Colerain Resident: "We need MONEY! ... Let's TIF the Hell out of Colerain... (or) become a city"

Eric Reifenbeck, "As a kid, I dreamed of Colerain becoming a city.... but I fear (dividing it) will fracture our community."Photo byWaycross Media, April 2024

With no notice to residents via social media or through Cerkle, an online newsletter of important issues in the township, the township surprised residents and acknowledged the dire financial straights after another consecutive levy failure in March. Estimates by administration predict a $4M annual deficit.

“We are facing a very serious and significant financial challenge,”

said Jeff Weckbach, Township Administrator.

The township did not conduct a Town Hall nor invite residents to weigh in. It was minimally disclosed on the agenda. Public comments on this important issue were limited to the usual public comment period in the course of their meeting.

The township should have had an open Town Hall.

The township presented various structures of government that may create a revenue stream that would provide the township with financial stability, including becoming a city. Weckbach presented a few alternatives other than the current Limited Home Rule Township:

1. Reverting back to basic township governance which would reduce property taxes from 7.3 to 1.8 mils and reduce township services to just fire, roads, and cemeteries. Policing would revert to the county sheriff, which is currently, woefully understaffed. Also, no zoning department to enforce property codes nor maintenance of public parks.

2. Becoming a village or annexing a portion of the township into a city could be accomplished through citizen petition rules that must go up for a ballot vote and will enable the new city to exercise all powers of a city or village.

3. Becoming a city, in whole, would enable the jurisdiction to invoke an earnings tax (earnings taxes do not tax retirement income from pensions or Social Security), qualify the jurisdiction for more funding opportunities, create a Mayor's Court that would generate revenues lessening the need for an earnings tax, and would be subject to the terms of the city charter that may waive taxation on current residents while taxing businesses and workers who do not live in the new city.

A 4th option was proposed by a resident at the last trustee meeting, but was not presented to the public. That proposal was to create a JEDD (not a JEDZ) with Cheviot that would include all properties owned by the township. This would include the administration property, the senior center, park lands, fire houses and the Sears and old P&G property worth millions. Essentially, this would mean that all employees of the township or development on commercial properties owned by the township would be subject to an income tax if - and that's a big - if, the employees were not residents of the township.

Residents have long complained that 80%+ of the township's employees take their paychecks and go home to a different jurisdiction and are not vested in the community.

During the public comment period, a resident asked why the administrator (who lives in Kentucky) did not present the JEDD concept to a community that has - twice - refused to approve another levy due to financial constraints. When Weckbach refused to respond - which is literally - a rule in Colerain Township - the speaker said,

"Maybe that's because under a JEDD you'd have to pay the tax instead of the residents."

The township administrator and trustees vehemently disputed the proposal, claiming that "JEDZ" are no longer legal in Ohio, despite the resident proposing a "JEDD," not a JEDZ. JEDDs are still legally permissible according to OSU.edu, it is a legal and viable option being utilized by townships to enhance their revenues.

The township refuses to consider it.

An informal poll shows 77% of respondents prefer creating a JEDD to raise revenues over cuts or a levy. The trustees claim it's not legal.Photo byColerain Talks, retrieved April 2024

There was a poll conducted on social media that bolstered the speaker's position. Seventy-seven percent of respondents were in favor of a JEDD with an income tax imposed on non-residents benefitting from the township; 12% wanted another levy put on the ballot; and 11% wanted cuts to occur in the township to make up the shortfall.

Weckbach and Trustees Wahlert and Ulrich referenced "2 communities" within the township who wanted to annex themselves from the township, the Greater Northbrook Community Group and the Greater Groesbeck Community Group. Neither group is a formal nonprofit but the former is a strong assembly of residents who volunteer hundreds of hours to the betterment of Northbrook and Colerain. These are the 2 most densely populated working-class neighborhoods in the township equating to about half of the township population and generating almost half of the property tax revenues. Their average household income is below the township-wide average income, basically, the east side of Colerain. Whereas, there is a concentration of wealth in households on the west side of Colerain, where all the trustees live.

The groups have stated they do not feel represented by this board of trustees and that they are not getting their fair share of the services and amenities within the township. A glaring example is, the west side of Colerain has 4 public parks. The east side of Colerain has 2 and 1/2 parks (recently, the township tore down half of Groesbeck Park to build a fire station displacing a football program serving 400+ youth in the township that primarily live on the east side. of the township). The 2 groups are prone to self-governance, especially considering the township qualifies for significant grant funding due to the urban nature on the east side of Colerain due to their incomes, density, and diversity.

For example. The township just approved Community Development Block Grant projects. According to the HUD the program:

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program provides annual grants ... principally for low- and moderate-income persons.

However, the township - and Hamilton County - plays fast and loose with these funds. The township will be spending 2/3 of its allotted funding to benefit a multi-million-dollar business strip with less than 10 residential parcels and the other portion in 2 upscale residential neighborhoods with property values double that of the Northbrook neighborhood while disregarding requests from residents in the very "urban" neighborhoods in Colerain.

Lori McMullin with the Greater Northbrook Community Group, supports creating a city because, "We need money!"Photo byWaycross Media, April 23, 2024

Lori McMullin, a leader with the Greater Northbrook Community Group, said

"We need money! Many of times, we get turned down... We need MONEY! ...If it's through TIFs - let's TIF the Hell out of Colerain. If it's a JEDD - let's do it! But realistically, we need to become a city... Because that bar is here, and we/re here (lowering her hand). We are not going to be able to reach where we need to reach... (without becoming a city)"

A frequent speaker during Public Comments identified only as "Bruce said," "I've lost confidence in the township - for a number of reasons."

The failure of the 2 recent levies, largely voted down on the west side of Colerain, the results of the informal poll, and the desire for half the township to annex itself from the township indicate that a significant number of the residents lack confidence in how the township is being operated nor approve of how the monies are being spent.

While Trustee Wahlert expressed interest in hearing out all options to look for a means to reduce the property tax burden on residents, Trustee Dan Unger, the senior trustee on the board who inherited the township with a surplus budget at the beginning of his tenure, argued against all options and offered no solutions. He rambled off numerous objectives ranging from stormwater to Rumpke. He became fixated on the division of property if half the residents attempted to form a new city and take their share of the township assets from "us".

Trustee Dan Unger inherited a budget with a significant surplus. Now, the township will have a $4M annual shortfall.Photo byWaycross Media, April 2024

Unger threatened:

Why would Colerain, the Township, ... continue building anything in the other parts of the new city? ... If this process starts (referring to citizens collecting signatures for a peititon), I'm going to stop making improvements to anywhere until this is divided out"

The Colerain Council of Neighborhoods, Inc. is a new nonprofit in Colerain that formed to address residents' concerns in the township.Photo byColerain Council of Neighborhoods, Inc. Retrieved April 2024

Another newly formed 501(C)3, nonprofit, the Colerain Council of Neighborhoods, Inc., was formed in anticipation of the township possibly forming a city and to raise the voices in Colerain, is planning a real Town Hall meeting to allow residents to weigh in on the matter unencumbered. People can register to attend via their website, HERE.