at 9.7%.

Source: https://www.zillow.com/middletown-oh/home-values/

B.) Hamilton Home Prices and Values

The median home value in Hamilton is $152,900. Hamilton home values have gone up 5.8% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 2.7% within the next year. The median list price per square foot in Hamilton is $106, which is lower than theCincinnati Metro average of $112. The median price of homes currently listed in Hamilton is $209,900 while the median price of homes that sold is $162,500.

Foreclosures will be a factor impacting home values in the next several years. In Hamilton 2.9 homes are foreclosed (per 10,000). This is greater than the Cincinnati Metro value of 1.9 and also greater than the national value of 1.6

Mortgage delinquency is the first step in the foreclosure process. This is when a homeowner fails to make a mortgage payment. The percent of delinquent mortgages in Hamilton is 1.7%, which is higher than the national value of 1.6%. With U.S. home values having fallen by more than 20% nationally from their peak in 2007 until their trough in late 2011, many homeowners are now underwater on their mortgages, meaning they owe more than their home is worth. The percent of Hamilton homeowners underwater on their mortgage is 9.6%, which is lower than Cincinnati Metro at 9.7%.

Source: https://www.zillow.com/hamilton-oh/home-values/

City Govt IS THE PROBLEM : The following link provides...

Mon, 02 Apr 2018 14:23:25 +0000

Author: Analytical
Subject: 6713
Posted: Apr 02 2018 at 2:23pm

The following link provides telling statistical information on the economic, health and safety, diversity, education and housing/living conditions plus trends for Middletown. It's well worth the short read.

https://datausa.io/profile/geo/middletown-oh/

Source: Dataset: ACS 5-year Estimate

U.S. Census Bureau

City Govt IS THE PROBLEM : James Madison Quote on Constitutional...

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:13:30 +0000

Author: whistlersmom
Subject: 6713
Posted: Mar 20 2018 at 1:13pm

James Madison Quoteon Constitutional Law

http://constitutingamerica.org/federalist-62-63-senate-powers-for-soundness-order-stability-of-the-congress-guest-essayist-joseph-m-knippenberg/#.Wq_vXtrY3Q0.facebook

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read or so incoherent that they cannot be understood;" ... The Senate will not only provide stability in government, it will reduce the tendency of the House to pass too many laws. Unnecessary legislation produces chaos and favors the wealthy. The people cannot be expected to keep up with too many new laws and regulations; farmers and merchants will be reluctant to start new business ventures if they feel that new regulations will hurt their investments. James Madison Federalist 62

The recent change/addition to Middletown’s Housing Code is a perfect example of whatJames Madison feared would happen (has happened) to our “democracy.” And now his warning applies not only to the federal codes (such as the income tax code) butcomes all the way down to Middletown in the most onerous form. Thenew 400 page “housing code” far exceeds the length of the entireUS Constitution and all Amendments.

When we have daredto complain of oppressive local government we get doubled downoppression coming directly from city hall (Mr Adkins) to furthersilence any and all opposition. When will council realize that theirfailure to oversee the city administration is dereliction of theirelected duty?

PS: Trump has begun to cut red tape regulations ..as seen on the news, for every new regulation, 2 would be cut.