All,

See the e-mail below I just received concerning the Ohio Commission on Local 
Government Reform & Collaboration. They are in our part of the state this 
Friday for their monthly meeting. Please feel free to attend and/or comment 
to Tom Weidman or this commission. This is our opportunity to have our 
opinions heard.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I am hoping to re-arrange my 
schedule in order to attend.

Sincerely,
Christine Matacic
Liberty Township Trustee
(513) 779-2659
(513) 652-2659 - cell



> ---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
> Subject: Ohio Commission on Local Government Reform and Collaboration
> From:    "TOM WEIDMAN" <[log in to unmask]>
> Date:    Mon, September 21, 2009 2:16 am
> To:      "TOM WEIDMAN" <[log in to unmask]>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> NOTICE TO TOWNSHIP ELECTED OFFICIALS
>
>
>
>
>
> As you know, Ohio HB 521 was passed into law last year which created the
> Ohio Commission on Local Government Reform and Collaboration to develop
> recommendations on reforming and restructuring local government in Ohio.
> The bill was modeled after a similar one in Indiana which formed the 
> Indiana
> Commission on Local Government Reform.  If you are familiar with that
> report, you know that the final recommendations of the Indiana Commission
> included eliminating all of the townships in Indiana and creating a metro
> form of government controlled by the County Commissioners.
>
>
>
> The Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House 
> each
> appointed 3 members to the Commission along with an individual 
> representing
> each of the following organizations:
>
>
>
> (1)  Ohio Township Association
>
> (2)  Ohio Municipal League
>
> (3)  Ohio School Board Association
>
> (4)  Ohio Library Council
>
> (5)  County Commissioner Association of Ohio
>
> (6)  Ohio Council of Regional Councils
>
>
>
> The Commission is made up of 15 total members.
>
>
>
> As a longtime outspoken critic on the runaway cost of local government and
> the economic burden it has on Ohio taxpayers and small businesses, I was
> fortunate to be one of the three appointees to this commission by Senate
> President Bill Harrris.
>
>
>
> The commission members have worked hard to develop goals and objectives 
> for
> the commission, which will ultimately help us to report our findings and
> recommendations to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House 
> of
> Representatives, and the Governor by July 1, 2010. The Commission has been
> holding their meetings along with Public Hearings around the state and our
> Public Hearing in Southwest Ohio is scheduled for Friday, September 25th 
> at
> 10:30am in Sycamore Township.
>
>
>
> I am writing to encourage you to participate in our public hearing 
> locally.
> We are anxious to hear from local government officials about successful
> programs and collaborative agreements they have put in place to reduce the
> cost of local government, and can be models for other government entities
> throughout the state.  We are also keenly aware that there are statutory
> obstacles to cooperation and collaboration between local government
> entities, and we would also like to hear from you if you have experienced 
> or
> identified any of these obstacles as well.
>
>
>
> Ohio is ranked as the ninth highest state in the U.S. when it comes to the
> cost of local government.  With the cost of local government at these high
> levels, it drives businesses out of the state and makes it extremely
> difficult to attract new businesses and jobs to Ohio.
>
>
>
> The commission wants to hear your ideas and suggestions on how we can
> increase the efficiency and effectiveness of local government, and in 
> turn,
> achieve cost savings for taxpayers and facilitate economic development in
> the State of Ohio.
>
>
> For your convenience, I have attached to this email a copy of the meeting
> notice, a meeting and public hearing agenda, and directions to the site of
> the Public Hearing in Sycamore Township.  I would strongly urge you to 
> come
> and take part in the Public Hearing and participate in making Ohio more
> competitive by reducing the tax burden for our residents and businesses.
>
>
>
> For those of us that are elected officials in townships, we are keenly 
> aware
> that townships are the most efficient form of government we have in Ohio,
> and much can be learned from the way we operate our townships in a 
> fiscally
> responsible manner.  We also know that it is the counties and not the
> townships that are continuing to struggle with budgets that eliminate 
> basic
> services and erode public safety.
>
>
>
> While I have continued to tout the effectiveness and efficiency of 
> township
> government within the commission, we have already had one city mayor at 
> our
> first Public Hearing in Columbus suggest that townships serve no 
> significant
> purpose, they duplicate services that cities already provide, and they
> should be eliminated by being incorporated into cities.
>
>
>
> In Butler, Warren, Clermont and Hamilton counties, we clearly have some of
> the largest and most efficient townships in all of Ohio.  This Public
> Hearing allows for all of us to be heard and I hope you will attend and
> speak up about the importance of township government in Ohio.
>
>
>
> It is not necessary for you to reserve a space for this Public Hearing but
> if you know you are coming to participate, it would be helpful for us to
> know so we can plan the day accordingly.  Also, if you would like to
> participate but have a small window of opportunity to do so that day, 
> please
> let me know and I will try to make sure that you are given an opportunity
> during the time you are available.   The Public Hearing will start after 
> our
> 10:30am commission meeting and will probably go until sometime in the
> mid-afternoon.   Feel free to email me at [log in to unmask] or leave me a
> message at my office at 489-1350 and let me know if you are planning to
> attend.
>
>
>
> Thanks a lot and I look forward to seeing you on Friday.
>
>
>
> Tom Weidman
>
> President, Sycamore Township Trustees
>
>
>
> www.ohioreformandcollaboration.org
>
>
>
> PS Please pass this notice on to other elected officials in your community
> as we did not have everyone's email address.
>
>
>
>