I received my water bill, this month and it has doubled, I have no leaks, and I do not understand why my bill has doubled for this last cycle, does anyone have any suggestions!

Wednesday July 2 any time between 7:00 to 8:30 am, if you are willing to sit down and talk with me for 5 minutes, I'll buy you a donut and a cup of tea at Tim Hortons Donuts. 
 
Marylin laughs and tells me I'll be lucky if there are four people in all of Huber Heights that want to sit down and talk politics at 7:00 o'clock in the morning.  I do the math in my head and think, "that leaves 8 donuts for me --…

I thought I would re-post this article:

We're pleased to announce that the Summer Crisis Program, which provides electric bill payment assistance to eligible families, will  begin Tuesday, July 1 and continue through Sunday, Aug. 31, or until funds are depleted. Community Action Partnership will provide assistance to households with incomes up to 175 percent of the 2014 Federal Poverty Guidelines…

I walked into the Ward 3 meeting this evening and I caught the last of the discussion where a friend of mine bought up the balances shown in 2014 budget projection of the  balances for the Unencumbered Cash in the General, Police and Fire funds. 
 
If you attend the Ward meetings or listen to the City's 2025 plan you will hear that the city has been on average running a $2.3 million deficit…

___Update____ 15 July 2014 ___ Tomorrow is last day to ensure T-Shirt ___ Also read about post race lunch_________

I received this message via my Mayor's email address from Sheri Combs
 

From the Administration Committee meeting Tuesday Jun 17, 2014.
 
Council intends to add an additional $1 million to the Music Center construction cost Monday night. The two additions are a VIP Tent / reception / parking area and upgrades to the concession stands. 
The VIP tickets may be presented to sponsors, purchasers of box seats and possibly season ticket holders.  Additional to the…

Last Monday night's council meeting highlights one of my main frustrations.  I've been stating specific instances where we could be making better decisions, for instance Monday I pointed out that we are telling people, "pass the levy or we will have to cut police and fire", yet we've committed to opening the Music Center even though we haven't got one dime in the budget to advertise concerts,…

I've posted the notes I used when I spoke Monday.  I follow that with the observations I passed to city staff concerning the management agreement.  Also local media outlets attended the council meeting.  I'll be posting links as I find them.  

Here is the WDTN report:  http://wdtn.com/2014/06/09/city-approves-company-to-run-huber-hgts-music-center/    Here is the WHIO.com report

Watch the video…

Chief Ashworth passed council the notice below concerning disaster relief for the May 21-22 flooding.

Release Date:  June 6, 2014                                                                             Contact:  Michael Lampton
Release Number: 14-253, OH 14019/14020                                               Email: Michael.Lampton@sba.gov…

The agenda and read ahead for Monday's General session are on the City Website.  The two main items I hope you read and consider providing input on are the Ballot Ordinance for the November Income Tax Levy and the Music Center Management Contract.
 
Remember if you chose to speak Monday Night you have two options.  When filling out the request to speak you can chose to do it as Citizen…

In case you missed it, below you can find the letter to the editor I wrote and was printed in the Huber Heights Courier.  Twice already this week I've heard the City Manager say that it would be irresponsible too commit to buiding a Firehouse, yet in the same week he recommends we sign a $225,000 dollar a year, unbreakable for ten years, contract to a management company to run the Music Center.
…

City Manager Rob Schommer passed us this report from Chief Ashworth:

The Big News was the flooding that occurred Wednesday night. We recently 
upgraded some of our aging equipment and increased our training which clearly paid off. We 
did, however, ran out of staffing even after calling in overtime and had to prioritize calls. 
Fortunately there were no injuries nor loss of life. Here is a breakdown of the events…

Here is a heads up that shortly the city should announce a couple of specially added meetings to next week's schedule both on Tuesday:

Looks like at 5:00 pm the Administration Committee will meet to discuss the Music Center management contract.  This will be the first time council members get to see it and it will allow for discussion in two committee meetings.  I commend Mr. Schommer and Mr. Campbell for giving us this…

Enter a street number, street name, city, zip code, owner name or parcel id…

Tuesday the Administration Committee meeting contained a brief referred to as the city's 2025 plan.  The plan was explained during the May 12th Live Chat.  A recording of the Live Chat is presented on YouTube.  I've posted a link to that presentation at the end of this article.  I recommend watching. 

The key plus of this brief is that the proposed tax levy is now expected to be .25% instead…

I received this email message from Col Barlow

Mayors and City Managers, It's official!  We have received official approval from the Air Force to open our pools to the Miami Valley Community.  As many of you know, this is something that has been in the works since last September and I'm glad that we are at a point where we can now execute a plan. While we are still working some logistic issues,…

Hello Mayor Tom,

Below is a link to a petition I created to allow the raising of backyard chickens in Huber Heights. I am aware of the code but wanted to take the pulse of the community to see if it's worth the time to try to amend the ordinance.  Gauging from the response to the petition, it is apparent that many citizens in our community have an interest in raising chickens for fresh eggs. The petition has already reached 50 signatures in less than 24…

The main point of the article I intend to write is a lesson learned for all future Mayor's.  If you get elected and you have a political rival on Council you should initiate a conversation sooner than 4 months into office.  Believe it or not 4 months into office and even though I have been sincere in my offer to sit down and talk I hadn't taken the initiative and arranged that conversation.
…

Council meets tomorrow, Monday April 14, 2014.  I expect it to be a long meeting with plenty of entertainment value.  This is a pleasant way of saying last week was particularly frustrating.  I'm also disappointed that again this week,  I didn't get the opportunity to post responses to outstanding questions.  I will address at least one in this article.  Remember you can watch the meeting…

I received an email indicating On Monday, April 14th, the Bethel school board will have open forum discussion from 6-6:50PM at the High School Library.  It will be followed by a regular school board meeting at 7:00 pm.  Below you can find a notice about a May 4th presentation on the preliminary planning for the new school facilities. Below that is a picture of the proposed site.
 

UPDATE:  Tuesday the Administration Committee voted to nominate Mr. Schommer for permanent City Manager.  The process the voting members of the Administration Committee implemented last Tuesday was to tell Mr. Schommer to meet with the City Attorney and construct a contract.  He was told to have it ready for Monday's Council meeting so the full council could vote on it.  The committee did not give either Mr.
…

Well, I got paid again last month so I thought I should write out a little of what's been going on.  This month I'll talk about the dichotomy of cats and trailers, the difference in my in audience perception of the Council Presiding Officer and my performance as the Presiding officer. Why I'm glad to see both community blogs and letters to the editor.  I also think I should outline what…

Thomas and I have been playing some tennis.  Makes me wonder if there is a group here in Huber that plays.  The schools have new tennis courts so that will free up the Thomas Cloud Courts a lot more this summer.  It would be nice to join a group that has a tennis challenge ladder system.  If there isn't such a group are you interested in being part of a group that plays?

If you don't know…

Before I talk about my congressional ambitions........

Upcoming Events

April 1^st – Early/Absentee Voting Begins

April 7^th – Registration deadline [9pm] for Primary Election (you can register to vote and vote on the same day until April 7th)

May 6^th – Primary Election
 

Montgomery County Board of Elections	Miami County Board of Elections
Address for early voting: 451 W. Third Street

…

Did you see this message from Interim City Manger Rob Schommer?

I looks like the reason houses in Carriage Trails sell so fast is because the city is paying for a lot of the construction costs.  Is this smart since some of the money the city is using would normally go to pay for police and fire service?  Is this a smart choice since we have other builders in town willing to pay all their taxes?  Do the houses in Carriage Trails contribute more to the tax base or are the services they receive being paid for by other sections of Huber…

The nice thing about renting is that you don't have to worry about foreclosure, right? Not necessarily. Many tenants have come home to see a notice of foreclosure on their front door. Of course the responsibility falls on the landlord but the situation is also stressful to renters who are unsure of what they need to do now.

Understandably, renters who receive a notice of foreclosure might question whether they need to be worried.
…

Wednesday the Harlem Wizards will play School Staff and Community leaders in a fund raising game for Huber Heights City Schools.  I'll be there in a Jersey and I plan to score at least 4 points.  This means I'll be taking at least 70 shots (so don't tell any of my teammates I'd hate to get benched before we even start).   

 
Come out Monday and hear what could be the last discussion before contract award of the new Thomas Cloud concession stand and…