Thanks for joining me on my latest update ...
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Important Upcoming Dates for Township Residents
ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD LARGE ITEM PICK UP
The Annual Household Large Item Pick Up for Township residents will begin on Monday, September 8, 2008.
Crews will provide one (1) pass through the community. To avoid being missed, the Public Works Manager requires all items placed at the curb or edge of the road by SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7. This service is available to Township residents only and all are invited to take advantage of this program.
COLLECTIBLE ITEMS: washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers, furniture, bundled books and magazines, empty 55 gallon drums, toys, bikes, empty containers, carpeting, mattresses and bed springs, and small loose material that is placed in some type of container other than plastic bags. Brush will be picked up, please place in an organized pile along the roadway, but not in the road.
ITEMS WHICH WILL NOT BE PICKED UP: Refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, liquid of any kind, earth, auto parts, batteries, fuel oil tanks, tires, vehicles, construction or building materials, leaves, grass, garden refuse, garbage bags, iron or steel pipe, tree stumps, boats, manufactured waste, garage doors, and newspapers.
BRUSH PICK UP
Sylvania Township Road Department offers a semi-annual Brush Pickup for Township residents, in April and September. The next scheduled Brush pickup is Monday, September 8, 2008, BRUSH ONLY, no grass clipping, leaves or other solid waste. Do not place brush piles in the roadway or gutter area. This is considered unlawful and creates a liability to the property owner. If additional help is required, call a landscape / waste hauling company.
We also provide a “Free Drop Off” facility, Clean Wood Recycling, 6505 West Bancroft Street, between I-475 and McCord Road, for all Township residents, zip code information is required. Hours of operation change throughout the year.
LEAF PICKUP SCHEDULE UPDATE
The Township starts Leaf Pick Up in mid October and continues through mid December, performed on a patrol basis. One cycle through the Township requires 3 weeks, then crews start over again performing additional cycles. Depending on weather conditions, our goal is to perform at least three (3) pickup cycles. Leaves should be placed at the curb side or along the edge of the street and free of brush and garden waste. PLEASE DO NOT PLACE LEAVES IN THE STREET OR IN PLASTIC BAGS!
Inclement weather and temporary equipment failure creates difficulty to predict the location of crews at any specific time.
Just compensation
A recent Toledo Blade article took umbrage with the raises that we gave some of our administrative staff recently, particular our administrator, Mr. Thomas. While I wince at having an employee's salary subject to such open analysis because a person's income is generally a personal and private topic not subject to public scrutiny, the reality is that all of our employees are fully aware that this information is public record and is turned over to anyone who asks. That being said, I have no problem discussing my part in the decision to award these raises.
First, let's get some facts straight that the Blade did not: prior to July 1, 2008, Mr. Thomas received $105,000 annual salary plus $450 per month in a car allowance, for a total W-2 compensation package of $110,400. During our recent annual review for Mr. Thomas, we rolled his car allowance in to his salary and increased the total package to $125,000. Thus, he received a 13% raise, not 19% that the Blade reported.
The Blade takes great pains to point out several townships that pay less than we do, as well as noting that a couple of large townships do not have an administrator. One of those townships without an administrator, Marion Township in Marion County, actually has only 20% of its population (fewer than 10,000 people) in the unincorporated part of the township; the rest is located within the city of Marion which has its own separate government just as the City of Sylvania does. The other, Beavercreek Township, has only 3,000 out of a total population of 41,000 in the unincorporated portion of the township. These are hardly valid comparisons to Sylvania which has over 25,000 residents outside the City of Sylvania, but they certainly where useful in making it look like we are paying our administrator too much.
But beyond those two example, according to the Center for Public Management and Regional Affairs at Miami University (link: http://data.cpmra.muohio.edu/salary/2007Data/07data.htm), the following are administrator salaries from some of the larger townships in Ohio for 2006 and 2007:
- Colerain - $118,955 (Largest Township)
- West Chester - $121,900 (3rd Largest Township)
- Washington - $108,530 (4th Largest Township)
- Anderson - $117,157 (9th Largest Township)
- Union - $125,000 (11th Largest Township)
- Deerfield - $109,507 (32nd Largest Township)
- Harrison - $115,000 (33rd Largest Township)
Not included in the above numbers may be additional perks such as a car allowance, additional retirement allocations, or factors such as experience and education of the administrator. Also, I am not familiar with what services these townships provide; not all townships have their own police, fire, etc., while others have recreation, parks and the like.
Mr. Thomas has brought to the township a new level of professionalism, management, and oversight, providing valuable guidance and strategic direction to the trustees. No longer are our labor contracts negotiated without the assistance of an attorney; no longer do we simply sign off on any building permit or development proposal that is brought in to our zoning department; no longer do we simply add 3% to last year's budget and ignore the budget until next year; no longer do we ignore the budget impact of labor negotiations.
Should we become one city?
As you may have heard in local media, petitions have been filed and accepted by the Lucas County Board of Elections in order to put a proposed merger commission on the November ballot. What exactly does this mean?
Proponents of the merger commission are quick to tell me that 'this is not a merger, this is not a tax'. In other words, what we will be voting on in November will be whether or not the community wishes to further discuss the idea of a merger between Sylvania Township and the City of Sylvania; we are not voting on an actual merger or income tax. If the merger commission is approved by a majority in both the township and the city, the commission will then be in charge making a proposal of how the two governments could merge including how the government would be funded. The time line for this process is quite long, and could take several years if this merger commission is approved.
While this may just be a discussion of if and how we would want to merge, the argument that we would not be voting on a tax is a bit specious. First, all of the studies that have been done that 'support' a merger include the incorporation of an income tax. In fact, it is the income tax which they point to which will allow the new potential city to reduce our property taxes. In addition it is within Ohio law itself that says any municipality may impose an income tax of up to 1% without voter approval. So even if the proposed structure doesn't include an income tax, the new city can impose one at its option without going to the voters as is typical of any tax increase.
Many have asked what am I, as a township trustee, going to do to oppose the merger. First, be clear that this is a citizen movement - neither the township nor the city have taken an active or official role in this process, though individual elected officials may have been involved. It is for the citizens to decide at this point.
For me personally, I am not convinced that becoming part of a city is the right thing for Sylvania Township. There are advantages to living in a township that will disappear if we become a city. At the same time, there are limitations to the township form of government that cities do not struggle with. So far, I think the benefits of living in a township outweigh the negatives.
But according to a recent email from Pam Haynam on the subject of merger: "It is a unique opportunity for Sylvania to decide its future." I certainly hope that if the township declines the merger commission, the vote will indeed be interpreted as a decision about the township's future and not simply disregarded as indecision or lack of understanding.
7510 Wind River Drive - UPDATE (AGAIN)
Sylvania Township has been served with an appeal by the owners of the property at 7510 Wind River Drive against our order to have the structure removed. The appeal has been assigned to Judge Linda Jennings of the Lucas County Common Pleas Court. At this point, I am not sure what the next step for the Township is. This is a process which we have never undertaken before, so we are proceeding as quickly as possible but within our legal authority.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
