WestChesterBuzz.com

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

The longtime clerk of Butler County Area Courts will retire this month to come back as a part-timer in February, allowing her to collect her pension as well as a salary.

Butler County commissioners on Monday approved the Nov. 30 retirement of Debbie Bolser. She’ll be rehired on Feb. 1. In the interim, deputy clerk Melinda Parsons will fill in for Bolser.

“There’s a savings of $36,000 a year by doing this,” Judge Rob Lyons, of Butler County Area I Court, told commissioners.

He said Bolser decided to retire now because of recent changes in public pension law. Reforms that go into effect in January raise retirement eligibility ages, set new guidelines for cost-of-living adjustments and created a new formula to calculate benefits.

Bolser, who has worked for the court for 34 years, had an annual salary of $67,535.78, according to the county auditor’s office.

Commissioner Chuck Furmon acknowledged that Bolser will be double-dipping.

“Yes. But she will be working part time so it’s a savings in that regard when she comes back,” he said. “She is really well qualified. She’s got her finger on everything that’s happening. She’s always been the go-to person.”

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Area Courts, Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioners, Chuck Furmon, Debbie Bolser

Sheila McLaughlin reports

Charles Young, the former Hamilton deputy city manager, became Butler County’s new administrator on Thursday.

Without a hitch, and despite infighting over the appointment, commissioners unanimously gave Young the $125,000-a-year job.

Even Commissioner Chuck Furmon, who objected in Monday’s meeting against the way Young’s hiring occurred, voted in his favor.

“I’ve never been against him” Furmon said after Thursday’s meeting. “I didn’t approve of the way (Commissioners Don Dixon and Cindy Carpenter) did it. They had everything all laid out, the contract and everything and all this was done last Friday prior to the Monday meeting. I was not informed,” Furmon said after the meeting.

Young, 53, started the job immediately. According to his contract with commissioners, he has the job for two years but can be fired without cause because he serves at the whim of commissioners.

Besides his salary, the county will pay Young a $500-a-month car allowance but he has to provide his own car and insurance.

Young becomes Butler County’s fourth administrator since 2008, when former long-time administrator DerekConklin resigned amid a scandal involving a $209,000 early-retirement buyout deal for his county-employed wife.

Young was commissioner’s fourth choice for the hire in a process that took more than a year and involved a $23,000 contract with the search firm, Mercer Group.

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County administrator, Butler County administrator Charles Young, Butler County Commission President Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner Don Dixon, Chuck Furmon, Cindy Carpenter, Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Commissioner Cindy Carpenter, Don Dixon, Hamilton deputy city manager Charles Young

Sheila McLaughlin reports

Picture three people who argue frequently.

One has been accused of screaming obscenities at workers. One accuses the others of hiding important meetings from him. The third solicits signed statements from staff to prove the other wrong in the press.

Now imagine they’re all your bosses.

These are Butler County’s elected commissioners, and it took them a year to find a county administrator, the fourth in four years at a time of significant budget challenges. The search was marked by months of infighting that revealed itself in public earlier this week.

The discord past and present led one job candidate to call Butler County “a political environment that’s anything but stable.” Even one commissioner agrees there are, as he put it, “elements of dysfunction.”

Accusations are still flying about disagreements that slowed down the hiring process even though Charles Young, a former deputy city manager in Hamilton, is expected to be appointed today as the commissioner’s fourth choice for the administrator’s job.

Three candidates who earlier received offers from among more than 29 applicants walked away for one reason or another.

One of them, Michael Hinnenkamp, who is the administrator in Springfield Township, said commissioners couldn’t offer him enough money.

He said he asked “north of $150,000” a year. County officials said it was more like $175,000 and a car. Hinnenkamp makes $135,000 annually in his current job. Young will be paid $125,000.

“It never made sense financially to … leave for the same (money) and have to drive up there and deal with a political environment that’s anything but stable,” Hinnenkamp said this week. “They’ve got some difficult challenges and personalities. It’s a long, long culture (of infighting) there.”

Commissioner Chuck Furmon refused to vote on Young’s job offer earlier this week. He said the number of qualified applicants fell short of what he expected.

“They’re going to be smart enough to do their research. There’s been elements of dysfunction and just nitpicking and what have you,” Furmon said. “I’m sure it’s in the back of their minds.” (more…)

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County administrator, Butler County administrator Charles Young, Butler County Commission President Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner Don Dixon, Chuck Furmon, Cindy Carpenter, Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Commissioner Cindy Carpenter, Don Dixon, Hamilton deputy city manager Charles Young

Sheila McLaughlin reports

A special meeting on Monday to approve an offer for a new county administrator erupted into a squabble and accusations that lame duck Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon was intentionally snubbed from an executive session when his colleagues changed the usual meeting place without telling him.

Chuck Furmon. Photo taken during the Republican primary race for Butler County commissioner by Joseph Fuqua II. Furmon lost the primary in March.

At the end of the day, however, Commissioners Don Dixon and Cindy Carpenter decided to offer the administrator’s job to former Hamilton deputy city manager Charles Young.

They also clarified the county’s pay scales to accommodate a $125,000-a-year salary for Young. That figure was $44,000 more than what commissioners approved when a consultant put together a pay study and recommended wage scales last year.

“You know as well as I do everything is all precast. It’s a dog and pony show,” Furmon charged at his fellow commissioners, adding that resolutions involving Young’s hire were drawn up before the meeting and he wasn’t privy to them.

The meeting was marked by interruptions from Dixon and Carpenter to go to a vote on the salary as Furmon tried to express his opinion about the job offer to Young.

Twenty-nine people applied for the administrator’s position and two applicants received job offers but turned them down. The job has been vacant for just more than a year.

“For someone who didn’t attend all the meetings for the interviews in the past, I find it kind of ironic that you want to have a discussion,” Dixon chastised Furmon.

“I’ve attended 99 percent of those meetings,” Furmon fired back.

“I disagree,” said Carpenter.

Furmon’s final words: “The whole thing’s a joke.”

Furmon voted against going into executive session, but lost out. (more…)

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County administrator, Butler County administrator Charles Young, Butler County Commission President Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner Don Dixon, Chuck Furmon, Cindy Carpenter, Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Commissioner Cindy Carpenter, Don Dixon, Hamilton deputy city manager Charles Young

Sheila McLaughlin reports

They might both be Republicans, but that doesn’t mean Butler County Commissioners Chuck Furmon and Cindy Carpenter agree on everything, especially when it comes to throwing F-bombs and yelling at staff.

Cindy Carpenter. Photo provided.

Furmon fired off a letter this week to Carpenter chastising her about swearing at interim County Administrator Mike Campbell and engaging in a “very loud and angry professional rant” that could even be heard in the public elevators.

It’s the second time that Carpenter has been accused of berating employees.

Pete Landrum, Director of the Management and Budget Office, hired an attorney last November to stop Carpenter from making further threats against him.

The latest tirade involved Carpenter telling Campbell that she was a “(expletive) commissioner,” said the letter The Enquirer obtained from the board of commissioners.

“Your tirades and tantrums are becoming the norm rather than the exception. You seem to be driven to continually create a hostile work environment,” Furmon wrote in his letter to Carpenter.

“Our staff does not deserve your hostile behavior. Day after day they live with the threat of your outbursts.”

• Letter: Exchange between Furmon and Carpenter
• Story: Butler Co. official may sue Commissioner Cindy Carpenter

Chuck Furmon. Photo taken during the Republican primary race for Butler County commissioner by Joseph Fuqua II. Furmon lost the primary in March.

Reached Wednesday for comment, Furmon said, “I’m just disappointed in what she does. If it was an employee, we have zero tolerance for that. She should understand that.”

He was referring to the county’s personnel policy on threatening behavior and workplace violence. The policy does not apply to Carpenter because she is an elected official.

Carpenter did not return a call for comment, but sent a copy of her e-mail response to Furmon.

She said she considers Furmon’s letter “a political attack in light of the fact that you distributed the letter to the press prior to giving it to me.”

Carpenter also said she expressed her “frustration” to Campbell over an unfinished report that she wanted on establishing a Land Bank project in Butler County.

In Landrum’s case, Carpenter was accused of defaming him in public meetings, verbally abusing him and threatening his job security. His attorney warned Carpenter against further attacks.

Landrum was among a handful of employees Carpenter and Commissioner Don Dixon were jockeying to fire and replace as Carpenter was taking office in January 2011. Dixon backed out of the plan at the last minute.

Carpenter’s subsequent threats about firing certain employees in the commissioner’s office and shooting them prompted Landrum to file a formal complaint that Furmon, who was then commission president, forwarded to Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser for advice.

Nothing was done.

At the time, Carpenter told The Enquirer that she was dissatisfied with Landrum’s performance.

“He doesn’t understand he is not a county commissioner,” she said.

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Commission President Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Butler County Director of the Office of Budget and Finance, Butler County Director of the Office of Budget and Finance Pete Landrum, Chuck Furmon, Cindy Carpenter, Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Commissioner Cindy Carpenter, Elizabeth Loring, Elizabeth S. Loring, Pete Landrum

Cincinnati Enquirer’s Sheila McLaughlin reports:

Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon wants to hold onto his seat. But a state representative who is losing his Columbus job to term limits and a local home builder/real estate agent want to pull it out from under him in March.

Furmon, a former Hamilton mayor who has served as a county commissioner since 1996, faces a challenge from State Rep. Courtney Combs and political newcomer T.C. Rogers on the Republican primary ballot.

Combs, who represents the 54th District, has to give up that seat after five terms in office. He served as a commissioner for 17 years before heading to the State Capitol in 2004 in a job switch with then-State Rep. Greg Jolivette. The move, orchestrated by the Butler County GOP, was aimed at heading off a contentious Republican primary.

A fractured local GOP didn’t endorse any of the candidates for the primary race for county commissioner.

Rogers has been critical of Furmon’s performance as a commissioner, saying there is a “mountain of reckless spending” in Butler County government.

Furmon and his colleagues on commission have trimmed 350 positions from county government and reduced the general fund budget by about 17 percent, from $95 million to $79 million.

Bringing development to Butler County to create jobs is a common theme for Combs and Furmon. Both helped orchestrate the $500 million Liberty Town Square retail development by Steiner + Associates which is being planned at Liberty Way and Interstate 75 in Liberty Township.

Furmon and fellow commissioners recently approved a memorandum of understanding, agreeing for the county to contribute 60 percent of the costs of public infrastructure costs, which will amount to about $30 million in tax increment financing proceeds.

Combs, as a state representative, introduced successful legislation that established a special authority to own parking garages and other infrastructure improvements at the development, so the county won’t be financially responsible for maintenance.

The project, touted to be similar to Easton Town Square in Columbus, is expected to bring about 3,200 construction jobs to the county and employ about 4,600 people in permanent jobs when the development opens. It also will generate more than $1.5 million in new sales taxes for the county, according to Steiner officials.

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner electiion, Butler County Commissioner primary, Butler County Commissioners, Chuck Furmon, Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Courtney Combs, T.C. Rogers

Cincinnati Enquirer’s Paul McKibben reports:

Liberty Town Square, billed as the largest retail development ever in Butler County, cleared a key hurdle Monday when county commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding.

The $300 million project, with its promise of 3,200 jobs during construction and another 4,600 permanent jobs for people who work there when shops open, languished for several years because of the economy.

The agreement includes the county, Liberty Township and developer Steiner + Associates of America.

Under the agreement, the county will pay up to 60 percent of the public infrastructure improvements not to exceed $30 million. The township will contribute 10 percent; not to exceed $5 million and a new community authority/developer will pay the rest.

Township trustees approved a memorandum of understanding last week to help fund $56 million in road improvements and a parking garage for the proposed project at Liberty Way and Interstate 75.

Steiner + Associates had asked commissioners for $55 million toward infrastructure improvements for the “lifestyle” retail center, which would be similar to Easton Town Center in Columbus and The Greene in Beavercreek.

Commissioner Chuck Furmon said the county will contribute $20 million in existing funds from a tax increment financing district, with another $10 million – possibly in $5 million increments – as Steiner reaches certain benchmarks in the project.

The money would back bonds that would be sold to pay for infrastructure.

“We want them to reach what they say they are going to do before we give the other $10 (million),” Furmon said.

Township trustees set several conditions on Steiner, including a prohibition on raiding other successful retail projects in Butler County – such as Bridgewater Falls in Fairfield Township – to fill Liberty Town Square.

The first phase of the project, worth $177 million on 60 acres, is expected to open around May 2014 with two department stores, specialty retail shops, a mix of restaurants, 100,000 square feet of class A office space and about 150 high-end apartments.

Groundbreaking is expected by November.

Improvements to Cincinnati-Dayton Road at the Ohio 129 interchange, partly to accommodate the increase in traffic from Liberty Town Square, already are being planned.

Yaromir Steiner, who founded the Columbus-based development company, put it on hold in 2008 when the economy tanked.

Since then, it has been scaled back in size and value. Steiner initially proposed the project at $500 million. When completed, Liberty Town Square will sit on 100 acres and include up to 2.5 million square feet of commercial space.

Posted in: Business, Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioners, Chuck Furmon, Commissioner Chuck Furmon, I-75, Interstate 75, Liberty Town Square, Liberty Township business news, Liberty Way, Liberty Way Interchange, Liberty Way project, Libertytown LLC, Steiner + Associates

The West Chester Tea Party recently announced that there would be a voter forum for the March 6 primary race for the positions of Butler County Commissioner and Butler County Clerk of Courts in the Lakota West Freshman Auditorium at 7 p.m. Feb. 9.

The voter forum will be a chance for the electorate of Butler County to ask questions and hear from the Commissioner and Clerk of Courts candidates. West Chester Township Trustee George Lang is hosting the forum.

Don Dixon, who is running unopposed for one of the Commissioner openings, accepted an invitation to the forum.

In addition, invitations were accepted by Courtney Combs (Rep.) and T.C. Rogers (Rep.) who are running against Chuck Furmon (Rep. – incumbent) in the primary for the second Commissioner position.

• Find out what is on the ballot March 6 on the Butler County Board of Elections page

Candidates Jodi Billerman (Dem.) and Daryl R. Olthaus (Lib.), who will be competing in the November election against the winner of the Republican primary, have also accepted the invitation.

Both Clerk of Court Republican primary candidates will be in attendance, current Clerk of Courts Mary Swain and former interim Clerk of Courts Jeff Wyrick.

The event is free to attend and open to the public. The Lakota West Freshman Campus is located at 5050 Tylersville Road in West Chester.

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Election, Events, Government, News, Political events, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner electiion, Butler County Commissioner primary, Butler County Commissioners, Chuck Furmon, Commissioner Chuck Furmon, Courtney Combs, Daryl R. Olthau, Don Dixon, George Lang, Jodi Billerman, Lakota West Freshman Campus, Mary Swain, T.C. Rogers, West Chester Tea Party, West Chester Township Trustee, West Chester Township Trustee George Lang, West Chester Trustee George Lang