Wood County Commissioners Town Meeting

Via email from Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

In keeping with our pledge to conduct town hall meetings throughout Wood County in our city, village and township halls; the Board of Commissioners will be holding the next in our series of meetings in Northwood this Thursday, September 27th at 6:45 pm. The town meeting will be held at the Northwood Administration Building, 6000 Wales Rd., Northwood, Ohio.

You and anyone you know are more than welcome to attend.

Wood Cunty War of 1812 bicentennial ceremony

Notice from Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. Wood County will be conducting a War of 1812 bicentennial ceremony on the Courthouse steps. There will be reenactors from Fort Meigs and remarks from local historian Bob Boyd. As you know our county was named for a War of 1812 hero, Col. Eleazer D. Wood, who, as a young engineer and graduate of West Point, helped plan and construct Fort Meigs. You are welcome to join us at the ceremony.

Wood County GOP opens Election Headquarters

Press Release:

The Wood County Republican Party will be having the Grand Opening for its 2012 Election Headquarters on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the following address: 111 S. Main St., Bowling Green, OH 43402.

All county officials and a representative from the Mitt Romney For President campaign will be present to give brief remarks and to meet attendees. The following are confirmed: Surrogate from Mitt Romney Campaign, State Representative Randy Gardner, Commissioner Tim Brown and Commissioner Jim Carter, candidate for County Commissioner, Doris Herringshaw, and many others. There will be a grand opening with a ribbon cutting.

For those using Facebook, you can confirm your attendance and invite Republican friends to the event by following the link: http://www.facebook.com/events/286098708152391/

Spirit of Wood County Awards

From Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

The Board of Commissioners is accepting nominations for the Spirit of Wood County Awards. If you know of a current or former resident who you would like to nominate, please visit http://www.co.wood.oh.us/ and follow the “Spirit of Wood County Awards” link. A list of previous award recipients is also posted on the website. Forms may also be obtained by contacting our office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The seven award categories include Agricultural Leadership; Industrial/Economic Development; Education for Civic Responsibility; Liberty Through Law/Human Freedom; Religion and Liberty; Self-Government; and the Lyle R. Fletcher Good Citizenship Award. For more information regarding the Spirit of Wood County Awards, you may contact our office at 419/354-9100, 1-866-860-4140.

Wood County - State of the County

From Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

A written annual report to the citizens of Wood County is being distributed throughout the county next week. If you would like an early look at our written report – just click on the link below and it will take you to the county website where you can read the report online.

Wood County Annual Report – click here

Wood County News & Update

From Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

State of the County Report

This Thursday morning, March 22, 2012 the Wood County Commissioners will present a “State of the County” report to interested citizens. The address is free and open to the public and will take place at the Wood County Courthouse Atrium, One Courthouse Sq., Bowling Green. The event begins at 8:00 a.m. and is being sponsored by the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce. Additional details can be obtained by contacting their office at (419)353-7945.

GrowNow – Ohio Small Business Assistance Program

This program is administered through Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel’s office and enables small business owners to receive an interest rate reduction of 3% on new or existing small business loans. The program is a partnership between the Ohio Treasury and eligible banks. A small business owner must commit to the retention or creation of at least one full-time job or two part-time jobs in the state of Ohio for every $50,000 borrowed, up to $400,000. The GrowNow program broadly serves as a catalyst for Ohio’s economic development by supporting the small businesses that drive it. Eligible business owners must meet the following criteria:

• MUST be able to save or create 1 full-time or 2 part-time jobs in Ohio for every $50,000 borrowed.

• MUST have headquarters in Ohio.

• MUST have less than 150 employees.

• MUST have a majority of employees be Ohio residents.

• MUST be organized for profit.

• MUST maintain offices and operating facilities in Ohio.

Additional questions about the program can be directed to the Ohio Treasurer’s office at 1-800-228-1102, ext. 3 or www.GrowNow.ohio.gov

Revised Ohio Congressional District maps - again

The Ohio House has *again* revised the Congressional redistricting map and I hope to have a new map I can post here. Until then, a copy of the new revisions can be viewed here.

The process of getting to the required redistricting has been a complicated one.

Ohio passed, and Governor John Kasich signed, H.B. 194 which moved our primary from March to May. This was to address a delay in the creation of a database of election history, census data, and geographic data that was to be used in congressional map creation. This was agreed to by Republican and Democrat leadership in Columbus.

However, in response to the change, the Ohio Democratic Party along with the group Ohioans for Fair Elections submitted sufficient signatures to send the bill to a citizen referendum during the 2012 elections.

So the House passed H.B. 318 - a bipartisan bill jointly sponsored by Reps. Lou Blessing (R) and Sean O’Brien (D). This bill, which also moved the primary to May, contained an emergency clause, ensuring the bill would take effect immediately if passed with the emergency clause.

On September 1, 2011, Speaker William Batchelder and Minority Leader Armond Budish released a joint statement, committing their unconditional support for House Bill 318 to avoid the legal chaos that would ensue if the primary was not moved. Leader Budish gave his word to the Speaker on this issue.

But, less than 24 hours before the vote, Leader Budish publicly announced he would no longer lend his caucus’ support for the bill because “House Republicans were moving too fast on passing Congressional Redistricting." It should be noted that this issue was never part of the agreement and had no correlation to the primary date change.

As a result, the Democrats failed to support the necessary emergency clause during the House vote, subsequently killing any chance for the problem to be fixed immediately.

The third attempt came with H.B. 319 which was signed into law by Gov. Kasich on Sept. 26th. This bill avoided the problem by having the new Congressional districts take effect immediately rather than 90 days after signature by the Governor; bills with an appropriation take effect immediately. The Ohio Senate attached an appropriation of $2.75 million to H.B. 319 to assist with the implementation of the map. An appropriation also prevents bills from being subject to a referendum.

Remember, the Democrats, despite having allocated funds to do so, did NOT produce any map for consideration.

In response to H.B. 319, Democrats sued in the Ohio Supreme Court, seeking the right to subject the bill to a referendum. The Ohio Supreme Court agreed that the bill would be subject to a referendum if enough signatures were gathered. Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern has threatened such action.

So now we have H.B. 369 which

* enacts 16 new Congressional districts in Ohio;
* repeals the map as enacted in H.B. 319;
* reinstates one primary date for all elections: March 6, 2012;
* Saves taxpayers $15 million in previously appropriated money that will now be un-appropriated and also reinstates the August 2012 special election; and
* declares an emergency for all portions of the bill.

Of particular interest to us, H.B. 369 makes changes in Erie and Lucas County. Rather than being split into three congressional districts, both counties are split between only two congressional districts. Wood County, which was previously split between two districts, is now entirely in one.

One of the complaints about the H.B. 319 district was that it split the City of Toledo. H.B. 369 moves 76.6% of Toledo into CD9. CD9 now contains about 56% of Lucas County.

Additionally, from what I can tell from the map as well as from the summaries I've read, it appears that they kept the Kaptur/Kucinich combination in the Cleveland area as one of the consolidated districts due to our decreased representation.

As soon as I get a map that is in a format I can post here, I will do so.

Wood County update

From Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

Received via email:

Memo From:
Wood County Commissioner Tim W. Brown

I just wanted to provide you with a quick update regarding our next town hall meeting. In keeping with our pledge to conduct town hall meetings throughout Wood County in our city, village and township halls; the Board of Commissioners will be holding the next in our series of meetings in Troy Township this Wednesday, October 26th at 6:30 p.m. The town meeting will be held at the Troy Township Fire Department, 311 Krotzer Ave. in Luckey. You and anyone you know are more than welcome to attend.

Additionally, our efforts to prevent a lease of the Ohio Turnpike continue and the effort has gained momentum. The Ohio Trucking Association has voiced their opposition to a lease and a number of Members of Congress have also voiced opposition. At present, the Governor’s office is working on putting together a request for proposal document, that once completed must be approved by the Legislature. We anticipate that should occur by the end of the year. That will be our last chance to prevent the lease from occurring and I will get a message out once that happens in the event you may wish to contact members of the Ohio Legislature.

Finally, if you would like periodic instant updates via Twitter – please add me to your following list. My Twitter address is TimBrownWoodCo

With all best wishes,

Tim W. Brown
Wood County Commissioner

TimBrown@wcnet.org - email
www.CitizensforBrown.com – web site

WBGU Ohio Turnpike Update

Email from Wood County Commissioner Tim W. Brown:

Ohio Turnpike

WBGU has uploaded their program Northwest Ohio Journal, on which I had a chance to discuss the Ohio Turnpike with Governor Kasich’s Director of Transportation. Following is the link. I hope the information is helpful to you in understanding our opposition to the Governor’s plan to lease the Turnpike.

The half hour program airs at the following times: Sunday’s at 3:30 pm; Tuesday’s at 11:30 pm; Saturday’s at 3 am; or you can click here to watch the video: http://video.wbgu.org/video/2070315178/

As always, I thank you for the opportunity to serve you and I hope you are having an enjoyable summer.


Sincerely,

Tim W. Brown
Wood County Commissioner

Wood County news and updates

Email update from Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

Foreign Trade Zone

Since my last report to you the Commissioners have entered into an agreement to establish a foreign trade zone designation for our entire county. While we believe the tool may be helpful in attracting companies looking to locate in the vicinity of the new CSX Intermodal facility in Henry Township, I believe it will be helpful to all areas of Wood County. Once the foreign trade zone is in place it will give us a more competitive edge as the nearly 18 month application process to the federal government will no longer be necessary.

The advantage of a foreign trade zone itself is to relieve companies located within one of paying federal duties and tariffs on materials brought into the country for assembly then shipped outside the United States. (All local applicable taxes will remain in place.) I believe every tool that enables our county to attract business and industry is vital in this very challenging economy.

Ohio Turnpike

I had a chance to meet with Governor John Kasich last week to reiterate the opposition of the Wood County Commissioner's to leasing the Ohio Turnpike. Our efforts in this regard remain full steam ahead and I am particularly grateful to Senator Mark Wagoner and Representative Randy Gardner for continuing to assist us in preventing a lease of the Turnpike. The Governor intends to allocate "proceeds" from a lease all around the State, however it will only be Northern Ohio citizens and businesses and other users of the Turnpike who will pay the increased taxes (tolls) to pay for what the Governor estimates to be well over a billion dollars in road and bridge projects around Ohio.

I spoke about our concerns on WBGU Public Television's Northwest Ohio Journal (Sunday) and you can watch the half hour program at the following link once they have uploaded the video. Northwest Ohio Journal will air the program at the following times: Sunday 3:30 pm; Tuesday, August 2nd at 11:30 pm; Saturday, August 6th at 3 am. Click to watch: http://video.wbgu.org/video/2064635975/

Something for our Teachers

The National Association of Counties, together with iCivics, has created an online game, "Counties Work," to educate students, grades 6 through 12, about the important role and functions of local county government by letting them run their own county. A curriculum has also been developed to assist teachers with preparing lessons on county government. There are even some fun games for adults. If you know someone who teaches, please feel free to pass this information along. Click here to view the game. (no link provided)

As I am sure you are aware the Wood County Fair begins this week and runs Tuesday, August 2nd – Monday, August 8th. I hope this update finds you and your family well and I hope to see you at the Fair!

Cheers and Jeers - Zoo's levy request for Wood County

Cheers - in fact, BIG cheers to the Wood County Commissioners who said no to placing a levy for the Toledo Zoo on the ballot. They listened to their constituents, performed their duty to make a decision, looked at the bigger picture (the impact of additional taxes on their county) and said no. Oh, to have such vision and responsibility in Lucas County.

Jeers - to the Toledo Zoo for thinking that simply because people from an area visit their location that they should tax themselves to pay for the entity. Zoo officials could have done multiple things before seeking a levy, but they didn't bother. They didn't:

* start a membership drive: A single membership is only $42, a family membership is $71. At least then they'd have people who WANTED to support the zoo, rather than taxing people who have no interest in supporting them.

* raise prices: The current admission is $11 for adults, $8 for children & seniors. They could have raised the rates for non-Lucas County residents (who already support the Zoo via a tax levy) and generated more income to help address their financial issues. The last time they raised prices was in 2009 and most people would find a three-year time frame to the next increase quite reasonable, even in this economy. But Zoo Director Anne Baker has said in the past that it was 'too much work' to try and determine Lucas residents from other residents at the admission gate. That's easily solved. All they need to do is put a notice on all admission notices that Lucas County residents should present their ID for their discounted price. Obviously, any person presenting an ID is a Lucas County resident who should be charged the lower rate. No additional work required.

Additionally, there is a serious contradiction in Baker's logic/position on the issue. If it's too hard to determine the residency of the visitors, how in the world can she state that a significant number of Wood County residents visit the Zoo each year? Both cannot be true.

* do a host of other drives (sponsorships, estate planning bequests, etc...) before deciding to come to voters.

Instead of taking such steps, the Zoo is choosing to force people (through taxation) to fund an organization they don't want to support with membership dollars.

Jeers - to the woman who, at the hearing yesterday (as heard on WSPD this morning), said not putting the levy on the ballot was acting like Hitler. As one Wood County resident said:

"If there's so many supporters of the zoo out there that want to vote, here's the way you vote. Pick up the phone and donate more money to the zoo," suggested David McClough, a father of two and a zoo member.

Cheers - to David McClough for such clarity of position!

Cheers - to the commissioners for taking the position that 'letting the people decide' would have been the abdication of their responsibilities. Under state law, boards of commissioners have the obligation to decide whether or not to put levies on the ballot. They should certainly heed the input from their constituents, but the decision is still theirs to make. In Lucas County, the commissioners set up a 'citizen levy review committee' to do such work for them - abdicating their responsibility to an unelected committee and pushing the accountability off to them.

Jeers - to the distortion of the concept of a 'regional attraction.' Yes, the Zoo is a regional attraction. People come from all over the region to attend it and some will come for the sole purpose of visiting the Zoo and its special events/exhibits. But being a regional attraction does not mean you get to mandate money from the entire region. Just because people are willing to come and pay admission to the Zoo doesn't mean that everyone in a specific county (or multiple counties) should be taxed to maintain/operate it. If this logic were to hold, there would be no limits whatsoever on taxation for any entity that could claim such a description.

Cheers and Jeers - to The Blade for a similar distortion of 'regionalism.' I say 'jeers' because they continue to advance the distortion as described in the above point, and because they believe, as explained in this editorial, that the Commissioners should have punted the issue to the voters. There's a reason we're not a democracy, but a representative government. It prevents the tyranny of the majority, which is what all levy requests end up being: a majority of people deciding that others should pay for what they don't support simply because the majority wants it.

But I say 'cheers' because they have revealed, for all to see, that The Blade's concept of 'regionalism' means that others need to pay for the failures (fiscal and otherwise) of Toledo and Lucas County governments and entities.

Their editorial uses the Zoo's excuse that "dwindling revenue from a deteriorating Lucas County tax base" is cause enough to seek funding from non-Lucas County tax bases - as if it is somehow the fault and/or responsibility of surrounding communities to solve the problems of Toledo, which is quickly gaining the reputation of 'little Detroit.'

This issue alone is a perfect example of the paper's concept that successful communities should bear the brunt of the bad decisions made by the paper's hand-picked politicians in Toledo and Lucas County government. Fortunately, the other communities have been immune to this redistributionist perspective and have soundly rejected it.

Finally, cheers - to Wood County residents who took the time to attend the hearing, write or call their commissioners to express their opinions. It is their involvement which made the decision for the commissioners so clear - and defensible.

Wood County hearing on Toledo Zoo levy request

From Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

On Tuesday, June 21st, at 10:00 a.m., the Wood County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing to consider a request by the Toledo Zoo to place a tax levy on the ballot in our county.

Ohio law stipulates that zoos can make such a request and Boards of County Commissioners may approve or deny that request.

The meeting is being held at the Wood County Courthouse, One Courthouse Square, Bowling Green, Ohio.

Your views on this matter are welcome and you are certainly welcome to attend the hearing.

If you cannot attend the hearing, you can contact the commissioners by phone at 419-354-9100, or email them at the addresses below:

Tim Brown: twbrown@co.wood.oh.us
Alvin Perkins and James Carter: commissioners@co.wood.oh.us

Wood County Heritage Days: BBQ, barn dance, awards and eagles!

Press Release from Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

Saturday and Sunday (June 11th & 12th) is our annual Wood County Heritage Days at the Historical Center & Museum.

Things kick off Friday June 10th with an old fashioned barn dance with square, round, & line dancing. For more information or to reserve a spot call 419-352-0967. Saturday and Sunday is filled with events for the entire family - tractor show and parade, kids crafts, live animals, music and many local food vendors. Visitors will also be able to see the working oil derrick and blacksmith shop.

Sunday there will be a chicken and pork chop BBQ fundraiser for the Historical Society. The BBQ begins at 11:00 am until sold out and I will be joined by my fellow elected officials in serving. The event is held in the barn and we are really hoping for a big turnout – so please consider bringing the family out to celebrate our Wood County heritage and join us for the BBQ!

Following the BBQ at 2:00 p.m. the Board of Commissioners will be honoring citizens who have worked to better our Wood County community. This year citizens nominated Richard Martin for Agricultural Leadership, Elaine Paulette McEwen for Education for Civic Responsibility, Barbara Keller for Liberty Through Law/Human Freedom, and Rebecca Bhaer for Self-Government; Perrysburg Resident Douglas Pratt for the Lyle R. Fletcher Good Citizenship Award; and former Wood County resident Daryl Stockburger for Industrial/Economic Development. Please join us in honoring these individuals at the ceremony.

The Historical Center & Museum is located ¼ mile from I-75, (exit 179) – then east on State Route 6. The event will be held rain or shine, parking and admission are free and I really hope to see you and your family this weekend!

www.woodcountyhistory.org

Invitation to watch the falcons living on top of the Wood County Courthouse clock tower:

http://www.co.wood.oh.us/falconcam.htm

The Wood County Courthouse clock tower is home to a nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons and their baby chicks. All of the chicks are approximately 3 weeks old and they are all female. Thanks to strong public interest we have installed a camera which allows citizens to watch the newest residents of our county via the internet.

Currently, the video only supports Internet Explorer which means that it is not available on an Android phone, an Apple phone, or a Mac PC.

When you click on the link above a new page will open and after a few minutes a yellow banner should appear at the top of the page asking you to install an ActiveX file. Follow the steps to install this file and then refresh the page after a couple minutes. The page is under construction so it may change a bit over the next few days and it currently allows for a maximum connection time of 5 minutes.

Enjoy watching the falcons and I hope to see you this weekend!

Tim W. Brown

Wood County Commissioner
TimBrown@wcnet.org - email
www.CitizensforBrown.com – web site

Wood County to be designated a 'recovery zone'

This just in via email from Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown:

I just wanted to give you notice that on Monday, September 21, 2009, the Wood County Board of Commissioners will hold a special session of the Board to enact a resolution to designate all of Wood County as a recovery zone. Our meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. in the Courthouse Atrium. You and any citizen or business owner you may know is welcome to attend.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act a county determined to meet certain criteria may designate a recovery zone. The purpose is to enable political subdivisions who may need to advance a tax financed project to access $8,835,000 in Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds and private business entities to access $13,253,000 in Recovery Zone Facility Bonds.

At the meeting our Bond Counsel will explain the particulars of the program to the media and interested citizens and answer any technical questions that individuals may have.

This designation will make available tools that may reduce the cost of local public projects and assist local businesses that will ultimately lead our region and State to economic recovery.