Friday, February 24, 2012

Commissioners Corner - February 2012

As this is written, the weather is a balmy 45 degrees. Not bad for a February in the Miami Valley. I am sure most of us will take this right up until spring. However, winter is not over yet and the possibility is still there for some severe weather. We will keep our fingers crossed.

Things are moving along nicely in the County so far this year. All of the Elected Officials are working within their established budgets, as is the Commissioner’s Office. We constantly state how fortunate we are to have such dedicated and conservative Department Heads. As things continue to hopefully improve financially for the County, we will all continue to use the dollars we receive from you the citizens, as wisely as we can, and still maintain an excellent level of service.

One problem we see on the horizon is the loss of funding for 911 services. Right now, the county sees a $.28 per month charge for cell phone usage. This brings in an estimated $115,000 dollars a year. This amount along with the money from the County General Fund ($653,335.00), assures 911 operations. The $.28 per month charge will sunset on December 31st, 2012 if it is not renewed. This will have an adverse effect on our ability to meet the mandate for the “Next Gen” system of 911. The upgrade to the “Next Gen” system will cost approximately $500,000 to $600,000 dollars. As most of you have heard by now, we are proposing a ¼% sales tax, to be voted on by you the public, to help offset the loss of funding if Columbus cannot come up with a solution. All three Commissioners will be available to talk to any and all groups of people to explain this complicated situation. Please contact us if you wish to have one of us speak to your group or neighborhood about this situation. This request for funding is completely up to you, the citizens, to decide, so we want the public to be as informed as possible. Later on, we will have articles in all the local papers explaining how this money will be spent.

On the economic front, Darke County continues to be a leader in the Dayton Region for Expansion and Retention efforts. At the Partnering for Progress (P4P) breakfast held at the Brick Room of the Brethren Home on Friday, February 17th, Marc Saluk, the Economic Development Director, gave a program on the successes Darke County is having. As of now, 22 companies have some sort of project on the table, either for this year or in the future. With more than 650 plus jobs added in the last year, Darke County is leading the region in economic development. Marc has assured all of us that the future looks bright for us, and we will continue to assist our companies in their continued growth and expansion. One of the bright spots of the morning was naming FramGroup as the “Business of the Quarter.” As of this writing, FramGroup has almost doubled their workforce. Congratulations to everyone involved at FramGroup! One area of concern is workforce development. This problem is being tackled at the Governor’s Office as his top priority. This is also one of our top priorities this year. Marc and the Greenville Tech School are partnering with local businesses to develop a curriculum to assure our businesses have a steady and reliable supply of workers to fulfill their open positions. Once again, Darke County is leading the way on this. Many thanks should be given to the Greenville School system for their eagerness to get on board on this project that will benefit the entire county. Not only will students be involved, but adult workers can also take part in this effort. To reiterate, this is a County wide effort, not just for the City of Greenville. This effort truly shows that “Partnering for Progress” is a lot more than just a catch phrase for us, it is a reality.

The Commissioners meet publicly every Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Office, at 520 South Broadway in Greenville. Hope to see you there!

The Darke County Commissioners

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