To Share Information through the Mayors Office in the Village of Lynchburg, Ohio. To promote Citizen participation, Economic Development and progress toward a brighter future. I cannot fix every problem, together we can work towards an enhanced quality of life for everyone.
I want to be clear about the Lynchburg Police Levy. In the upcoming Election there is the proposed Local Issue 5, which is for a 5 mill Police Levy. The local Police Department is only funded through local levies that have to be voted on by the community. In the recent past, there were two 3 mill levies. One ended last year, 2008, and the current 3 mill will end effective Jan. 1, from the information I have. The proposed ballot will be for overall, less millage than has been received in the past, however it should create enough funding to stabilize the Police Department over the next few years. If the levy fails, there will not be any funding by the first quarter of next year, and there will not be a Police Department. In the past, there has been money from the General Fund that could be used to offset the Police Budget and maintain services. There are two funds that are very short, and that is the Police Fund, and the General Fund. So, that means this is a very serious problem right now. Other Village funds, such as the Street Fund, Water Fund, Sewerage Fund, Light Fund, Trash Fund, Etc. must be used for there specific purpose, and cannot be used to fund general uses, or Law Enforcement, according to best practice and the State Auditor. In order to maintain a Police Department, it is very important to fund it properly. Here’s what it will cost on a market valued home of $80,000. It would cost $10.50 per month or $126 dollars per year to have a local Police Department, which could respond to local calls within its budget. I know that not everyone owns a home that costs $80,000 market value. So here is how you can figure out what it will cost you. Take you Market Value, then multiply it by .35 (If you were using 80,000 you should get 28,000) This number is your tax valuation. Take this number (Tax Valuation) and Multiply by the mill which is .005 (Using the tax Valuation of 28,000 you should get $140) Then subtract ten percent which is equal to a reduction, and you should finally get $126 on an 80,000 dollar market value amount. Here is the formula: (Appraised Value) * .35 = (Tax Valuation) * .005 (Mills)= (Payment Amount) – 10% (Reduction) = Actual Yearly Amount Funding is being cut throughout the State of Ohio, at different levels that provide for Police Protection. It is important that security is maintained, and it makes sense to have our own Lynchburg Police Department. I support the local Issue 5, to keep our Police Department and I hope you do too. It makes sense to provide security and protection, not only for ourselves, but for our families and neighbors. It is the responsible thing for the community. Jeremy R Shaffer, Mayor
Autumn is here and many people are cleaning up leaves. We are planning on picking leaves up. It is preferred that the leaves are in bags. There is a staging area behind the Wastewater Plant if anyone has access to a vehicle to bring them to the drop off point, it would be most helpful.Please make sure the leaves are at the curb and accessible. You must call the Office so that it can be scheduled for someone to come out and pick up the leaves. The Number is 937-364-2241. In an effort to save time and money, nobody will be driving and looking for leaves to pickup, so you must call in and someone will come out and pick the leaves up
Winter Weather
As Winter approaches there are a few things that would be helpful when the snow starts flying. Please try to refrain from parking on the right of way or on the street. That will make it easier to plow and salt. When you shovel a drive or dig out a parked car, place the snow to the right of the drive way or in front ( to the right) of a correctly parked car on the street. Doing this, will prevent the snow plow from plowing snow back into a driveway or around the car. Please stay off the roads if they become to hazardous, and prepare for bad weather by taking the necessary precautions.
Wastewater Mandate Phase II
The Second part of the Wastewater Plant upgrade is underway. Construction equipment is already moving in, and everything is approved. The project is estimated to end in Oct. of 2010. As everyone may recall, the majority of the project is be paid through stimulus money. If anyone is interested in visiting the project site or any of the local utilities, please contact my office.
Playground on Broadway
We have received $23,515 from ODNR to construct a Playground on Broadway across from the LC School Board Office. This project will begin inthe near future. I would Like to thank Marvin Resibois, and the Lynchburg recreation Committee for driving this project, and assisting in the planning for future projects at this location. I would like to thank Lisa Kiley from Clinton County Planning Commission, for Authoring the Grant, and Chris Shock the Director for his assistance.
Food Bank
On December 5th, there will be a nonperishable canned food available for Citizens in need. It will be located at the Middle School on Saturday Dec. 5th. There Must Be a voucher filled out ahead of time. The Vouchers may be picked up at the Village Office, and there will be someone on hand at the MunicipalBuilding on November 16th and 17th to assist in answering questions, filling out forms, and collecting information. Volunteers are also needed to assist in distributing the food in December. For more in formation please contact Carolyn at 937-364-2579
Lets continue to work together in making our community a better place.
The Ohio Constitution gives all municipalities home rule. This means that cities and villages may adapt laws for purposes of local self-government that are not specifically forbidden by or in conflict with general law. By way of contrast, counties and townships may perform only those functions that are specifically permitted by state law, unless they adopt, by vote of their citizens, an alternate or charter form of government.
Municipalities may choose from three different types of government - general statutory law, one of three optional statutory laws or charter. The optional plans and the charter require approval by vote of the citizens. Municipalities are classified as either villages (under five thousand population) or cities (five thousand and over).
General statutory law, described in ORC chapters 731 and 733, is the form of government of municipalities if the citizens have not adopted, by vote, one of the other forms. Under this form, for cities, the executive offices of mayor, president of council, auditor, treasurer and city solicitor are elected. A legislative body of from seven to 17 people, depending upon population, is also elected. In villages, the auditor and treasurer are often replaced by a clerk-treasurer, the mayor acts as the president of council, and the legal officer is appointed. Villages uniformly have a legislative body of six, with the mayor serving as president. If the village provides a utility service such as water, sewer or electricity, it will elect three citizens to a board of public affairs. Municipal mayors, who are chief executive officers, may appoint or remove the various department heads, such as police chief or public service director, appropriate to the municipality.
The president of council presides at council meetings, but has no vote except in the case of a tie.
The auditor, or village clerk, keeps the books of the municipality and makes certain that sufficient appropriated funds are available before vouchers are issued.
The treasurer receives and disburses all funds, and must keep an accurate account of them.
The city solicitor prepares all contracts and other documents for the city, and provides legal counsel for city officers.
The Ohio Revised Code, chapter 705, provides three optional plan forms of government that may be adopted by the voters of the municipality. All plans call for the appointment of a treasurer, auditor, clerk and solicitor by the legislative authority. Under the commission plan, the only elected officers are either three or five commissioners, depending upon population, who hold both legislative and administrative authority. They elect one of their body as chair. The commission may assign direction or supervision responsibilities to individual commissioners.
Under the city manager plan a council of five, seven or nine is elected as the legislative authority. They appoint a city manager who is the chief administrative officer.
If the federal plan is adopted, a mayor and five to 15 council members, depending upon population, shall be elected, with executive and legislative authority respectively.
Optional plan statutory forms of government are not commonly used, probably because the charter form is made available by the Ohio Constitution. With the charter, the municipality may develop any form of government that its voters approve. The charter allows the municipality to "fine-tune" its form of government, instead of adopting one of the prescribed plans. The charter has been used extensively in Ohio to enhance the home rule authority of municipalities.
Adoption of a charter is a two-step process. First, the issue of whether or not a charter commission should be elected is voted on by the people. Included with this issue is provision to elect 15 charter commissioners, who are elected if the issue passes. This issue may be placed on the ballot if petitioned for by 10% of the voters. If the charter commission is elected and formed, they have one year to prepare a proposed charter and submit it to a vote of the people. If it is adopted it becomes the basic framework for that municipality's government." (http://ohioline.osu.edu/b835/b835_6.html)
more information available on local government in ohio at
http://ohioline.osu.edu/b835/index.html
"Municipal Government
In Ohio, there are two kinds of incorporated municipalities, cities and villages. If a municipality has five thousand or more residents as of the last federal census it is a city, otherwise it is a village.[1] Each municipality chooses its own form of government, but most have elected mayors and city councils or city commissions. City governments provide much more extensive services than county governments, such as police forces and professional (as opposed to volunteer) fire departments. Additional municipal services are often financed by local income taxes that townships cannot impose except in a Joint Economic Development District with a municipality. Not all municipalities levy income taxes; those that do range from 0.3% in the Village of Indian Hill to 3.0% in Parma Heights[1]." (Information From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Ohio) (Side Note: The Village of Lynchburg does not have an Income Tax)
I believe it may be impossible to have a government closer to the people than a Municipality. It is a true local Government. The elected officials are within reach of any person, and their decisions have a direct impact on their constituents very quickly. At the same time the local authority has its hands tied, somewhat, in the decisions of Government that local people believe they should have or do have control over. In order for there to be effective a more Government in the whole, the entire system (System being everyone involved) needs to work closer together, and understand the various roles of the entire Government System better, and communicate them. Without vital communication between the Local, State, and Federal Government, I think we as officials, find ourselves spinning our wheels, and/or working against each other. It's time for Common Sense Government, now more than ever, at every level. Jeremy
Lin-Kar Drive is a short narrow street off of South Broadway. Over the past year it has had some small changes that will improve the quality of life for everyone. Over the last 30 years the rain water periodically ran like a river down the narrow street, and even flooded a homeowners garage on occasion. Rain water drained from the Sycamore Street access alley, up South Broadway, across Lin Kar where it finally dispersed behind the homes, as the runoff eventually made its way to the neighboring creek. Over the course of this year, a few old storm drains were rehabilitated on south Broadway, and new catch basins were installed to catch much of the rain water at the mouth of Lin Kar Drive. These changes will make travel safer as winter approaches be stream lining the water down storm drains, and preventing ice build up on both streets, Lin Kar and S. Broadway. In addition, a Street Light Pole was moved from its location in the middle of the caldasac to the edge, which will safely light the street. The change also allowed for machinery and equipment to pave the street at a better rate, and will make maintenance of the street easier in the future. Just recently, the street was paved with a fresh coat of blacktop. The street was previously worn so bad that much of the area was broken blacktop and gravel. Some people thought it was a gravel road that had not been finished. In fact, it was a nice peaceful block, that had been neglected over the last thirty years, that needed a little bit of boot polish. The changes and upgrades on Lin Kar, will pave the way for future improvements on S. Broadway, and allow for easier maintenance, as well as creating a better, safer living atmosphere for everyone.
Information and Happenings to take note of in the Lynchburg Area
Highland County Street Dance in Lynchburg was rescheduled from last week, to the rain date of this Friday, OCT 9th from 7pm to 10pm
Lynchburg-Clay School Fall Carnival October 30th (Friday) Location: Elementary School on 134 S
Beggars Night is October 29, 2009 from 6pm to 8pm
In October there is a County Wide Curfew of 10PM
Any new construction within the Village of Lynchburg, must submit construction packets and receive permits from Clinton County Building and Zoning. The Information and Packets can be requested at the Lynchburg Village Office on Main Street or from Clinton County Building and Zoning. Clinton County Building and Zoning Hours of Operation- M-F 7:30am-4:30pm (closed from 12-1pm) Mailing address- 111 S Nelson Ave. Wilmington, OH 45177 Phone- 937-382-3335 or 937-383-2054 Fax- 937-383-3056 http://co.clinton.oh.us/building-and-zoning/building-and-zoning
The Phase Two Construction of the mandated Sanitary Sewer Plant upgrade is underway. It officially started yesterday and will take almost one full year of construction for completion. Last Friday, October 2nd the preconstruction meeting was held. There was a general introduction of the contractor, Ameritcon, enginneer, Burgess and Niple, OWDA, and other various staff that will bring the project to a successful end result over the next year. Over the next few months I will update progress of construction and the reporting of he Stimulas funding to the various agencies.
It is my understanding from DP&L that they will be upgrading the substation in Martinsville on Sat OCt 10th. (This Coming Saturday) This will result in a break in electric service for about 15 minutes starting at or around 7am. Please be aware and prepare. Thank you, Jeremy R Shaffer, Mayor Village of Lynchburg
I hope to be an effective community change agent, facilitator, and civic leader. Create an atmosphere where the public and private sector can work toward mutual benefit in the area of economic development, education, community planning, and legislation.
I believe Conservative Values and Common Sense drive the Positive Change our Community needs. It is important to me to be proactive, transparent, and fiscally conservative.
