Amelia: Don’t need it
Hello, my name is Johnny Parsons. I am a business man and resident in Amelia. I would like to summarize my view of Amelia government in a three-word editorial: Don’t need it. I encourage everyone in Amelia to vote YES to dissolve.
Thank you. And if you forgot my editorial, let me repeat it in full: Don’t need it.
Johnny Parsons
Amelia
Scare tactics in Amelia
The mayor and his council are once again touting scare tactics and spreading lies in a weak attempt to save what is clearly an unnecessary level of government. The village is no longer a sustainable entity as its residents and businesses will continually need to be taxed more and more to keep up with costs that are already covered by the surrounding townships. Voting YES to dissolve does not make the village itself go away. Your neighbors will still be your neighbors. There will still be community events. A village is its residents, not its government. Police, fire, and other services will still be provided – and more professionally. The parks will still be there.
Will you lose anything? Yes. You will lose a government that is willing to spend like drunken sailors with your tax dollars and then when the money runs low impose an income tax on you without your say so. You will lose a government that has no interest in what you would like to see happen in your community but instead want to tell you what you need – more homes instead of new businesses, less green space. A government willing to change the rules on you via ordinance when they don’t want you to ruin their plans. A government that imposes measures by emergency over 90 percent of the time. You lose a government that does not want to hear from you. You lose a solicitor that clearly works for the mayor and council and NOT for, nor in the best interest of, the village residents. Last year it was a real honor to see the community come together.
Everyone was mad that we were burdened by an income tax that we had no say in. Together we all voted in the charter amendment to give us back our voice. So I know we don’t need this government for us to be a village. Let’s AX this TAX, let’s fix this MESS, VOTE YES TO SURRENDER THE CORPORATE POWERS.
Let’s solve Amelia, DISSOLVE Amelia!
Gary Kelley
Amelia
Candidates not prepared for Amelia as a city
This time of year brings elections and in all honesty, I have been attentive in past years, but this year is different because we have Mayor Hart in the village of Amelia along with his council, who continue to make their living passing emergency ordinances in order to shut the residents out from challenging council’s “yay” votes. This includes a 1 percent income tax to all those who live and work in the village of Amelia without credit given to those who pay income tax to other cities like Cincinnati, or in my case Covington, Kentucky. The mayor and council blindsided the village residents, without offering to bring it up for discussion – which is a clear violation of the Ohio Sunshine Laws, yet he likes to go on TV news and pass blame back to the residents.
Again, I did my due diligence as everyone should and spent the afternoon listening to the candidates who were campaigning to “be elected” into council and mayor. I asked about education and qualifications; one has no background and two abruptly left council previously, deserting the residents. No one has a degree in anything, let alone a finance degree. I listened to their plan but nothing was concrete, all speculation, as they would have to go through the books and see what the audit brings and what to cut but wanted to add, add, and add which rang higher taxes in my head.
My biggest, most terrifying fear: If the village does NOT dissolve and we become a city, these candidates are NOT prepared to take on that huge scale a city creates. I do not want to be a guinea pig while they learn – using my tax dollars. Amelia has $3.2 million in debt and a $7.99-mill school levy on March 17, 2020, and I cannot continue spewing money to either an irresponsible mayor or an under-qualified group of candidates.
The way I look at things, I live in the village of Amelia, under the umbrella of Pierce Township. Why should I pay taxes to the village when I am also paying taxes (via property taxes) to Pierce Township whose trustees have degrees in finance and I personally find their resumes impeccable? Batavia and Piece Townships have plans in place to provide higher quality police (who know the law), with better preparedness and equipment, closer fire protection, better road maintenance, better finance experience and guidance with better organization. Face it: we will have a voice with votes within townships (Batavia and Pierce) that truly work for the people. We do not need this WASTED, level of government.
Thank you.
Gail D.
Amelia
Dirty Dozen
I am a resident of Amelia. We are fighting to take back our rights and eliminate a waistful government entity. The city of Amelia has been corrupted. The mayor and city counsel are governing by emergency ordinance. My understanding is that an emergency ordinance is meant to deal with a public safety emergency, such as fire station roof collapsing. However, this village is using emergency ordinances for everyday business, because it circumvents the voting process in the community. Examples of emergency ordinances include purchasing playground equipment, a pay raise for the mayor’s secretary, and the creation of an income tax.
One of the reasons I moved to Amelia was to escape the local income tax from the city of Cincinnati. This new tax was created six months after I purchased my house. If I had known there was going to be a tax, I would have purchased in a different neighborhood. I am concerned that the creation of this tax will hurt my property values. No local income tax is one of the biggest draws to buying property in Amelia. Now, I am regretting my purchase. That is a very large purchase to regret.
There have even been incidences of the mayor and his police bullying people to take down signs advocating the dissolution…
Then we also have current city administrators sharing misleading/inaccurate information as scare tactics.
There are a dozen people that do not want the dissolution, because they will loose their power and their jobs. Excluding the dirty dozen, the dissolution is the best thing for everyone in the community.
Jeff Washburn
Amelia