The state of the city is strong.
With no turnover in leadership in 2015, our department heads and associates continue to focus on delivering exceptional service to our community.
Bellefontaine continues to balance its revenues with expenses in an effort to keep our financial position stable. Our 2015 year-end revenues were $7,942,737 and expenditures were $7,861,147. Our income tax revenue increased by 1.83 percent.
We were able to retire two bond funds in the past year: the Guntown Road Bond and a Sewer General Obligation Bond. We also refinanced our Airport Bonds such that the city will realize a net savings of $108,000 over the life of the bonds.
There have been many accomplishments that our city departments were able to achieve in the past year. City Auditor Jack Reser, and his staff received the Ohio Auditor’s Award for their diligent efforts in overseeing our city’s finances. We joined in a state wide program, Ohiocheckbook.com, and were recognized by State Treasurer Josh Mandel for being one of Ohio’s first communities to “climb aboard.”
Our engineering department saw the completion of a number of significant projects. The Simon Kenton Bike Path was dedicated in the spring. Significant water, storm water and sanitary system improvements took place throughout the summer months.
In the areas of city pavement, Glenwood East had all of its concrete removed and replaced with asphalt. The city offered a voluntary sidewalk/curb program to help reduce the cost of replacement for our citizens. Sixty households enrolled and 30 of those had completed the work by the end of the construction season.
We were also able to dedicate $214,400 to the on-going process of resurfacing our city streets in 2015.
Our municipal court saw 9,874 cases. They received two grants: $15,000 for additional security cameras and $81,000 for an additional probation officer, vehicle and drug testing supplies. In an effort to increase both security and efficiency, the court underwent a renovation in 2015.
Our fire department responded to 2,622 emergency runs (562 fire incidents and 2,060 emergency medical runs). There were seven civilian fire-related injuries and no fatalities. We also provided 250 mutual aid responses to neighboring communities. The department completed 116 fire safety inspections and all city fire hydrants were tested. There were 10,900 feet of fire hose tested, of which 150 feet of hose was replaced after failing the test. The department was generously given $75,000, from a private donor, and thus were able to replace three Life-Pack 15 units for cardiac support on our ambulances in March of this year.
The parks department added a water treatment system at Myeerah Nature Preserve during its first full year of operation. The tennis courts were resurfaced at both Mary Rutan Park and Blue Jacket Park. The resurfacing project cost $45,000 and was a shared effort between Bellefontaine City Schools and the parks. Our youth programming remains strong with 1,155 sign-ups in 2015.
The police department continues its emphasis in the area of community outreach. There were 30 neighborhood outreach events, including a summer safety event which raised $5,600 to support the canine unit. The police department continues to educate and foster relationships with our school-aged community through DARE and GUIDE, which focuses on drug awareness and prevention. In 2016, we will see our fourth class of the Citizens Police Academy. We celebrate Chief Brandon Standley continues his involvement at the state level, serving as a vice president of the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police Chiefs Association.
Our streets department endured last winter by relying on their road salt supplies from the previous season. The 2013-2014 season, salt was sold at $46 per ton. There was a dramatic rise in the cost in the 2014-2015 season to $107 per ton. Rather than purchase at that price, the decision was made not to purchase any at that price and use up our existing supply. This plan paid off, as salt prices dropped and our salt bin is full in preparation for the winter of 2015-16. We were able to purchase a new street sweeper. The last sweeper had been maintained and repair over a period of 15 years.
The water department had a busy year with maintenance and improvements. They responded to 53 “after hours” call-ins and they repaired 25 water main leaks.
The waste water treatment plant reported that they handled over 950 million gallons of wastewater which produced 306 tons of a bio-solid material during 2015. This material was then provided to area farmers to spread on their fields to increase the nutrient content of the soil. They also cleaned and televised over 53,000 feet of sanitary sewer as preventative maintenance.
There was a great deal of change within both the utility and tax departments. Both departments had renovations. The redesign was intended to, not only look more appealing to the general public, but to increase efficiency in these areas. The utility department changed the overall appearance of the billing statement.
A new high-speed printer was purchased to print, fold and mail each statement. The new statement has the ability to have additional printed messages and inserts. This will better enable us to communicate with our citizens. Notifying the public on tips for recycling, parks department youth sign ups and other community events are just a few of the advantages of reaching 5,400 households. The tax department changed the way that our community will file and pay their local income tax. We enlisted the Regional Income Tax Authority to assist in this process. Our citizens can now, for the first time, file their tax return on-line and pay on-line. Unlike many communities that utilize these services, Bellefontaine will maintain its tax office to assist with any filing questions or concerns.
Our code enforcement officer had a productive year. In addition to being the administrator over many of the city’s grants, he is also responsible to site violators of our city’s codes. In 2015, he reported 780 various violations and resolved 92.4 percent of them. City council adopted a vacant building registration ordinance in an effort to reduce the issues associated with these properties.
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Mayor Ben Stahler |
We continue to work closely with area business and industry to promote a healthy economic environment. Our chamber of commerce proclaims a very optimistic outlook for our community. In 2015, the workforce task force was started to create a partnership between industry, education and the community is an ongoing effort to assure a sustainable, stable, and skilled workforce to meet the needs of area industry.
I believe we are poised to have another promising year in the city of Bellefontaine. We look forward to the completed Logan County Courthouse renovations. We also mark this next year as the 25th Anniversary of our Sister City Agreement with Suzuka, Japan. While there is much to celebrate about our accomplishments, there are still many opportunities that lie ahead. We continue to focus on continued economic development, as well as, creating more housing opportunities in our area. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to represent the city of Bellefontaine. Together, we can strive to keep this community great.
— Mayor Ben Stahler
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