John Plahovinsak
Recently, there were several news stories on WCPO Channel 9 and in the Cincinnati Enquirer concerning the plight of disabled veterans residing in Hamilton County. WCPO 9 Reporter and Air Force Veteran Craig McKee uncovered the story and he should get full credit for his investigation.
In a quick summary, if you were a veteran in either Clermont, Butler or Warren Counties, you were receiving more or a better quality of your earned benefits, than a veteran residing in nearby Hamilton County by its’ Veterans Service Commission (VSC).
Statistics, compiled by the Ohio Department of Veterans Services (ODVS), indicated that there are 41,199 veterans currently residing in Hamilton County and 12,255 veterans residing in Clermont County.
The glaring facts, uncovered by Air Force veteran McKee, speak for themselves. The Clermont County VSC, in 2022, spent $2,076,790 serving disabled veterans. The Butler County VSC spent $1,880,182 in 2022. In direct contrast, the Hamilton County VSC, in the same time period, spent only $930,691 in providing veteran services.
According to Ohio Law, generally each of the eighty-eight (88) counties in the state, receives .5 mils of their property value to be used exclusively for veterans’ services. Consequently, larger counties, based on their property value, receive a larger share of funds than smaller counties.
In 2022, the Hamilton County VSC was allocated $7,084,700 to spend on veterans’ services. It spent less than nineteen (19%) percent of the allowable expenditure or $930,691 on veteran services.
Where did the over $6 million dollars go, that was allocated but not spend on veterans’ services by the VSC? No, not returned to the county taxpayers, but forwarded to the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners for their projects and programs, many not related to disabled veterans.
Over the last five (5) years, the Hamilton County VSC returned over thirty-one ($31,000,000) million dollars to the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners that could have been used for veterans’ services.
It appears now that the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners are now aware of the situation and are investigating it. For example, Commissioner Denise Driehaus indicated that she is “hopeful that we hear from them just to get more information about what’s going on with their budget.”
Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas indicated that she has served on the Board of Commissioners for several years and never met the executive director of the VSC, who was hired in 1991. He currently earns $123,891 in salary in 2022.
Hamilton County Administrator Jeff Aluotto indicated that “the Veterans Service Commission is a separate entity of county government. It’s not a department of the board of county commissioners where that department would report here.”
The Hamilton County Commission is the approving authority of the budget that is requested by the Veterans Commission every year. A budget process that is created by the calculations based on the previous years’ requests and dollars unspent.
By Ohio law, each VSC can request their budget within the amount provided by the .5 mils linked to property values. In Hamilton County, that amount was $7,084,700 for 2022. The Hamilton County VSC only requested $1,395,640 and they were approved for $1,280,405.
Again, in 2022, the Hamilton County VSC only spent $930,691 — leaving $6,154,009 unclaimed from the .5mil allotted for 2022 and returned to the Board of County Commissioners.
One example of a comparison of services between Hamilton County and Clermont County VSCs is that of transportation of veterans to their medical appointments at the VAMC Cincinnati.
Clermont County VSC has a plan to have six drivers and four dedicated vans to pick up veterans from their home and take them to doctor’s appointments and return. The County spent $11,012 in 2022 on their fleet of vans and other contracts.
In 2022, Hamilton County spent only $538 dollars on bus passes, according to their own financial reports.
My Opinion: The situation in Hamilton County is currently evolving with decisions that will and should be made in the future. However, the facts for 2022 are clear concerning a comparison of provided services to veterans in both Clermont and Hamilton Counties.
The Clermont County Veterans Service office had a budget of $2 million dollars and provided services for 686 veterans. The Hamilton County Veteran Services office could have had a budget of $7 million but only requested $1.3 million. They only spent $930,000 and provided service to 393 veterans.
Ironically, veterans from Hamilton County have journeyed to Butler County and Clermont County to file their disability claims for various reasons. The Butler County Veterans Service office has 634 veterans from Hamilton County filing their claims with them.
Two quick solutions to the problem with Hamilton County. First, funds not spent by any County Veterans Service Office is sent to the Ohio Department of Veterans Services (ODVS) for spending on veterans’ services within the State of Ohio.
Second, have the Board of Commissioners create an Ombudsman position reporting on the Veterans Service Office directly to them. The Ombudsman would investigate complaints and make recommendations to the Veterans Service Office and the Board of Commissioners.
The ideal Ombudsman should be a retired military officer, who was school trained and served on active as a military Inspector General (IG). The position should be part-time duty with monthly reports detailing all activities.
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a 32-year retired Army veteran, who served from 1967 to 1999. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio Hospital Chairman and Adjutant of DAV Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be contacted at: plahovinsak@msn.com.
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