Portune Reply

8/14/2019 Portune Reply

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C.O.A.S.T. 2008 County Commission

Candidate Questionnaire

Answers of County Commissioner Todd Portune

1) COAST has a goal of reining in state and local government spending to a rate

lower than the rate of inflation. COASTs Board of Directors believes this will

only be accomplished with a consistently disciplined approach on tax and

spending issues.

a) Will you oppose all attempts to increase taxes in Hamilton County during

the coming term (2009-2012) beyond the rate of inflation, using 2008 as a

base year?

Answer: As the original supporter of the county policy to keep all county

controlled taxes below the rate of inflation I have consistently supported

that policy; have adopted it annually in every county budget policy goalResolution since then; have proposed it for the 2009 County Budget Policy

goal resolution and will continue to do so. Moreover, I have not only

supported this as a policy but I have consistently followed county policy

and maintained county budgets below the rate of inflation every year from

2004 through the present consistent with the policy first adopted by me

and then commissioner Phil Heimlich in 2003.

b) Will you work to decrease the size and cost of government in Hamilton

County? If so, please state specifically how you will do this.

Answer: Yes, I will do so, and I have a proven record of having done so,including cutting $10 Million in expenses in 2007; $35 Million in expenses

in 2008; and cutting another $12 Million mid-term 2008, to maintain

balanced budgets in each of the aforementio0ned years without raising

taxes and including reducing FTE positions by over 100 in 2008 alone. I

have also proposed the following measures that are all working to keep

expenses down:

i) Monthly reporting on the budget in all departments tracking

spending by each department and individual county office;

ii) Placing a Freeze on unnecessary overtime expenses;

iii) Placing a Freeze on hiring, including replacement hiring resulting

in every position being scrutinized and eliminating positions

through attrition that are not needed;

iv) Enforcing a 6% across the board budget cut to maintain budget

balance;

v) Reducing spending on commodities purchases [bulk items such

as paper, pens, postage, etc.] by a minimum of 5%;


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vi) Implementing the first county Managed Competition in county

Print Services;

vii) Pursuing a county Managed Competition in Fleet Services;

viii) Proposing new county Managed Competitions in Public Relations;

Human Resources; Finance Officers; and Budget Analysts

positions;ix) Creating the county Cabinet of Economic Advisers to

recommend on ways to reduce spending and costs of

government;

x) Supporting and aggressively pursuing the Shared Services effort

and working to reduce costs through collaborative efforts among

local government;

xi) Resolving against numerous unfunded mandates and

introducing a new budget policy goal to require county

administration to present a budget based on minimal acceptable

service levels to comply with state mandates thereby forcing

department heads and independently elected county officials to

have to justify any expenditure above minimal levels;

xii) Introducing the concept of performance based budgeting in

county government and implementing its oversight on county

finances;

2) In 2007, the commissioners cynically attempted to increase the sales tax

without a vote of the people precisely because they thought they could get

away with it. If you care to comment on these 2007 actions, please do so.

Answer: Your characterization of the action by the Board in 2007 as

cynical and the motivation as because they could get away with it are

inaccurate and off base. It is unfortunate that current leadership of COAST

chooses to interject such accusations when the same COAST leadership

supported a sales tax increase just one year prior for a similar venture and

several years before supported the introduction of an entirely new property

tax for the Museum Center both taxes heavily supported and led by COAST

endorsee Phil Heimlich, suggesting a political bias at COAST despite its

501(c)(3) status.

The Boards actions in 2007 were designed to address a difficult reality, that

being the need for additional and new jail space coupled with a very real

county budget shortfall that was projected [accurately] to result in the county

bond rating being reduced; the county reserve fund to be reduced to below

acceptable levels; and county revenues being inadequate to support basic

levels of priority county service. The decision to enact the tax without a


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public vote was a difficult decision, but one taken in full public view, with

public notice and public discussion. My personal position on the need for the

commissioners to do this first surfaced in August 2006 in a guest editorial I

wrote for the Cincinnati Enquirer where I made the case for why the

commissioners needed to act in that fashion then, instead of seeking a vote.

I argued that if the 2006 tax which COAST supported was voted down it wouldbe impossible to get a tax passed in the future. I argued that the need for a

new jail was demonstrated [a position COAST also took with its support of the

2006 sales tax hike] and we, as commissioners, had both a duty to provide

adequate jail space and the authority to enact a tax, so to perform our duty

we needed to act that way. My two colleagues, who included one

[Commissioner Heimlich] who was running for re-election chose to punt on

the issue and put it to a vote instead of doing what needed to be done.

In 2007 our comprehensive safety plan would have raised the necessary

money to build a new jail. It also would have raised new money needed to

maintain and expand sheriffs patrols to enhance safety; money to run and

operate the new jail being built; money for needed new juvenile facilities [50

new beds]; money to cover the full cost of county emergency

communications so the 48 small cities, villages and townships of the county

would not have to spend their general fund safety money to cover the cost of

a county responsibility [which is what is done today] and money for new

needed and efficient services to attack mental illness, drug and alcohol

addiction and to reduce recidivism. It was a 15 year tax that covered 30

years of expenses.

Our proposal and our action was supported and endorsed by virtually everyorganization outside of COAST, The Green Party and the NAACP. All three

local parties endorsed it as did the Enquirer and every religious organization

and collaborative that weighed in on the subject.

What I found to be cynical; or what was done by people who thought they

could get away with it, was the dissemination of misrepresentations and

outright lies. People said the county had plenty of money to build and

operate a new jail. Among them was our county Treasurer Rob Goering and

County Commissioner Pat DeWine. Goering absolutely knew better. As

Treasurer he failed to collect over $80 million in taxes that were due in 2007alone, greatly contributing to the countys and to local government and

school district financial woes. As we have seen this year following $35 million

in cuts to balance the budget we have had to make another $12 million in

mid-year budget adjustments just to remain balanced. Those cuts have

resulted in the loss of the sheriffs added Hot Spot patrols [including patrols in

Over the Rhine that reduced crime there by 50% in 2007. Crime has since

gone up in OTR with the loss of those patrols] and curtailment of other


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routine patrol services by the sheriff. They also resulted in the closure of

three floors of the Queensgate jail.

Opponents of our effort said in 2007 that the jails were not crowded and have

stated this year that there have been no prisoners early released, or

processed only as evidence that overcrowding was manufactured. Thoseare outright misstatements. For the first half of 2008 over 2,300 prisoners

were processed only and while the number of early releases was down to

20% of the number over the same time period in 2007, there were,

nonetheless, early releases. That was before the budget necessitated closure

of Queensgatesthree floors. Since then the numbers have increased

including male prisoners being among that number for the first time in

several years.

Some times, as an elected leader, you have to do things that are very

unpopular, but are necessary. We knew that what we had to do would be

unpopular. But it was necessary. And the extreme budget difficulties we now

face and their resultant negative impact on public safety bears out that we

did the right thing when we acted.

a) Are you willing to firmly commit that during the coming commission term,

you will not attempt to raise any taxes (including the sales tax) without a

vote of the people?

Answer: I am willing to commit that in the event we are facing the need

for a new property or sales tax that I will first consider placing it before the

people for a vote. That is always the preferable route. Not knowing what thefuture may hold, including potential emergency conditions, I cannot

responsibly assert that in all cases with all taxes I would always, without fail,

require a vote of the people.

3.) How will you work to make Hamilton County more competitive for business

and families?

Answer: I have laid out a detailed and comprehensive agenda for growth

and positive change for the county. I am forwarding the Agenda to you as the

complete answer to this question. My Agenda, which the Cincinnati Enquirer hasvariously described as ambitious and Aggressive and as Lofty Goals details the

steps I have begun to take, and with re-election, remain committed to implement to

make the county more competitive and attractive.

4.) What other initiatives do you propose to rein in taxes and spending in

Hamilton County?


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Answer: i.) I have detailed the majority of other initiatives, besides what is

contained in my answer to question 3.) abovein answer to question 1.)b.), which I

incorporate here by reference in answer to this question 4.). Beyond that;

ii.) I believe we must continue to utilize the county Tax Levy Review

Commission to assess all tax requests and must go through that process in

every case a new tax is considered to ensure a complete public vetting of theproposal.

iii.) I also support working very hard to stop state and federal

government from making new unfunded mandates and requiring state and

federal government to provide full funding for any new mandate.

iv.) I am also working hard to identify alternative means of

construction to keep the cost of the federal government mandated sewer

fixes in Hamilton County as low as possible and to require the federal

government to provide the bulk of funding. Our sewer system was rendered

obsolete by the Clean Water Act and the $3.5 Billion fix it requires will be

borne totally by local ratepayers unless we get state and federal help. It is

obscene to think that the United States government is racking up $ Trillions in

debt while spending $12 Billion a month to build up a new infrastructure in

Iraq yet the same federal government is suing its own citizens here in

Hamilton County to force us alone to pay to fix up our infrastructure just

because it is old.

5.) Will you oppose all efforts to provide any additional tax dollars to the National

Underground Railroad Freedom Center, holding them to their solemn promise not to

seek additional public funds after the initial construction of the Center?

Answer: Yes.

6.) Recently, the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County voted to empower the

Port Authority to take property by eminent domain and give it broad new taxing

powers. Please provide your comments on this decision.

Answer: The city and county acted to reform the Port Authority in light of its

eight years of limited development success to make it a better development

authority and to let it operate as a true Port Authority when addressing the

opportunities that abound in Hamilton County from our location along the Ohio River

and the bulk terminal space that abuts the river; the Queensgate rail yard; theconvergence of interstate highways and air freight infrastructure at Lunkenand CVG.

One of the central planks in our strategy to grow Hamilton County out of its budget

crisis is to make strategic investments in development opportunities that will grow

the revenue base of the county without raising taxes. We cannot cut ourselves into

budget prosperity but instead must work to right-size the county while growing

business and jobs. The improvements we made to the Port Authority will position it


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to do as much as $100 Million in bond funded development each year. That kind of

growth, annually, will grow the revenues of the county without raising taxes.

7.) Do you support or oppose efforts to use taxpayer funds for light rail or other

such transportation proposals such as those which have been defeated in the past?

Answer: My complete position on transit and reform measures is detailed in the

attached DRAFT Resolution I prepared and submitted to the City of Cincinnati. In it I

am calling for a different way to look at funding transit from an economic

development frame of mind. I believe a regionally governed, funded and multi-

modal service oriented system is what we need and will spark business growth and

development that will ultimately reduce the need for new taxes and reduce the

levels of taxation because the volume of business growth will be so high.

8.) Will you oppose efforts to fund arts projects or organizations with existing

tax dollars?

Answer: It really depends on a case by case basis. Some projects merit support

because they contain elements that result in gains for the region and taxpayers.

Others are simply a waste of public money. I would have to consider each such item

on its own merit.

9.) Various advocates for greater funding for arts in Cincinnati and Hamilton

County have recently begun to push for a tax-payer funded revenue stream

specifically devoted to funding their pet projects. Will you oppose all efforts to

establish a new tax to fund arts programs in the region?

Answer: I am unfamiliar with any such effort, or the details of the same. In

general I am opposed to new taxes unless absolutely necessary and for a critical

public priority such as safety or health. The arts do not fit that category.

10.) Will you support continuance of the Government Accountability project

started by Commissioner Pat DeWine?

Answer: Yes.

11.) What specific tax fighting credentials do you possess (i.e. legislative votesagainst tax increases, public roles opposed to higher taxes and spending, etc.).

Please cite specific public positions you have taken in the anti-tax/anti-spending

cause.

Answer: While not an exhaustive list, please note the following:


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a) I personally sued the Cincinnati Bengals in the effort to reform the horrific

deal struck by the county with the team and have led all efforts to reform

that deal, reduce taxpayer costs and save taxpayer money in connection

with the Bengals and at Paul brown Stadium;

b) I introduced new accountability ad spending oversight measures in the

Great American Ballpark construction process leading to the project beingcompleted on time and under budget;

c) I implemented similar measures, joint with the city of Cincinnati, resulting

in the convention center expansion project being completed on time and

$10 Million under budget;

d) Paid off $10 Million in convention center debt early due the savings in

construction;

e) While on City Council I authored the Cincinnati Tax Reform Act of 1998 and

fought to get its 19 provisions adopted [ 11 were ];

f) I led opposition to, and repealed the, city stock option tax;

g) I supported every property tax rollback proposed at the city and was the

deciding fifth vote;

h) I proposed tax credits for, and repealed some of the city surcharge for,

sidewalk repairs;

i) I repealed the city surcharge for yard waste collection;

j) Starting my work at the county, I reduced the Indigent Care Levy by over

$30 Million in 2001;

k) I repealed the county increase in the Transfer Real Estate Tax;

l) I blocked a proposed increase in the county Real Estate Transfer Tax

during several budgets;

m) As President of the Board I led the work on balancing the budgets in 2007,

2008 and mid-term 2008 adjustment all done without raising taxes asproposed by county administration and instead done with new efficiencies

and economies, right-sizing the government, eliminating over 100

positions and cutting, collectively over $57 Million in anticipated cost and

expense;

n) I adopted the county budget policy to keep county controlled taxes within

the rate of inflation and have faithfully abided by that policy from 2004 to

the present;

o) I have regularly opposed MSD rate hikes and personally led the effort to

adopt a new Green infrastructure program to cut MSD sewer repair costs

by about $1.5 Billion;p) I introduced and adopted numerous county budget control measures,

including:

i) Monthly reporting;

ii) Freeze on overtime;

iii) Freeze on hiring;

iv) Reductions in commodity purchases;

v) Requiring centralized purchasing;


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vi) Requiring Board review of all JFS contracts;

vii) Adopting performance based budgeting;

viii) Reducing energy consumption by 2% minimum per annum

beginning in 2007;

ix) Implementing Managed Competition by implementing the first

ever managed competition in county print services; beginning asecond with fleet services; and proposing four more in Public

Relations/Media outreach; Human Resources; County Finance

and County Budget Administration;

x) Engaging in local government Shared Services;

xi) Supporting the GASP Program

Thank you for affording me the privilege and opportunity of responding to the 2008

COAST Questionnaire.

Sincerely,

Todd Portune

President of the Board

Hamilton County Commission

Supplement to Answer to question 3.)

2008 Hamilton County Agenda for Growth and Positive

Change

Presented by Hamilton County Commission President Todd

Portune

Monday, January 14, 2008

After spending a year, 2007, largely getting the Countys house in order andpaving the way to provide the foundation for growth, change and positive

development, 2008 represents an exciting opportunity in the history of Hamilton

Countyto take dramatic steps ahead. 2008 represents the beginning of a new era of

collaboration and cooperation that grows and rebuilds Hamilton County providing an

exciting and positive future for the people who arrive here in order to live, work and

visit.


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The budget goals, recently adopted by the Board, outline three primary areas of

attention for this year. They are:

1. Keep the Countys fiscal house in order and stabilize our budget, revenuestreams and reserves;

2. Continue the progress made in all areas of public safety and in particular,complete the necessary reforms and advances that are required to solve ourcorrections space and criminal justice problems; and

3. Attend to all of the things that affect quality of life and quality of experiencein the County.

In each of these three areas we must devote our time and attention. I propose

that we, through cooperation across party lines and with collaboration among all

governmental bodies locally and regionally and with our State and Federal

Delegations, develop a three-pronged policy, legislative and programmatic agenda

for the County.

I. Keeping the Countys Fiscal House in Order.

Maintaining good fiscal health for Hamilton Countyinvolves much more than

watching the pennies that we spend. While fiscal discipline is one critical, primary

element of good fiscal stewardship for the County, it is not the only measure of our

success and cannot comprise the only element of our effort. Equally important is

maintaining a growing and healthy tax base; reducing the demands for public

service by improving the quality of life and livelihoods of others; strategically

investing in those businesses and other measures that create new business and

employment opportunities in the County and that generate greater returns on our

investments and reducing the costs of goods and services through smart and

effective decision making and via developing partnerships and alliances with othergovernmental bodies in ways that increase returns or reduce costs. To succeed in

this area, we must:


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1. Develop a strategy for business growth and investment by conveningand empowering the County Cabinet of EconomicAdvisors(first meeting scheduled for Monday, January 29, 2008). TheCabinet must be given requisite staff and consulting support such that theadvisors may present an aggressive strategy of strategic investments that

are guaranteed to increase the Countys earnings on investments and thatare guaranteed to create a positive growth climate for business expansion,retention, startup and relocation in those businesses that generate sales taxrevenues and put real estate to a higher and more productive use.

2. Reformat the existing Cincinnati-Hamilton CountyPort Development Authorityin a manner that provides greaterpowers and authority to the body allowing it to function in a manner similarto other full-powered authorities such as Cuyahoga and Lucas County, Ohio.

The Port Development Authority could negotiate operating agreements in

conjunction with terminals along the Ohio River and/or for the use of certainrail facilities that afford the Port additional revenue and economicdevelopment potential. The new Port has the opportunity to partner withOhio Treasurer Richard Cordrayunder new Linked Deposit Business Retentionand Support Programs that the Treasurer is developing specifically for thepurpose of assisting full-bodied Port Authorities.

3. Targeting poverty and unemploymentneeds to be a priority in2008. We will make declaring a war on poverty a critical element of keepingthe countys fiscal house in order because the result of our initiatives shouldproduce greater earnings potential and business growth in the county that in

turn provides more of the tax receipts that sustain county operations and byincreasing earnings power we reduce demands for service. We will attackpoverty, hunger unemployment and underemployment by:

a) Aggressively implementing the Worker Readiness Programsand Small Business Contracting and Developmentelementscreated under the Banks Riverfront RedevelopmentProgram.

b) As an adjunct to rounding out the workforce and businessdevelopment under the Banks, we must adopt the BanksDevelopment Policies for contracting and employment as

policy for the Countyin ways that require the introduction of thesame elements into other contracting that the County is engagedin.

c) We further target unemployment and poverty via convening asummit on poverty joint with the City of Cincinnati andother non-profit, civic and social service agencies, inHamilton County that is designed to result in a compact executedby the Summit participants, the local bodies of governmentinvolved and business leadership including without limitation the


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African American, Hispanic and Greater Cincinnati Chambers ofCommerce.

d) Further addressing the issues of poverty and unemployment in theregion requires that we look to develop new economic policy for theCounty that requires including elements supplier contractingas a part of the Countys overall policy and empowers the

Countys Small Business Office with the legislative supportand the staff and financial support that will permit thecertification of qualified supplier contractorsto occur andlinkages to then be made under the direction of the Countys SmallBusiness Office.

e) We must replicate the unrestricted County EconomicDevelopment Fund that was discontinued two years ago and thatprovides last dollars in to support individual development projects,business district revitalizations, housing initiatives and otherdevelopment matters that greatly benefit the work of the FirstSuburbs Consortium aimed at eliminating blight, restoring propertyto its higher and best use and sponsoring business district

revitalization.

4. Maintaining good fiscal health also requires that the taxes and feespaid by County residents be appropriate for the scope of servicesprovided but also not be at levels that are unaffordableand/or that aresimilarly not established at levels greater than required given the specificdemands for services that are necessary. Essential elements ofunderstanding the operation of the existing tax and fee structure on Countyoperations, the delivery of services and the burden borne by individuals andbusinesses, we must charge the County Tax Levy Review Commissionwith the duty and responsibility to conduct such analysisand to report

back to the Board in time that we can utilize the report and recommendationsaround budget deliberations for 2009 and beyond.

5. Such an effort further requires specific to the Metropolitan Sewer District thatwe continue the parallel tracks ofpressing for more cost efficientalternatives to meet the Department of Justice requirements in theConsent Decree order that governs the scope of work and the Countyslegal responsibility, and Hamilton County taking the lead in developing acoalition of similarly affected jurisdictions around the country andurging federal legislative intervention from the administrationand/or Congress to reduce the local burden and share of that burden

by local parties elevating the Federal Governments responsibility in theseareas and resulting in contributions from the same that in turn reduce thelocal contributions and make more affordable the rate increases that we willhave to seek in the future in order to pay for the full scope of work.

6. Maintaining good fiscal health and discipline requires that the County, inaddition to adhering to and enforcing the aggressive budget reserve policy


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that we adopted in 2007, mandates that we develop still further policiesthat limit expenditures and that work to grow revenues. Accordingly,we must target as outcomes for the end of 2008;

a) Being able to deposit into the County Reserve the additional

money necessary to bring the County Reserve above 5% ofongoing General Fund expenditures and therefore withinacceptable ranges according to generally accepted Countyprinciples; and

b) That we target,[either in the form of reductions in costs through anoverview of County operations or the ongoing work through theshared services committee, or an increase in revenues due to thespecific investments made by the County], through thecombination of reductions in costs, or growth in revenues,to exceed the inflationary costs of General Fundexpenditures on an annual basis.

7. Bringing the Riverfront Stadium fund into structural balance both short andlong term [the fund presently reflects deficit spending beginning in 2013 witha total deficit approximating $191 Million]. Such an initiative will requiredeveloping a plan of action that either reduces expenses or grows revenuesin favor of the benefit of the county. The effort could involve the pursuit ofnaming rights sales for the stadium, the field, the plaza areas or otherelements of the stadium; and developing a stadium entertainmentauthorityfor the purpose of marketing the use of Paul Brown Stadium inways that will regularly generate revenue to the benefit of the County. Ourgoal should be to embark on a path the brings us in structural and ongoingriverfront fund budget balance beginning in 2013.

8. Reinstating the County Home Improvement and Small BusinessImprovement linked deposit program that today have generated over$20 Million in private money fixing up the ageing housing and businessproperties in the county.

9. Successfully concluding the reforms at Hamilton County Job & FamilyServicesand the response to both the Auditor of State and Ohio Departmentof Job & Family Services Audit of the Countys work from July 1, 2001 to June30, 2004. Accomplishing this goal also means generating audited financial

reports in doing so in ways that result in protecting the County GeneralFundfrom and against any findings for recovery and demonstrating theCountys position and the corrective actions taken by the County amongother things, resulting in their being no harm, as alleged, and certainly nonethat jeopardize the County General Fund.


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10.Concluding the County negotiations with Moodys in ways thatdemonstrate that the County through the work undertaken in 2007 andthrough the work that is identified in this agenda, addressed by acollaborative, cooperative and bipartisan approach with the County not beingdistracted by inflammatory partisan considerations, works to retain theCountys current bond ratingby Moodys.


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II. Continue the progress made in all areas of public

safety and in particular, complete the necessary reforms

and advances that are required to solve our corrections

space and criminal justice problems

Reducing crime countywide via the introduction of a multiple community-based

enhanced law enforcement and high visibility presence involving:

1. Utilizing the former Over-The-Rhine patrol deputies retained by theSheriffs Office and assigned into communities where the electedleadership has asked for assistance and local law enforcement has agreed

to cooperate with the Sheriffs Deputies;

2. Expanding community-based probation services into a minimum offour new communities or neighborhoods throughout Hamilton Countyincluding within the City of Cincinnati.

3. Under the authority ofCounty Emergency Management convening anumbrella of support and organization that is designed to createdual Citizen Corps/Citizens on Patrol units operating in everycommunity or precinct as deemed necessary by both the County

Homeland Security Chief and by local law enforcement. The unitswould be designed to function in the dual role of providing the weekly ordaily additional eyes and visibility for traditional public safety purposes offighting crime, preventing fires and responding to emergency medicalneeds, but also being in place and on duty to look out for any such otherpublic safety issues that arise under the guise of Homeland Security andas attention may be called to bear upon specific known issues.

4. Fulfilling our Public Safety responsibilities will also require that wecontinue the work begun in 2007 that targets the countys inmate andcriminal population with approaches that are both proactive and reactive

but that result in reductions in the recidivism rates we experience and thatresult in transforming individual behaviors in ways that allow criminals tobecome productive members of our community. To that end we must:

a) maintain the work of the Hamilton County Criminal JusticeCommissionas staffed by the Vera Institute and adopt animplementation process for their recommendations.


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b) Included must be expanding the current Intake andAssessment Programthat results in every inmate beingthoroughly assessed upon intake and directed as appropriate to theproper facility, community based or county run, and that thenecessary wrap-around services be provided.

c) Additionally, we must find a way to fully develop and implement

the proposed Community Certificate of Rehabilitationprogram that permits an individual to receive the help needed untilcompletion of the required program elements whether incarceratedor not.

d) I propose that we also convene a summit of Mental Health andDrug & Alcohol Addiction professionalsand providers toconsider the application of incremental community based treatmentusing incremental Levy dollars earmarked in a manner designed toexpand availability of services.

5. Our efforts also require the completion of our work to develop the right

kind of facilities in use in our Corrections Divisionof the SheriffsDepartment that account for the current overcrowding situation and thepending loss of the Queensgate Facility. We have an economicalopportunity still at hand with the donated Sara Lee property inCamp Washington. Prior to embarking on any new constructionprogram we must utilize the data developed by the Vera Institute in a waythat ensures any facility or facilities are constructed to address the needsof our population. We immediately are impressed with the need ofsecure facilities for an inmate population that presents highersecurity risksthan can be safely accommodated at Queensgate. At thesame time we are impressed by the need for the development of afacility that permits a Work-Release or Day-Release

componentgiven the high rate of employment among county jailinmates. To properly construct such a facility[ies] requires:

a) a change in Ohio Regulatory standardsand as such part of ourwork and policy or legislative agenda for the year must beinteracting with the Governor and state legislative leadership toobtain revised standards of construction that are geared to oursituation and reality of funding.

b) Moreover, the legislative or policy agenda must also includeconsideration ofamnesty for old outstanding warrants ofminor, non-violent criminal activity. Most of those cases endup dismissed anyway while costing our community greatly in theform of crowded corrections facilities and unnecessary cost to thesystem, to law enforcement and to the community through lostproductivity and lost employment.

c) On Saturday February 16, 2008, the City of Cincinnati will beconvening a Neighborhood Summit at which I have been asked topresent on the next steps in the wake of Issue 27s defeat. Ipropose the presentation of a complete plan by then that addressedall issues.


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6. Preserving the Peace and Security of the Publicextends beyondtraditional public safety issues of crimes, fires and medical emergencies.In these days of the separate wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Global Waron Terror, we are affected in Hamilton County by the cost of service of ourmen and women in uniform and through our statutory responsibilities tohelp veterans and their families through the county Veterans Services

Commission. The needs of area veterans and their families have not beenthoroughly assessed nor provided for. Neither have we completed ourcountywide responsibility in Homeland Security via county EmergencyManagement. Both areas of county responsibility must receive priorityattention in 2008. As such I am proposing that we:

a) Complete the first Grant Funded phase of our emergency warningsystem repair by the start of the severe weather season to ensurethat, at a minimum, we have provided for full 100% coverage

via audible warning signals in the entire populated areas ofthe county, and that we continue the planning and grantdevelopment efforts for the further system enhancements such asReverse 911 capability; voice messaging; geographic targeting;flash flood warning; rail line and spur monitoring and the like;

b) Complete a home readiness program in conjunction with localretailers that results in yearend home readiness andneighborhood/community preparedness;

c) Convene community public hearings on the state ofveterans and their families to develop a thorough needsassessment that identifies the appropriate level of county VSCassistance required and allows us to approach our state and federal

delegations for assistance in favor of veterans via state and federalsupport;

d) As an element of assessing the state of veterans, obtain a truereading on the population of homeless veterans and theirneeds; utilizing a portion of the incremental VSC allocationin favor of the Joseph House for Veterans and itsprogrammatic efforts of providing safe temporary shelter andimmediate emergency needs;

e) Convening a summit with Drake Hospital officials, the Friends ofDrake, veterans, the Veterans Administration and Department ofDefense about the opportunity ofcontinuing the turnaround ofDrake Hospital by becoming a Center of Excellence in the

Mid-West for long term therapeutic and rehabilitative carefor returning veterans who have sustained debilitationinjuries in combat or otherwise affecting head and brain trauma,severe spinal cord injury or loss of limb.


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III, Attend to all of the things that affect quality of life

and quality of experience in the County.

It is a simple fact that people will choose to live, work or visit elsewhere if the

quality of the experience in our county is substandard. In difficult budget times that

stark reality places a heavy burden upon the county. It demands of us an approach

that is creative, collaborative and cooperative. It requires full time and priority

attention as opposed to the philosophy of some which is to reduce what we do.

The measures of Quality of Life are showing up in the many community and regional

reports of key community indicators. They include our rates of people in poverty;

children who are hungry; number of homes in foreclosure and the rate at whichbabies die before their first birthday. They include the performance levels of our

schools and students, including the numbers that graduate and those who drop out.

Performance measures include the carbon footprints we leave, the energy we use,

waste or conserve and the cleanliness of our streets, waterways, parks and

neighborhoods. They include the livability of our homes and the welcoming nature,

or not of our buildings and public spaces. They include the availability, accessibility

and affordability of our entertainment and culture. And they include the stability of

the family unit, together with the standard of living conditions and the economic

levels of attainment.

Those measures of the overall quality of our collective human experience in

Hamilton County are the standards by which our effort must be rated and guide the

policy and programmatic Agenda for the county in 2008. Accordingly, I propose

that we:

1. Immediately initiate an aggressive EnvironmentalAgenda that;

a) Commits Hamilton County to reducing its use of global warmingemissions by a minimum of 2% per year; and

b) Partners with other major institutions in leading the way toward theuse of alternate energy, Green design, purchase and constructionin county operations and projects;

c) Commits to the full utilization of environmentally sensitiveconstruction in the Metropolitan Sewer District improvements;


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d) Develops protocols for the use of water permeable and absorbingmaterials in roadway construction;

e) Develops a countywide plan for the construction of green roofs inpublic facilities and that incentivizes and encourages the same withhomeowners and in the private sector;

f) Strategically partners with the State of Ohio to position Hamilton

County and the SW Ohio region to fully benefit from the Governorsinitiatives in making alternate energy and Green initiatives a pillarof economic development; support the efforts at developing a trueregional transportation system designed to introduce multi-modaltransportation options into regular use in the county;

g) Embraces the ongoing work of the Solid Waste District that isoffering new recycling opportunities for traditional municipal solidwaste and for organics and food products in the stated effort atmoving Hamilton County toward becoming a Zero Wastecommunity; and

h) Creating a major development or project in conjunction with keypartners in the private sector [i.e. the Homebuilders] that highlights

the benefits and opportunities of pro-environmental developmentsuch as a new county Homerama that is designed and built usingrecycled products and fosters the daily use of recycled materials intraditional home operations [Recyclarama?] or that involves anentire neighborhood built to sustain the homes solely with the useof sustainable, renewable and alternative energy sources such assolar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, etc.

2. Continue and expand the Collaboration with LocalSchool Districts around an Agenda of Mutual Interest by:

a) Prioritizing county aid and assistance, including after-schoolprogramming for those school jurisdictions that reflect the pooreststudent achievement and carry that initiative to school districtsother than Cincinnati Public Schools;

b) Schedule a series of Bi-annual or quarterly meetings with schooldistricts to discuss issues of mutual concern; shared services;shared purchasing; pooling of contracts for services, materials,energy, and health care, and to discuss the potential for pooledinvestments to maximize returns;

c) Develop a Compact for the use of incremental collected property

tax revenues in favor of schools arising out of the countys sale ofdelinquent tax lien certificates for the purpose of introducing newand helpful services and assistance such as the Children First Planprogram into multiple new schools determined by need, all of whichwork to improve childrens health, mental health and addressfactors that work to prevent dropping out of school;

d) Assess the potential for shared contracting in transportation in waysthat benefit the schools and local communities. [i.e. explore thepotential for shared use of school busses in providing transit for


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students to and from school and school related events and to serveas community shuttles for citizens either to get to and from schoolbuildings being used as community resources, or to serve asshuttles to benefit residents getting to and from places of need andinterest such as shopping, business appointments, groceries, etc.]

3. Making Certain that the Publics Health and Access to Health Careremain Priorities for Attention and that specific steps are taken to

stabilize and augment Access to Health Care and to reducespecific Disease or Conditional concerns such asInfant Mortality and SIDS by:

a) Enrolling all Medicaid eligible Hamilton County citizens in theprogram through the full implementation of the countys existingMedicaid outreach and enrollment program, begun in 2007, and

partnering with others to do the same;b) Providing financial support from incremental health care revenues

realized through the sale of delinquent tax lien certificates insupport of expanded public health and clinical health deliveryincluding without limitation assisting the county, city and non-profithealth clinics; expanding the hours of operation and servicesavailable at the Lincoln Heights Health Center; and supporting thevarious campaigns of the Center for Closing the Gap;

c) Targeting specific public health nuisances and utilizing existing andnewly realized revenues for strategic approaches designed to attackbed bug infestation and to reduce exposures to, and expandtreatment required for, lead exposure and poisoning;

d) Fully supporting the Infant Mortality Reduction Task Force and itsoperations that are designed to reduce the countys Infant Mortalityrate to below the national average within five years

4. Advancing the Countys and the Regions PublicTransportation Options and conveying a legitimate sense ofhope and promise that Public Transit will be a priority service offered tothe citizens of the region by:

a) Completing the outreach with our regional partners and developingthe governance framework for a true regional transportationauthority that is both regionally governed and funded and thatincludes the outline for growth of the system in terms of coverageand modality of service available;

b) Complete all work necessary to allow for visible work on the EasternCorridor multimodal transportation and land use plan to commenceincluding arranging for demonstration project experience along theOasis Line of a commuter DMU experience;


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c) Commence construction and confirm the deadline for completion ofthe temporary Loveland to downtown bike trail;

d) Secure the confirmed inclusion of Cincinnati and Hamilton County inthe ORDC High Speed Rail project across Ohio and in the MRRI fromCincinnati to Indianapolis and secure commitment from the City ofCincinnati as to the preferred Inter-City rail station location;

e) Commence negotiations with Montgomery County officials designedto develop a compact around creating a regional Joint EconomicDevelopment District that includes as a principal element thedevelopment of a high speed rail connector between Dayton andCincinnati.

5. Positioning Hamilton County to Provide for competitive,affordable and livable housingthat is an attractive alternativeto housing being constructed around the county; and introducing neededreforms to lending and foreclosure practices that eliminate the blight inneighborhoods and predatory practices of others. The needs of ourcitizens and the interests of the countys 49 jurisdictions make developinga progressive housing agenda a critical element in our comprehensivestrategy aimed at retaining businesses and population by making thecounty an attractive place to be.

a) We can begin by developing a Land Banking program in conjunctionwith local jurisdictions, and especially the First Suburbs Consortiumthat will allow for the acquisition of blighted properties, vacant andunproductive land in ways that can lead to the efficient andeconomical construction of new housing; renovation or conversionof existing housing; and development of in-fill, or new neighborhoodhousing.

b) Meetings with the regional office of the Ohio Attorney General haveidentified the opportunity to create a new Consumer Protection armof the AGs office in collaboration with the County that will provideHomeowner assistance and protection against predatory lendingand unscrupulous foreclosure practices. It can also become aproactive vehicle of government that targets the property flippersand predators that prey upon senior citizens, homeowners besetwith personal tragedy and upon those who lack the ability to fully

comprehend the fleecing practices that are underway.c) We must lobby the Ohio General Assembly to adopt legislationpermitting counties to use unallocated DTAC [Delinquent TaxAccounting and Collection] dollars that are not used by the

Treasurer or Prosecutor but that can become the foundation of afund for land banking and other needed reforms.

d) In order to generate a booming housing market, I propose the Boardengage the HomeBuilders Association for the purpose of developinga Compact aimed at constructing a Homerama style development


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in the county every year and to commit toward constructing anincremental 1000 new homes each year above current constructionlevels.

e) During the 2007 budget process we funded a model programdesigned to begin attacking the growing foreclosure problem inHamilton County. This effort provided homeowner assistance;

individual counseling about foreclosure issuers, assistance tocombat individual predatory lending practices and the like.

f) We expanded the countys HIP program during 2007 for individualhome improvement, small business property improvement andcondo conversions. Our efforts proved successful as total loansexceeded 2000 and private funding leveraged topped $20 Million tomake the countys housing stock more attractive. While theprogram was temporarily suspended at the start of this year due tobudget limitations we must re-start the program quickly and withemphasis to assist in making our aged housing stock attractive andcompetitive.

g) We adopted model policy provisions in MSD that will produce a

better climate for the development of new and affordable housingin the county. There are additional policy changes that should beconsidered that will promote new housing, or business developmentand retenti0on in Hamilton County.

6. Completing the Various Reforms begun in theCountys Human Services Delivery to make the experiencemore beneficial for the customers we serve and to make the process moreefficient and economical in favor of the taxpayers of the county, and safeon behalf of the individual clients we serve. County Job & Family Serviceshas come under a lot of fire this past year in its Foster Care and AdoptionServices programs and in its general performance and service delivery.We instituted model oversight provisions in the area of Foster care tobetter ensure that our child placements are only to homes withresponsible adults and safe environments. We have named a new

Director of the Department and empowered her with a sweeping series ofreform proposals designed to address all deficiencies in the department.

The completion of those reforms will become the focus of priorityattention over the next year. In addition we must:

a) Conclude the ODJFS audit; update all accounting processes withinthe department and embark upon a new collaborative and


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cooperative relationship with ODJFS as our partner in the delivery ofneeded human services.

b) Continue the recruitment of Foster Parents and Adoptive Parentssuch that we have an adequate roster of qualified adults to assist inthis most necessary service;

c) Adopt new policies regarding kinship and respite care that provide

the support Foster and Adoptive parents need to be successful andthat eliminate the disparities in support of related care providers inorder that the policy of first trying to keep children within the broadfamily structure can be supported and become a reality;

d) Complete the development of the Benefits Bank that allows forthose in need of assistance and care to be able to quicklydetermine what is available; whether they are qualified to receive;and results in speedier eligibility determinations and provision ofassistance.


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IV. Conclusion

All in all this is a comprehensive Agenda filled with hope, excitement and promise.

Multiple Partners around the region are waiting for Hamilton County to take the

initiative and lead the way on numerous fronts. We have the capability of doing so.

The only question is whether we have the will. I believe we do and amexcited about

the possibilities for our success. With my colleagues capable assistance and with

the support and prayers of our citizens we will succeed.

Respectfully submitted,

Todd Portune

President, Hamilton County Commission

Cc: County Administrator, Patrick Thompson

Christian Sigman

Eric Stuckey

County Budget Staff

Mayor Mark Mallory

Members of Cincinnati City Council

First Suburbs Consortium

Hamilton County Township Association


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Hamilton County Municipal League

Media contacts

Supplement to Answer to Question 7.)

RESOLUTION REPEALING RESOLUTION _______ DATED July 27, 1972 THAT

ESTABLISHED THE SOUTHWEST OHIO REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND

ESTABLISHING UNDER REVISED CODE SECTION 506.30 506.47 A NEW

GREATER CINCINNATI REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY WITH THE OPTION OF

EVOLVING INTO A REGIONAL TRANSIT COMMISSION

This RESOLUTIONis adopted this 2nd day of October, 2008 for the purpose of:

1) repealing that RESOLUTIONadopted forty years ago on this same day of October

2, in year 1968, which established the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority

[SORTA], and 2) creating a new transit authority, to be named the Greater

Cincinnati Regional Transit Authority, a transit system encompassing multiple Ohio

counties and political subdivisions under authority of sections 506.30 506.47 of

the Ohio Revised Code, and further establishing the potential of said transit system

evolving into a multi-state Regional Transit Commission as permitted under section

506.80 506.90 of the Ohio Revised Code.

WHEREAS, a gallon of gasoline now approaches $4.00 at the pumps; and

WHEREAS, Greater Cincinnati faces new ozone attainment standards under the

Clean Air Act; and

WHEREAS, from the creation of the combustible engine and the manufacture of the

first automobile it took until 2004 for gasoline to reach two dollars a gallon. In only

four years since the next two dollar increase in the cost of a gallon of gas occurred.Some analysts predict that yet another two dollars increase per gallon of gasoline

will occur before the end of this year; and

WHEREAS the facts are that the era of cheap gasoline is over; and


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WHEREAS, our growth and transportation policies must be based upon as new

reality requiring that we have multiple transportation options available to meet the

needs of area commuters, motorists and recreational travelers alike in our region;

and

WHEREAS, to make these options available we must work collectively and on a

regional basis to create a regional system that:

1) Is governed on a regional basis with the communities in ourmetropolitan area each having a meaningful seat at the table ofgovernance, policy formation and decision making;

2) Is funded for existing maintenance and operations of the current

system and all growth of the system must be fair, equitable,affordable and must embrace new funding concepts, includingfunding based upon public-private partnerships that are foundedupon fiscally sound economic development principles;

3) Provides fully integrated services among several modalities ofservice; and

4) Provides cross-community, cross-jurisdictional routes of servicemeeting the needs of our metropolitan region and the people in it;

and

WHEREAS, as responsible citizens we must treat this emerging emergency as the

critical issue it is with leadership willing to work together for as long as it takes to

get the job done.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOVED AND DECREED THAT:

1. A RESOLUTION enacted October 2, 1968 creating the Southwest OhioRegional Transit Authority is and shall be repealed effective April 30,2009; said existing Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority transitioninginto a new Regional Transit Authority enacted pursuant to Revised Codesections 506.30 506.47 to be known as the Greater CincinnatiRegional Transit Authority [GCRTA]; and

2. The Greater Cincinnati Regional Transit Authority [GCRTA] shall beentrusted with the primary responsibility of providing public transportation


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under one or more modalities of transit service for the benefit of citizens,visitors, businesses, itinerant travelers, and others in Hamilton County,Ohio and adjoining southwest Ohio counties of Butler, Warren andClermont; and

3. Said GCRTA shall assume the legal title of all assets ofSORTA; shallassume, implement and enforce all legal obligations, agreements,

contracts or other existing duties and responsibilities ofSORTA; and shallcontinue in place, shall enforce and be bound by all labor contracts,collective bargaining agreements and shall recognize as the bargainingagent for all represented employees of SORTA, [who shall all be employedby and be a part of said GCRTA], the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local

______; and4. Said GCRTA shall be funded initially with a combination of revenue

sources that include, without limitation, a dedicated 0.3% earnings taxadministered and collected by the City of Cincinnati and paid by individualwage earners who work in Cincinnati regardless of their place ofresidence; farebox revenues; grants; state and federal funds; contractpayments; and

5. Said GCRTA shall be governed by a Board of Directors of not less than 13nor more than 17 representing the four southwest Ohio counties ofHamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont; and such other politicalsubdivisions as said counties shall empower, including as a CharterMember the City of Cincinnati; and

6. Said Board shall initially be comprised of 13 Members serving initialstaggered terms of 4 years and 2 years [with all 2 year term Members tobe replaced, and/or reappointed upon the expiration of said 2 year termfor 4 year terms thereafter] as follows:

a) City of Cincinnati 6 Members, 2 serving 4 year terms and 4

serving 2 year terms;b) Hamilton County 4 Members, 2 serving a 4 year term and 2

serving 2 year terms;c) Butler County 1 Member serving a 4 year term;d) Warren County 1 Member serving a 4 year term;e) Clermont County 1 Member serving a 4 year term; and

7. Said Board and County Membership therein shall be determined asfollows:

a) Each County represented in the Transit System as hereinafterestablished, or evolved, shall be allotted no less than one (1) seatwith full voting and Membership privileges, duties andresponsibilities; and

b) The initial allotment of Board Seats shall be 13, with the possibleexpansion to 17 in the event that said Transit System evolves into amulti-state Transit Commission representing the transit interests of,and providing transit service to, Southeast Indiana [Dearborn


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County] and Northern Kentucky [Boone, Kenton and Campbellcounties]; and

c) The nine (9) At-Large Membership Seats shall be allotted byjurisdiction based upon a funding formula that shall include allrevenues of the Transit Authority and the location of origin of saidrevenue as determined by residence of taxpayer, residence of fare

payer, identity of contract payer by political subdivision, orpopulation/demographic eligibility and impact on allocation of stateor federal funds as determined by County, PROVIDED THAT, eachcounty may elect to subdivide its Board Membership into BoardSeats represented by political subdivision pursuant to act of theCounty Commission, or Judge Executives, as the case may be, or ifa dedicated revenue source shall include a tax imposed by suchpolitical subdivision, Board Membership shall be a right asdetermined by said formula. By way of example and for purposesof explaining the original Board Membership of the GCRTA, the totalfunding [note**these funding percentages are roughapproximations and estimates only] of SORTA includes:

i. Earnings tax 47% [60% paid by county, 40% by cityresidents];

ii.Fare-box revenues 27% [15% by county, 85% by city note:a negligible percentage is paid by Express Run passengers from

Butler, Warren and Clermont counties]iii.Federal and State grants 11% [60% county/40% city

demographic eligibility note: a negligible percentage is basedupon population from Butler, Warren and Clermont counties ]; and

iv.Contract Payments 15% [ Hamilton, Warren, Clermont andButler counties all contract to varying degrees with the totalrevenues representing approximately 15% of total SORTArevenues. Note: on a per-capita basis with Hamilton Countyrepresenting about two thirds of this 15% amount, the totalpercentages and amounts from this source are insufficient toincrease Board Membership in any individual county above their1/13th or 7.7% total]

v.The nine At Large seats shall always be allocated in amanner that appoints such a number of the nine (9) to any

jurisdiction providing more than 50% of the total funding tothe system that will result in that jurisdiction able to have amajority of the Total Board seats in partnership with any one(1) other Member of the system. By way of explanation in

this 13 Board Member configuration seven (7) Membersconstitutes a majority with one (1) Member being the leastallotted to any other jurisdiction. Accordingly, Cincinnati,providing greater than 50% of the funding, must always havea minimum of six (6) Members. Such an analysis yields a pro-rata Board Membership percentage allocation as follows:

City of Cincinnati: 55.12%


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Hamilton County: 38.31%

Butler County: 2.19%

Clermont County: 2.19%

Warren County: 2.19%

Applying these percentages to the nine (9) At-Large Board

Seats reveals that a straight percentage allocation, with

Hamilton County already getting credit for one Board seat

based upon its status as a county, and with Cincinnati

providing greater than 50% of the funding, results in 6 of the

At Large seats allotted to the City of Cincinnati and 3 to

Hamilton County.

[note**The actual percentage, pro-rata breakdown yields roundedpro rata percentages for the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

of: county 39% / Cincinnati 55% calling for a Board makeup of 4

County and 5 City. However, because Hamilton County already

receives one Member automatically and that percentage is not

altered when including the contract to the total, the total Hamilton

County Board Membership as an entity should not exceed 4 total

Members. To account for the total breakdown as impacted by total

financial contributions from county of origin the City of Cincinnati

should receive one additional Board Membership in recognition of

the city providing the vehicle for a dedicated revenue stream]

8. The GCRTA Board shall be charged initially to:a) Operate the bus system operating as Metro throughout the Greater

Cincinnati area as presently exists and as shall be expanded; and

b) Move to implement the series of system and service enhancementspreviously presented to the public under the name Metro Moves;and

c) Operate a system of bus transit service for people with disabilitiesunder the name Access; and

d) Move to implement service enhancements for people withdisabilities including without limitation expanding the area ofservice to cover the entirety of the populated area of Hamilton


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County and to expand the modalities of available service for peoplewith disabilities to include, at a minimum, handicap taxi service;and

e) Negotiate to embrace and include other public transit systems [asmay now exist or as may hereinafter be developed] operatingwithin the four county GCRTA jurisdictional area for the purpose of

developing a larger, integrated system of service by, between andamong the four county jurisdictional area; and

f) Support the development of other modalities of service, includingwithout limitation, local Streetcar, passenger commuter rail, intercity passenger rail; interstate passenger rail, high-speed intercityand interstate passenger rail and, without in any way diminishing orlimiting the generality of the foregoing, support the developmentand implementation of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative [MRRI]and the Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati [via Dayton] [3C and DConnector] passenger rail connector in Ohio; and

g) As an element of working upon the tasks called for in the precedingparagraph, participate in the review of the Regional Rail Plan for the

purpose of determining the viability and relevance of the plan tothe current development of the region and, as appropriate,encourage and/or collaborate with others to either take ownershipover one or more arms of the plan for the purpose of developingand establishing legs of service; and

h) Establish regular lines of communication with area TransportationImprovement Districts, OKI Regional Council of Governments,individual transit systems, and/or others actively involved in thedevelopment of transportation policies and/or systems, for thepurpose of ensuring the coordinated and comprehensivedevelopment of transportation policy and systems serving theregion; and

i) Establish regular lines of communication with area TransportationImprovement Districts, OKI Regional Council of Governments,individual transit systems, and/or others actively involved in thedevelopment of transportation policies and/or systems, for thepurpose of helping in the development of a coordinated and unifiedapproach by the Greater Cincinnati Region toward all hereinafterdeveloped state or federal transit legislation, policies, and billsincluding funding; and

j) Pursue the potential of establishing a multi-state Regional TransitCommission as allowable under Ohio Revised Code sections 506.80-506.90 by December 31, 2010.

9. In the event of the addition of other transit systems as described in thepreceding paragraph and its sub-parts, a new calculation of financialcontributions and by county shall be completed and the impact of such acalculation of Board representation shall also be calculated with anyattendant changes to be made effective the first day of January in theyear immediately following such calculation. In the event such acalculation calls for the addition of one or more members for any county


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and/or the loss of one or more members for any county, the countycommission of judge executives, as the case may be, shall determinewhat such change[s] shall be.

10.The Board of Trustees of the Authority shall elect a Chair who shall serveat the pleasure of the Board.

11.The Board shall meet in Open Public Meetings at regular intervals of at

least one meeting per month and at such other times as the Chair maycall, or that two other Members may call.

12.The Board shall keep Minutes of its meetings and adequate records of allof its actions and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Ohio and,procedurally, shall operate under Roberts Rules of Procedure.

13.Vacancies on the Board shall be filled in the same manner as originalappointments.

This RESOLUTION has been ADOPTED at a regularly scheduled meeting of the

Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton County, Ohio on this _____ day of

_________, 2008.

__________________ ____________________ ___________________

Todd Portune David Pepper Pat DeWine

President of the Board Vice-President of the Board County

Commissioner


Board of County Commissioners of Butler County, Ohio on this _____ day of

_________, 2008.

__________________ ____________________ _____________________


Board of County Commissioners of Warren County, Ohio on this _____ day of

_________, 2008.

__________________ __________________ _________________


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Board of County Commissioners of Clermont County, Ohio on this _____ day of

_________, 2008.

__________________ __________________ __________________


Cincinnati City Council of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio on this _____ day of

_________, 2008.

______________________

Mark Mallory

Mayor, City of Cincinnati

Members of Council:

______________________ ___________________ __________________

David Crowley Jeff Berding Chris Bortz

______________________ ___________________ __________________

John Cranley Laketa Cole Leslie Ghiz

______________________ ___________________ __________________


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Chris Monzel Cecil Thomas Roxanne Q

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