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Issue 39 an investment in future
Fellow citizens of Oakwood,
In our midst, we are fortunate to have a nationally recognized gem - Sinclair Community College. A frequent recipient of national awards for innovation and quality, the College serves over 50,000 students annually with university transfer classes and programs, direct college to work programs, and custom training classes that support a wide variety of business and industry needs. Sinclair is critical to the region’s economic competitiveness and the wellbeing of our citizens.
Your support of Issue 39, is an investment in our community’s future and will permit Sinclair to continue to offer high quality, accessible and affordable education and training to Montgomery County residents. Please show your support for Sinclair and the students and businesses it serves by voting yes on Issue 39.
Laura Mercer
Oakwood
Reject Issue 39
Approval of Issue 39 would cost homeowners about $98 per year for each $100,000 of property valuation. Issue 39 includes an increase over the amount of tax that property owners have been paying for Sinclair Community College for many years. Any property owner or renter who does not want to pay more in taxes or rent should vote against Issue 39.
Sinclair has claimed that: 1) Sinclair tuition is low, 2) Students graduate with little debt, and 3) Students with training from Sinclair go on to better careers. A major reason for points 1 and 2 is that property taxpayers have heavily subsidized Sinclair.
Over $21 million of a recent Sinclair annual budget was from property taxpayers (according to a Feb. 17 DDN editorial). Concerning point 3: With their careers enhanced by Sinclair’s training, Sinclair grads are better able to pay down student loans instead of costing taxpayers more money. They should do that; and taxpayers should vote themselves a tax break by rejecting Issue 39.
Ken Bitter
Oakwood
Go Dems!
How can John McCain get up in front of a C-PAC and tell conservatives what they want them to hear when, with one exception, his position on everything he said was the exact opposite of what he has said and acted on his last 25 years in Congress!!
There is no difference between McCain and the Democrats whatsoever. They will all ruin this country, so I want it to be a Democrat who does it, so the Republicans can sweep to victory in both Houses and the Presidency in 2012!
Therefore, I am voting Republican in both houses of Congress and Democrat for the Presidency. I do not want McCain to be blamed for what will happen to this country regardless of who is elected President. They are all liberals – let them take the blame for the next four years and let the Republicans reap the benefits of a backlash in 2012.
For the sake of the sweep in 2012, McCain cannot be President in 2008!!!
James J. Mischler, Jr.
Oakwood
Q & A
Q. Three legal notices in the Oakwood Register issue of February 19 referred to “the issuance and sale of bonds” for three separate purposes and totaling $3.7 million. Is this a new issue? Could you explain?
A. Over the course of the past several years, the City of Oakwood borrowed monies for the following three major projects which have been completed:
$3,000,000 for the construction of the Foell Public Works Center (1999)
$1,500,000 for the renovation of the Administration / Safety Building (2002)
$2,300,000 for the acquisition of the NCR Athletic Fields (2006)
The city has been paying down the debt annually in the amount of $550,000 per year - $200,000 per year toward the Public Works Center Construction debt, $150,000 toward the Administration/Safety Building Renovation debt, and $200,000 toward the NCR Athletic Fields Acquisition debt. The remaining total debt is $4.25 million.
At their regular meeting on February 11, Oakwood City Council authorized the paying off of this $4.25 million balamce, and authorized the re-borrowing of $3.7 million which is the new balance. This re-negotiation for borrowed funds is done each March, according to Finance Director Brad Beachdell, as a method to reduce the city’s debt by $550,000 per year, without dipping into the city’s reserve funds to pay off the total all in one year.
“We borrow for a year at a time to keep our debt short term,” Beachdell said. “Right now we owe $1.4 million for the public works center, $750,000 on the renovation of the city building and $2.1 million on the money we borrowed to buy the NCR athletic fields which totals $4.25 million outstanding for the three projects.
This debt restructuring process has another advantage; it earns money for the city.
Last March and October, Oakwood borrowed funds at 4 percent and 3.6 percent interest respectively, and earned five percent on investing those funds. But don’t get any ideas. There are very strict regulations for what a city borrows – how much they can borrow, how long they can borrow it, and for what purpose. “We’re following those guidelines very closely,” Beachdell said. “The important thing to understand is that we’re paying our debt down by $550,000 each year.”
In another financial note, money the city has received from hefty estate taxes has been used on other projects. The purchase of Centennial Park was done with these funds, as was the purchase of two buildings in the Far Hills Business District – 22 Orchard and 19 Wonderly – for the purpose of considering additional parking opportunities for patrons of the Far Hills Business District. More details on the ideas and potential uses for these spaces will be discussed at a public meeting to be conducted by the city on March 18.
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February 26, 2008
Volume 17, No. 9
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