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.
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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.
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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

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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.
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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…

I've heard at least 5 plausible reasons why the school agreed to the Alcore and Family Dollar TIF's and why they are not joining me in asking for the legislation to be changed. I want the legislation changed so the schools receive 100% of what they would normally receive from the taxpayer passed levies and inside millage.  I'm not going to try and guess which of these 5 explanations are…

The agenda's for next weeks committee meetings have been published.  The read aheads for the Public Safety and Public Works Committees can be found on the City WebSite here.  The most interesting item so far is the Energy Aggregation item.  

Aggregation is when a group of customers join together to form a single, larger customer that buys energy for its members.  Read the pamphlet, found as…

I received the first pay stub for a direct deposit of my Mayor pay. 
 
As with last month I did receive a free meal as part of my attending the Mayors and Managers monthly meeting.  If you are in Oakwood I'd highly recommend Flyboy's Deli.  The Mayor's and Managers meeting included an interesting presentation about GE's involvement in the Dayton community.  Unlike last month where there were two other free meals this was the only one in…

There is a proposed tree cutting ordinance.  One interesting item is that if you fail to comply it could result in your being charged with a minor misdemeanor.  
 

Click here to view the announcement for the first of many “Coffee and Conversation” sessions hosted by interim city manager Rob Schommer.  The first will be Thursday February 27 from 10:00 to 11:00 at the Senior Center.  Many other sessions will be held at different locations in the community.

 

Check out this event and RSVP (not required) on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/#!/…

This article did not produce the results I was expecting.  I was hoping when I wrote it someone would have relayed the message I was trying to convey in this excerpt of the council meeting video.  This is the same message I was trying to convey in the flier I produced prior to the meeting and it is the same message I've produced below.

For the record, I appreciate the words of sympathy from…

Last night at the council meeting there was a long discussion on a number of issues: Rules of Council, the Election materials, City Attorney

My wife tells me that for most of the night my mannerisms and speaking ability made it impossible for people to get any of points I was trying to make.

Do you remember if there was anything that came across other than style?

Tom McMasters
Mayor of Huber Heights

I received the following email messages form the City Manager concerning a hazzardous condition on Taylorsville rd between State Route 201 and Bellefontaine Rd .

Bottom line up front --when reading this post it is important to know:
1.  Currently according to Roberts Rules of Order the Mayor is a voting member of every committee and eligible to be named or elected as chair of any of the committees (Clarifying information: former Mayors have chosen not to exercise these privileges).
2.  The proposed changes to the Rules of Council not only eliminates the Mayor’s committee vote but also eliminates all other authority previously given the…

The agenda items for the Public Works and Administration Committee meetings Tuesday Feb 18, 2014 are available.  The Public Works meeting has a few items that some residents should be interested in.  There is an update on the progress to the Thomas Cloud Restroom / Concession stand construction project on the agenda.  This should include a timeline of milestone events.  The read aheads for the…

Help me out.  One of the last decisions to be made concerning the Music Center is how it will be managed.  This is important because it is likely that operating costs will be paid from the General Fund.  Council hasn't done a good job telling us how much the center could lose or make over the next couple of years but we do know that there probably is a $200,000 to $400,000 difference depending…

Mark Campbell made some comments last council meeting.  I'm tempted to characterize them but you can watch them yourself.  Below the video I've pulled forward a couple of the articles where I've written my thoughts on the use of Emergency Legislation.  I've also posted the text of some email traffic where I've tried to engage council on the issue. 

For those of you that have been to this post…

Why not?   The job comes with a paycheck!




PERS is the contribution to the retirement system
MED should be medicaid contributions
OH is the state income tax
HUB is the city income tax

Anyone know off the top of their heads what FWTM supports?

Beyond the paycheck, in January the job also included dinners / food when I attended the Chamber of Commerce event, a Mayor and Managers meeting,…

I know this may sound crazy but my wife and I are being harassed and terrorized. For over 2 years this has been going on and we cannot get nobody to help us. For the last 8 months they have been putting some kind of gas into our home. I have talked to the police a Lt. McMillan and the FBI advised us to talk to the police chief but that was impossible to do no one will help. I have asthma and this is not doing me any good and who knows what other health problems may come from this.
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This note came from the city manager:

Greetings All,

 

Republic has delayed pick-up by one day.  They are conducting a “blast-call” to their customers for notification purposes.  Just letting you know in case you are asked by a resident.  Thanks.

The City Manager just sent out a message concerning the committee meetings tonight:

"Due to the imminent weather coming into our area, the committee meetings originally scheduled for tonight, February 4th have been CANCELLED.  This includes the Public Works Committee and Administration Committee.
 
The most recent forecasts show areas of heavy snow between 5pm and 7pm which might create…

Change the way HH city does business…"random" survey's should not be "random" if residents want to participate in a survey but are told they cannot because the survey was/is random.  OPEN government is not conducting a random survey then using the results of that survey to make policy! Let's see an open call to ALL residents (taxpayers and others), property owners and renters alike!