BATAVIA, Ohio (Dec. 17, 2015) — It’s been a mild winter so far, but don’t get complacent. If we do get hit by a snowstorm or prolonged cold, is your vehicle ready for the challenge?
Winterize your vehicle. Check, or have a mechanic check:
BATAVIA, Ohio (Dec. 13, 2015) — OhioMeansJobs/Clermont County is hosting a hiring event for Kroger for its Anderson Township, Mount Washington and Cherry Grove locations 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 17.
BATAVIA, Ohio (Dec. 8, 2015) – Sixty-eight children from Clermont County have new parents this year – adopted by “forever families” dedicated to bringing them love and stability.
Clermont County’s Children’s Protective Services (CPS) celebrated the adoptions at the 2015 Joy of Adoption ceremony, held Nov. 19 at the Bethel United Methodist Church.
More than 180 guests attended the ceremony, including Clermont County Juvenile Court Judge James Shriver and Domestic Court Judge Kathleen Rodenberg.
The children, who had previously been in foster care, ranged in age from 1 to 18. Several groups of siblings were adopted. By the end of 2015, Clermont County will have completed adoptions for 15 groups of siblings, including two groups of three siblings and two groups of four siblings.
Jockey Being Family, a corporate citizenship initiative of Jockey International dedicated to helping adoptive families stay together, donated personalized backpacks for each child. Adoptive parents also received family bag filled with resource materials from Jockey.
This was the 11th year of the Joy of Adoption ceremony.
“The Joy of Adoption ceremony is all about the children and their new families,” said Tim Dick, Deputy Director of CPS. “When these children and their parents light their candles together, it’s like putting a seal on this new family. We are so grateful that these families felt the call to make these children their own.”
(Photo above: Families gather at the church for the ceremony.)
BATAVIA, Ohio (Dec. 7, 2015) — Today is the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese war planes bombed the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii (then a U.S. territory), killing 2,403 Americans and wounding 1,178. Four U.S. battleships were sunk and 188 military planes destroyed. The attack led to America’s entrance into World War 11.
On Nov. 18, Clermont County Commissioners proclaimed Pearl Harbor Remembrance Week for the week of Dec. 7. Flags are at half-staff today at county buildings in honor of Pearl Harbor. In part, the proclamation reads: “Today, we remember with grateful hearts those who fought and those who died on that terrible Sunday morning. Their courageous sacrifices saved lives and
as Americans who enjoy the blessings of living in a free nation today, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the brave men and women who defended our nation on that day in 1941. We are grateful for all who have answered duty’s call in defense of our nation.”
Above, Commissioner Bob Proud; Joe Johnston, chairman of the board for Disabled American Veterans, Bob Derr, legionnaire for American Veterans; Tom Cooper, commissioner for the American Legion; Ken Cook, representative for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Batavia Post, and Commissioner David Uible after the proclamation was read. The men are Veterans Service Commissioners.
– See more at: https://clermontcountyohio.gov//PearlHarbor_Dec.2015.aspx#sthash.I44GoJ3H.dpuf
Transparency Torn Paper Concept
BATAVIA, Ohio (Dec. 7,, 2015) — Clermont County is offering complete access to its financial data through a new citizen transparency tool that can be found on the county auditor’s website, www.clermontauditor.org/_dnn/Financial/Citizen-Transparency.
The citizen transparency tool, developed by Tyler Technologies, offers detailed information on revenue, expenditures and budgets, according to Chief Deputy Auditor Chuck Tilbury. “If I am a citizen, I can ask, ‘What are the courts spending?’ And then I can find that information by government function, in this case, judicial,” Tilbury said.
The Clermont County Board of Commissioners believes strongly in the principle of transparency, noted Commission President Ed Humphrey. “While our financial information has always been available to citizens, this transparency tool makes accessing that information much easier,” he said. “This is the right thing to do.”
“Citizens and taxpayers should be able to find this information without jumping through a lot of hoops,” said Commissioner Bob Proud. “This new tool puts that information at everyone’s fingertips.”
Added Commissioner David Uible, “We take our commitment to public information and public trust seriously. Openness and transparency are behind that.”
Tyler Technologies, which operates the county’s integrated financial and HR systems, developed the tool in response to the federal government’s 2009 Open Government Directive to promote transparency at all levels of government.
“Tyler Citizen Transparency is very user friendly and intuitive,” said Tilbury. “We’re all aiming for transparency and this makes it easy for citizens to get the information they are looking for. We get a lot of public record requests, which of course we will continue to respond to, but we’ll also direct people to run this tool to find the information themselves if they wish.”
This is the first of two transparency tools Clermont County is making available to citizens. Within a few weeks, the county’s financials will also be available on OhioCheckbook.com’s local government website, local.ohiocheckbook.com. OhioCheckbook.com is an open government tool initiated by Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel.
Both tools will be updated weekly, Tilbury said. The fee for the Tyler cloud-based service is $10,000 a year, he said. There will be no charge to Clermont County to upload its data on OhioCheckbook.com. #####
BATAVIA, Ohio – If you love your dog, license it.
That’s the message from Clermont County Commissioners as the season to buy dog licenses launches from Dec. 1, 2015, through Jan. 31, 2016.
Annual licenses cost $16 each; three year licenses can be purchased for $48, and permanent licenses for $160.
Kennel licenses can be purchased for $80, which includes five tags, with $1 for each additional tag.
Under Ohio law, dogs must be licensed each year. “A lost dog can be easily returned to its owner if it is tagged,” said Ed Humphrey, President of the Clermont County Commissioners. “If the dog is not tagged, it is brought to the county’s animal shelter where every effort is made to locate the owner. But how much easier would this be – and more fair to the dog — if every dog in Clermont County had its tag.”
The county animal shelter, managed by Clermont to the Rescue, takes in an average of 71 stray dogs a month, says Director Kimberly Thomas. The great majority are neither licensed nor microchipped, making it much more difficult to get them back to their owners. “From April through November, we were able to reunite 129 dogs with their owners,” Thomas said. “Out of the 129 dogs, only 28 had purchased tags and were up to date.”
If a dog is untagged, the animal shelter will keep it for 72 hours; the dog is then made available for adoption, fostering or rescue. If the dog is tagged, the shelter will keep it for up to 10 days while Clermont to the Rescue staff attempt to contact the owner.
In 2014, Clermont County licensed 18,982 doges and 39 kennels. It collected approximately $330,000 in license fees, which go to support the county’s animal shelter.
Dog owners can buy their licenses at the Clermont County Administration Building, 101 E. Main St., Batavia, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Licenses are also available through various vendors from throughout the county, which can be found on the Auditor’s website here.
Here is a page of adoptable dogs from Clermont to the Rescue.
(Photo: A lab recently offered for adoption from Clermont to the Rescue.)
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BATAVIA, Ohio (Nov. 25, 2015) — The Clermont County Mental Health and Recovery Board (MHRB) will again offer “mini-grants” in 2016 to fund activities that promote positive mental health and prevent substance abuse.
The board is looking for innovative projects that will positively affect mental health and/or prevent substance abuse for any age group. A total up to $60,000, from the board’s levy funds, is available for programs serving Clermont County residents. The maximum funding per project is $5,000. The grant period is Jan. 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017. Any organized group in Clermont County – with the exception of the contract agencies of the Mental Health and Recovery Board – can apply for funding.
Previously funded applicants are eligible to apply. Applicants must have a financial structure in place to account for the awarded funds. Funds may not be used to cover ongoing operating expenses.
To apply for a mini-grant, please submit a brief proposal that includes the name, address, email address and phone number of the contact person, a description of the activity/purpose for which the grant will be used, an explanation of how the activity will promote positive mental health and/or prevent substance abuse, a description of what part of the activity the grant will fund if used with other monies, the date(s) of activity, and the amount of the funding request.
Mini-grant funds cannot be used to purchase equipment such as iPads, iPods, tablets or other electronic items. The funds can be used for materials, supplies, and/or food for activities planned.
Proposals must be submitted no later than Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, to: Mini-Grant Project, c/o Melissa Burke, Clermont County Mental Health and Recovery Board, 2337 Clermont Center Drive, Batavia, OH 45103.
Last year, the MHRB funded a total of 13 mini-grants to 18 separate organizations. Seven schools in Clermont County received grants that assisted in activities to help children stay drug-free and establish mentoring programs. In addition, grants were awarded to other agencies providing services directed to community members, such as the Coalition for a Drug-Free Clermont County and SOLACE Clermont.
Any group receiving funding is required to submit a report to the Mental Health and Recovery Board on its efforts and resulting outcomes following completion of the activity. A final accounting of funds must be submitted within 60 days of the end of the activity. All unused funds must be returned to the MHRB.
It is possible that mini-grants may not be available in the future or that a project funded once may not receive funds a second time, so mini-grants should be viewed as one-time only funds.
If you have any questions about applying for these grants, call the Clermont County Mental Health and Recovery Board at 513-732-5400.
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BATAVIA, Ohio (Nov. 19,2015) The Clermont County Board of Commissioners approved a 2016 General Fund operating budget of $53.2 million at their Nov. 18 session, an increase over 2015’s $50.9 million budget.
The General Fund is the largest discretionary source of funds in the county, and finances 20 of 21 elected offices in Clermont County. (The Engineer’s Office is funded through state gasoline taxes and driver license fees.)
Sales tax, which provides almost 50% of General Fund revenue, has continued to increase, according to Sukie Scheetz, Director of the Office of Management and Budget. In fact, the county expects its 2016 revenues to finally be above 2007, when operating revenue peaked at $53.3 million, before the slide into recession began.
The county will increase its reserves in 2016, to protect against increasing volatility in revenue sources, Scheetz said. “We typically hold 25% of revenues in reserve, or three months of operating expenses,” she said. She recommended, and commissioners approved, changing that to 33%, enough to cover four months of operating expenses.
Commissioners outlined some priorities for the 2016 budget, which include:
• Restoration of two sheriff deputy positions.
• Restoration of a building inspector position.
• A full year of funding for 50 additional beds added in 2015 at the County Jail.
• Salary increases for county employees averaging 2.85%
Commissioners expressed confidence in the 2016 budget.
“We’re pleased to see sales tax revenue continue to gain,” said Commissioner Ed Humphrey, President of the BCC. “As new retail opens in Clermont County, we hope to see that trend continue.”
“Although we are in a better position than we were a few years ago, it makes sense to bolster our reserves,” said Commissioner Bob Proud, Vice President of the BCC. “Our residents expect us to be prudent in budgeting, and this extra cushion will be good to have when the economy turns down again.”
“This budget allows us to continue to live within our means, but still target certain priorities for Clermont County,” said Commissioner David Uible, member of the BCC. “We’re pleased to be able to restore certain positions that have been vacant for a while.”
BATAVIA, Ohio (Nov. 10, 2015) – Stephen Haynes, formerly a partner with Haynes & Snyder, was recently named Director of the Public Defender’s Office for Clermont County.
Haynes, who has worked on a part-time basis with the Public Defender’s Office since 1984, replaced R. Daniel Hannon, who retired in October.
He supervises a staff of 17 assistant public defenders who handle a caseload of approximately 8,000 cases a year.
The Public Defender’s Office represents those who cannot afford to hire an attorney and are charged with offenses that could result in them being incarcerated, said Haynes. Generally, these are criminal offenses (including Operating a Vehicle While Impaired and other traffic charges that carry a potential jail or prison sentence), juvenile delinquency, child support contempt and appeals of those matters.
Haynes was selected by the Clermont County Public Defender Commission, which is composed of five members appointed by Clermont County Common Pleas judges and County Commissioners. His position is full time.
“I strongly believe in the right to counsel and principles established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Gideon v. Wainright, and that without effective defense counsel our system of justice does not work, resulting in injustices,” Haynes said. “I’ve been a criminal defense lawyer my entire practice and also was a part-time assistant public defender and want to ensure the office fulfills its mission to provide a good defense for those who can’t afford an attorney. “
Haynes, who has practiced law for 31 years, received his law degree from Ohio State University in 1983. He lives in Batavia with his wife, Terrell Snyder, until recently his law partner. Their son, Campbell, recently graduated from Batavia High School and is a freshman in college. #####
BATAVIA, Ohio (Nov. 9. 2015) – Clermont County is upgrading its Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, which will allow dispatchers access to statewide GPS and mapping.
At their Nov. 4 session, Clermont County Commissioners agreed to the purchase of a Motorola/PremierOne system for approximately $399,907. Because this system is integrated into the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communications) system, the cost is much less than if Clermont County had purchased it independently, noted County Administrator Steve Rabolt. “This would have cost us from $1 million to $1.2 million if we were not part of the Ohio system,” he said.
“This is a much more robust system,” said John Kiskaden, Director of Public Safety Services. “We’ll have more functionality, especially on the fire and EMS side. This ability to map outside the borders of Clermont County could make a difference to responders.”
Now, for example, if police officers are involved in a chase, the mapping through the CAD system stops at the border of Clermont County. With the new system, dispatchers will be able to keep track of the officers as they cross over into another county.
Clermont County is the first multi-jurisdictional (police, fire, EMS) dispatch center – in Ohio to use this new system.
“One of our most important responsibilities as a county is to keep our communications equipment current so that we can keep our citizens safe,” said Ed Humphrey, President of the Board of County Commissioners. “We have been evaluating the new Computer Aided Dispatch software for over a year with the full participation of the Fire, EMS and Law Enforcement agencies in the county.
“This new CAD system will allow first responders throughout Clermont County to be even more effective.”
(Photo: A dispatcher works the Computer-Aided Dispatch system at Clermont County’s public safety center.)
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