Early Voting has started, I won't be voting for Ms. Vargo - even though she is my favorite Council Member.

Although she is my favorite council member, I can't vote for Jan Vargo in the primary election May 5th and is underway now in Early Voting.  Here is one reason why.
 
In 2002/2003 the City spent about $8 million dollars to build the Carriage Trails Parkway Connector. In 2007 the City entered the initial Development Agreement with DEC Land Co, LLC.  One of the objectives of that agreement was to ensure the special assessments designed to pay for the Connector would be paid.  In 2014 the City still owed $7.2 million dollars on the Carriage Trails Connector Bond.  Since the initial Development agreement there have been 14 amendments where the City has provided supplements to the development resulting in the City borrowing an additional $10.2 million dollars. 
 
This month council was asked to approve a 15th amendment.  This amendment asked the City to provide $15,500 per lot in supplements.  Last meeting 6 council members voted to approve this supplement.   The result is that today in 2015 the City now has $18 million dollars in debt as a direct result of these council members' attempt to make it possible to pay for the $8 million dollar Carriage Trails connector.
 
See my other article on this supplement.
 
In the last Administration Committee meeting we started to have a discussion on the merits of offering this one developer a supplement that we don't offer to the other developers in the City.  During that meeting we received a commitment for more background information that would help us make an intelligent decision on whether it was economically advantageous to continue these supplement.  That information was not provided prior to this vote or even asked for by the 6 members of council that voted yes to continuing these supplements.   
 
The discussion that did occur during the council meeting pointed to reasons not to approve the supplements.  For instance there were two references to the TIF district ending in 19 years.  The first point was that we have to wait 19 years before the money that normally goes into the police and fire funds will go back to going into those funds.  Although the money for the supplement can't be put back into the police and fire funds directly if we don't spend it on the supplement we could use it to keep our roads, our  sewers and our waterlines strong.  By using this money in this way it is less likely we will need to use General Fund money to support roads, sewers and waterlines.  Not needing General Fund money for these purposes makes that General Fund money available to pay Police and Fire and every other City need. 
 
The second  point considering the remaining 19 year life of the TIF; Council should have required staff to show that we will pay off the debt.  Here is what I'm looking at using back of the envelop calculations.  The city plans to supplement each house with $15,500.  Even with no funding fees, with a 3.92% interest rate it will cost the city $22,000 in principle and interest.  If the average house pays $3000 a year in property tax and 65% of the property tax goes to the School then the City  will get about $1050 a year from that property to go into the TIF fund.  In 19 years this means the city will collect $19,950 in order to pay the $22,000 of debt. 
 
During the discussion the assistant city manage also made the comment that, "We get City income tax from all the folks up there."  This is not accurate, we only get this income tax if the folks that live up there do not work in a city with an income tax.  There is also the possibility that the residents in the house do not generate any income (retirees for example).  In these cases these properties may not generate any income tax or any property tax to the city.  The only monetary contribution to the City would be the TIF payments.  But looking at the earlier paragraph it may turn out that the TIF payment may not even cover the cost of the supplement we used in order to supplement the building of the house.   
 
During the discussion the Assistant City Manager in one of his sentences he inferred that providing this supplement through TIF was preferable, "Instead of the Water fund putting in all the infrastructure."  The fact is the city does not use the Water Fund to put in the water and sewer lines for any other development in the City. 
 
Finally, the Assistant City Manager mentioned that "Certain amount of infrastructure funds that are available to the developer." beyond the funds that Council members approved last Monday.  Yet not one member of Council asked about these funds, how they will be spent, the amount of funds or if that commitment could be used to do this work.     
 
Last Monday night Ms. Vargo volunteered that if the process isn't broken then why fix it.  Just the fact that we've managed to convert an $8 million dollar project into $18 million dollars of debt strongly suggests that we should be taking a hard look at the process.  Yet I get no support from Ms Vargo in compelling staff to bring to committee meetings useful and accurate information that would help those of us that are capable of understanding the financial trade-offs to help council make smart choices that will help move this city forward.   
 
If the process isn't broken .......... but what if the process is broken?  For me that means deciding which of these three candidates I will be voting for on May 5th. 
 
 
Jaclynn Shook Matthew Truman Glenn Otto
US Air Force Strategic Analyst, Lean processes and application; USAF Contracting Officer, CPCM Senior Combat Medic US Army, Charge Nurse at The Laurels Insurance agent and member of the Board of Zoning Appeals for the City of Huber Heights, and was the Vice Chair of the Ordinance Review Commission in 2010

 
Please check out the Council at Large Candidate forum.  This is a Youtube recording of the forum held last week.   
 
 
Also look at the Dayton Daily News Voter Guide  use your own address.  This will build your individual ballot - for example the Miami County residents will get a ballot that shows three issues (Council at Large, Huber Heights Income Tax, Bethel Schools Levy) while the Montgomery County residents see a ballot with 2 items (Council at Large, Huber Heights Income Tax)
 
 

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