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State of the City Address

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    Posted: Mar 26 2013 at 6:40am
Today's Journal...

MIDDLETOWN

Past, future to be themes in mayor’s State of the City address

MIDDLETOWN —
Some of the city’s most visible successes will be highlighted in tonight’s State of the City address delivered by Mayor Larry Mulligan.

Among those successes include the Greentree Health Science Academy, which was recognized by the Ohio City/County Managers Association, and Cincinnati State Middletown, which provided Butler County with its first community college.

But the city needs to address challenges, both future and continuing, in order to become successful, Mulligan said.

“A lot of it is the same,” Mulligan said. “Ongoing infrastructure work is a big part. We need to continue the focus on the Section 8 (housing) program, and delivering our services in an efficient manner given our limited resources.”

But some stakeholders in the community want to see the mayor’s speech address downtown Middletown, the East End and how perceptions have changed — though not completely — about the city.

“I think he should focus on the improved attitude of the citizens,” said Adriane Scherrer, owner of the We Can Business Incubator at 1105 Central Ave. “That was one of the biggest deterrents in downtown Middletown from the very beginning. If the people of the community stayed as negative as they used to be, it wouldn’t have mattered, we couldn’t have made it work.”

SOME OF US WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME AND HAVE SEEN THE GOOD TIMES AND COMPARED IT TO THE CURRENT SITUATION ARE NEGATIVE MS. SCHERRER. SOME WHO HAVE BEEN HERE LESS TIME, HAVE NOTHING TO COMPARE THE CURRENT STATUS TO, AND HAVE SEEN LESS CHANGE ARE INDIFFERENT. A SMALL GROUP IN TOWN, A MIX OF LONG TERM CITIZENS WHO SHOULD KNOW BETTER AND NEW PEOPLE WHO WANT TO ALTER THE COMPLEXION OF THE TOWN (THIS IS A BLUE COLLAR WORKING TOWN, NOT AN ARTS MECCA) (THE DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION FOLKS, THE S. MAIN ST FOLKS, THE MMF PEOPLE AND THE CITY LEADERS/COUNCIL/SCHOOL BOARD ARE ALL LEANING TOWARD POSITIVE, ROSY, UTOPIA STATUS AS THEY BELIEVE WE ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND MAKING PROGRESS). SOME OF US DON'T FEEL AS WARM AND FUZZY ABOUT THINGS AND HAVEN'T FOR DECADES.

Tim Griffith of Mockingbirds Cafe at the Pendleton Art Center wants to hear the mayor discuss how things have been and how they relate to the future.

“I’m interested in more revitalization of downtown,” he said. “There is a lot more interest in downtown.”

MR. GRIFFITH, IF THERE IS INTEREST IN DOWNTOWN, IT IS COMING FROM A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE. RIGHT NOW, THE DOWNTOWN OFFERS ONLY WHAT A HANDFUL OF ARTZY, FRU FRU RESTAURANT LOVERS LIKE. IT HAS VERY LITTLE TO OFFER THE MAINSTAY CROWD THAT OCCUPIES MIDDLETOWN. YOU DOWNTOWN PEOPLE REALLY NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH WHAT THIS TOWN ENCOMPASSES AS TO DEMOGRAPHICS. MANY MORE PEOPLE WILL GO TO THE DRIVE-THRU WINDOW AT MCD'S THAN WILL SIT AT YOUR CAFE BUSINESS. THEY WANT BARGAINS, NOT QUALITY, BECAUSE THEIR PAYCHECK WILL ONLY SUPPORT BARGAIN ACTIVITY. THIS IS A CHEAP SEEKING DOLLAR MENU TOWN, NOT A GOURMET SEEKING CROWD.(THE CITY IS 54% LOW INCOME, REMEMBER?)

“I’m always looking to highlighting the new and the things that’s going on in Middletown,” said Mulligan. “We have some good stuff to talk about.”

DEPENDS ON WHO YOU TALK TO THAT DETERMINES IF IT IS "GOOD STUFF" LAWRENCE. SOME DON'T THINK SO, MOST DON'T CARE.

The mayor will also address the need for improved communication within city government

YOU ALSO NEED COMPETENCY IN CITY GOVERNMENT MULLIGAN. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN INEPT ENTITIES DOES THE CITY NO GOOD.

I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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VietVet View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 27 2013 at 6:30am
MIDDLETOWN

Mayor touts partnerships as key to city’s future
Middletown’s school district plans move into city building

And Mulligan said in order to take those successes into the future the city, its business community and its residents must work together.

Mulligan called upon the city’s staff, its residents and business leaders to strive for better and more efficient results; engage with city staff, elected officials and community organizations; forge new partnerships and expand existing ones; and continue to help develop the city’s resources to improve its economic condition.

SO, WHEN WILL THE CITY STAFF START WORKING WITH THE RESIDENTS?.....THOSE OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE SUCH AS THE S. MAIN ST. CROWD?

Mulligan also touted the city Economic Development Department’s efforts in retaining and recruiting businesses, including assisting in the sale of Towne Mall and aiding in the expansion of several local businesses — most notably Pilot Chemical, which is making a $35 million in investment in its Yankee Road plant

SORRY, IT HAS NOT BEEN ENOUGH GROWTH IN JOB OPPORTUNITES VERSUS THE JOBS WE LOST OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES. JOB GAINS ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO MATCHING THE JOB LOSSES. HAVE WE MATCHED THE JOB LOSSES FROM BLACK CLAWSON, CORSON PACKAGING, AERONCA, SORG PAPER OR THE SLOW PHASING OUT AT AK FROM 9000 AT IT'S PEAK TO 3000 NOW? NOPE. AND I WOULD GUESS THAT THE WAGES CREATED BY THE NEW JOBS DON'T MATCH THOSE THAT WERE LOST EITHER.

Andrew gave a brief synopsis of the state of the schools, highlighting the district’s increased “positive climate” in the schools, the improved academic results and student achievement.

“The Middletown City School District is performing better, and at lower cost, than it has for years,” she said. “We have made substantial progress toward our goals, and we have the right people and programs in place to ensure that we continue to improve in the years to come

BUT THE FACT IS, THE INDICATORS HAVE SLIPPED IN NUMBERS ACHIEVED AND THE GRADE IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MINIMAL IN PERCENTAGE PASSED IN EACH GRADE/CATEGORY. COMPARE THE PROF. TEST SCORES OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES AND LOOK AT THEM NOW. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE?

Butler County Commissioner Don Dixon said he looks forward to additional partnerships and believes “Middletown is on its way to better days.”

“I’m really impressed with the way Middletown has reinvented itself,” he said. “Just like with everyone, we’re all doing more with less and it seems Middletown is doing the best.”

Mulligan’s speech was “very positive and upbeat,” said Dick Slagle, interim president and CEO of the Chamber Serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.

“You don’t think about all the things as you move through the year, but when you sit and think about them you say, ‘Ya, this community is moving forward

BOTH DIXON AND SLAGLE ARE A TAD BIT OPTIMISTIC HERE. DON'T KNOW IF MIDDLETOWN IS "DOING THE BEST" DIXON AND I AM NOT CONVINCED THAT "THIS COMMUNITY IS MOVING FORWARD" SLAGLE. IF SO, IS IT HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? NOT SO SURE. BOTH DIXON AND SLAGLE SEEM TO HAVE SAID THE "APPROPRIATE" THING (NOT NECESSARILY THE FACTUAL THING) FOR THE OCCASION. WONDER WHY THEY JUST CAN'T BE HONEST WITH THEMSELVES (AND US)?

I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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spiderjohn View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote spiderjohn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 27 2013 at 7:38am
I think that we are moving forward finally, and it is about time.
Trying to fit in to city Admin's "vision" of what we "should" be can be challenging though.
I get a lot of promises for visits and involvement from the city, chamber, mmf and such,however it is mostly well-intended "talk" with little to no follow-through. If you are not in the "golden zone" of the former downtown area, then you are back to 2nd or 3rd level imprortance(which means not important at all EXCEPT for what they can get feree from you).
 
Time to let the former downtown grow on it's own now--let the businesses create a need for people to go there. When they do it with their own capital, they work much harder at it. Time to cash in on the giveaways of the past. We are cash-strapped, no doubt, and it won't get better from the state/fed level for a while, if ever. Promised loan payments should be made, not forgiven. Prove that these lending efforts were not in vain.
 
Back to basics--fix the streets, manage the population flow away from poverty towards productive, involved younger families and older professionals willing to serve a communioty that they can honestly trust and believe in.
 
Keep working with the schools as they inch back to respectability.
Doesn't mean that we have to reach deeper into our own pockets to further fund city or school intentions. They both must continue belt-tightening and true efficiency just as everyone else has been forced to do.
 
It will get better when we break down the self-imposed pwersonality barriers and work together as a whole. While take some sort of compromise from everyone. We will be better off from supporting each other instead of resisting.
 
jmo
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LMAO Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 27 2013 at 8:40am
Just like to know when they are going to wake up and join the rest of us in the real world? Big smile
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Neil Barille Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 27 2013 at 9:44am

What puzzles me is that the same voting block that controls most elections (wards 1 & 3) ...which approved a silly senior center levy, also voted down a much-needed street levy in 2005.  Why?  We all know that monkey business with the dedicated capital funds which were removed 30 years.  We should also know that no amount of trimming here and there (and no great savings will come from contracts with police/fire) will be nearly enough to deal with our road catastrophy. Let's just bite the bullet and fund some proper road work.  It is the one levy which would not to go waste!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 27 2013 at 11:52am
Originally posted by Neil Barille Neil Barille wrote:

What puzzles me is that the same voting block that controls most elections (wards 1 & 3) ...which approved a silly senior center levy, also voted down a much-needed street levy in 2005.  Why?  We all know that monkey business with the dedicated capital funds which were removed 30 years.  We should also know that no amount of trimming here and there (and no great savings will come from contracts with police/fire) will be nearly enough to deal with our road catastrophy. Let's just bite the bullet and fund some proper road work.  It is the one levy which would not to go waste!



Neil,

I joined the majority of the folks in Ward 3 by voting no on the street levy. Don't know about the other voters, but I voted no because they lied to us 30 years ago saying it was a "money emergency" and that they would return the money to the street fund and never have, not even offering another levy to RETURN the funds for the voters, and the city leaders have a history of using levy money for purposes OTHER THAN what was promised using their "confused money trail-which shell is it under" methods. I don't trust them enough to vote yes and give 'em what they ask for. Don't vote for the school levies because they haven't produced in decades, despite all the levy money approved for their use over all these years. Simple concept...if you lie about the end usage (city) or if you don't produce after repeated levy approvals (schools), you don't get my vote. Show me something with regard to honesty and/or results.

Just wondering how much money would have been available now if they would have restocked the street fund back in the 80's.

To be totally honest here, we voted FOR the dreaded seniors levy, despite the fact we were aware they are using the money to pay off a bad investment to begin with, but we are selfish as we use the Meals On Wheels and the seniors transport service for the wife. If we didn't directly benefit, we would have voted no on the seniors levy too. Admittedly, a totally self-absorbed attitude on our part....for a reason.
I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Marcia Andrew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 27 2013 at 1:56pm

Here is the text of my speech highlighting achievements of the Middletown City Schools:

          I am proud to report that the Middletown City School District is performing better, and at a lower cost, than it has for years.  We have made substantial progress toward our goals, and we have the right people and programs in place to ensure that we continue to improve in the years to come.

 

Three years ago, when we hired Greg Rasmussen as Superintendent, we set three broad goals for the district:

 

One -- Increase student achievement through high quality instruction in our classrooms;

 

Two -- Establish a more collaborative, positive environment for students, staff, parents and community members; and

 

          Three -- Operate within a balanced budget.

 

These three overall goals have remained our focus, with refinements and updates each year. I would like to briefly review the district’s performance against each of these goals.

 

First, student achievement has increased. 

 

          Performance Index score has increased from 82.3 to 87.2.

 

The Performance Index is an overall measure of how students in the    district have performed on all of the state-tested subjects and grade levels. It measures movement between the 5 scoring levels, not just whether      students passed.

 

Our 5 point rise in the Performance Index may not sound like a large increase, but it was the second biggest in Butler County and also the second largest of all 18 “Comparison Districts” that the state of Ohio has identified as sharing similar demographics with Middletown.

 

In the ranking of all districts in Ohio based on Value-Added measures, Middletown ranked 126 out of 832 in 2012

 

Value Added is the best indication of individual student growth. It determines how much the “normal student” is expected to learn in one year and then compares actual student growth to that target. Our students have grown significantly more academically than is expected or “normal” for a student to grow.

 

The only districts in Butler County that ranked higher than Middletown on Value-Added this past year were Lakota and Ross.

 

Only two of the Comparison Districts had better Value Added scores.

 

          We have achieved these improved test scores by improving the quality of instruction in our classrooms, through more focused professional development programs together with academic support specialists who support the teachers as they apply new teaching methods in their classrooms.

 

Second, we are creating a more positive climate and culture in our school buildings.

 

Our schools are safer, more orderly, and energized with a positive attitude toward learning.

 

          The number of suspensions is down 46.9% in three years.

 

          The number of expulsions is down 49%.

 

The number of arrests – the consequence for the most serious or violent student disciplinary offenses – is down 77%

 

There are some doubters who will say, the number of disciplinary violations is down only because teachers are discouraged from reporting students to the office.

 

However, we survey our teachers anonymously each year, and the results of this survey contradict the notion that administrators are ignoring or suppressing discipline issues.

 

The percentage of teachers who agree or strongly agree that Middletown City Schools is a good place to work has gone up 21.4%

 

The percentage who agree or strongly agree that student behavior initiatives are having a positive impact has gone up 22%

 

The percentage who agree or strongly agree that their morale is positive is up 33%

 

The percentage who agree or strongly agree that they feel celebrated as a teacher is up 29%

 

          A key factor in building a positive climate has been focused on redefining the role of the central administration as one of support for the work that our teachers do in our classrooms every day, and on collaborative decision-making where everyone is heard and respected.

 

          Another major initiative that has contributed to the improved climate is district-wide implementation of Positive Behavioral Supports, a system of teaching clear expectations as to student behavior and responding with consistent consequences in the event behavior does not meet those expectations.  One component of this effort is Middie P.R.I D.E. –Performance, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Effort – that provides each building with a framework to discuss behavioral expectations and reward good examples of Middie PRIDE.

 

Third, we have improved our academic results and our climate while operating within a balanced budget, despite a significant reduction in revenue.

 

From fiscal year 2009 to this fiscal year, 2013, the district’s general fund revenues decreased by 5.5 million dollars

 

We made corresponding reductions in expenses without substantially impacting          student programming.  Some examples of changes that have resulted in savings:

 

We kept our focus on our core mission of educating children while      outsourcing transportation, custodial and maintenance;

 

Reduced preschool and nursing costs while increasing the number of children served;

 

We closed Verity middle school, and redistricted the elementary schools, while creating a dedicated 6th grade center to ease the difficult transition to middle school and high school;

 

                   Partnered with the City for shared office space;

 

Energy savings through more efficient monitoring and maintenance

 

Every employee in the district -- union and not -- agreed to two 1% reductions in pay, while at the same time doubling the percentage of health care premiums that they pay;

 

I would like to stop here and say the obvious, that we could not do what we do, and improve results, without the hard work and dedication of our teachers and all the other staff that support our teachers. Remember, these are the same employees who say that their morale is high and Middletown Schools is a good place to work. They accepted these reductions in pay and benefits, and continue to give us 110%

 

                   Reduced 12% of staff overall/total of 83 positions

                             20% of administrators reduced

                             7% of teachers

                             16% of Other Professionals

                             26% of support staff

 

 

          We continue to re-examine the way we do business, analyzing if the current method is working, and if not, finding a way to do it better. The result is more efficient operations and better results.

 

Conclusion:  While we celebrate our progress toward our three primary goals, we recognize that we continue to face many challenges.  We also recognize that, for parents and taxpayers, the improvements cannot come fast enough.

 

Although the departure of Greg Rasmussen surely will be a loss for the district, the Board is confident that Sam Ison has the leadership skills, experience and knowledge of our district to build on our momentum.  We expect to continue to increase academic achievement, build a positive atmosphere conducive to learning, and operate within a balanced budget, focusing our limited resources on our core mission of student learning.

 

 

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