January News & Updates

Police Levy on the March Ballot
Police Fire Fleet

 

 

 

Residents will have the opportunity to vote March 6 on a 10 mill police levy that will partially fund our Police Department. The last and only time residents voted on a property tax increase was in 1955 when 7 mills were approved for general Village expenses. This hasn't increased in 56 years and there is no current police or fire levy in place for the Village.

The cost of police and fire service consumes more than 50% of the budget and there is no other funding source than the General Fund.  There is significant erosion of the Village's revenue streams occurring as a result of the State budget which dealt a financial blow to Amberley Village. Eliminating the estate tax will cost the cost the Village between $500,000 and $800,000 of revenues per year and decreasing the revenue sharing from the State via the  local government fund will reduce revenues by $50,000 per year. This, combined with declining property values resulting in approximately $200,000 less next year, has the effect of financially ruining Village services.

The police levy is intended to create a dedicated source of revenue that can only be used by our Police Department for the expense of police operations and services. The Village must have an additional funding source other than what we have relied upon since the 1950s to maintain our current high level of protection.  

The 2012 Police Budget is $2.5 million and 10 mills will generate $1.6 million next year. This is a 5-year levy that will expire in 2016.  One mill is equivalent to $30.40 per $100,000 market value so for a home valued at $200,000 the 10 mill levy will cost $608 per year.  Currently, the owner of a $200,000 property pays $429 in property taxes to Amberley Village.

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Calendar Events

Jan 2 New Year's Day Observed - Offices Closed
Jan 4 Mayor's Court 6:30 p.m.
Jan 9 Council Meeting 6:30 p.m. New Time!
Jan 16 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Offices Closed
Jan 18 Mayor's Court 6:30 p.m.
Jan 23 Environmental Stewardship 7:30 p.m.

Watch the December Council Meeting 

Brush Pick-Up Resumes in January

Brush PilesWith bulk leaf collection completed on December 30, the maintenance department will resume brush pick-up in January.

As you may recall, reductions in personnel required the maintenance department staff to concenrate on bulk leaf collection during November and December. 

View guidelines for placing brush at the curb
Christmas Tree Recycling

The brush crew will chip christmas trees at the curb along with residents' brush.  Trees set out for chipping must be completely free of debris such as ornaments, wiring, lights, tree stands, and should not be bagged. 
Rumpke Fees Increase 42 Cents for 2012

Residents will notice on their next bill that the fees for trash and recycling collection have slightly increased, in accordance with the Village's agreement with Rumpke that went into effect in January 2010. 

   Recycling Fee:  10 cents increase per month
    Waste Fee:   30 cents increase per month

The rate increase includes an additional 2 cents for the billing and collection service provided by Greater Cincinnati Water Works.

Energy Aggregation - Steps to Implementation

The Village's energy consultant, Eagle Energy, has provided an update on the implementation process for the electric and gas aggregation opt-out programs. 

Since November, when the voters approved the electric and natural gas aggregation opt-out programs, the Village has moved into the implementation phase.  This process takes several months.  Public hearings on both programs were held on December 21.  The next step in the process is to become a governmental aggregator certified by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).

Once the Village is a certified governmental aggregator, the process of supplier selection can begin.  After the Village has selected the suppliers that will offer savings to our residents, each resident will be notified by the selected suppliers. Residents will be provided a twenty-one (21) day window to opt-out of the programs. The anticipated date for our aggregation to be in place is March 2012.  The result of this action should result in Village residents benefiting from lower prices due to the impact of group purchasing versus individual purchasing.

Residents were last notified by Dominion Retail, prior to the November vote, that the opt-in program automatically ended with the December meter reading. Participants will automatically return to Duke Energy for a period of time until the new energy aggregation programs can be implemented.

For additional questions, you may contact our energy consultant, Eagle Energy at 251-7283 or the Village office at 531-8675.  Informational resources may be accessed from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio or the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel. 

Oh Deer! They are Everywhere!

The Ohio Department of Transportation reports that Ohio has 8 million drivers and 121,000 miles of roadway and 600,000 deer.  Trying to predict when and where a deer and motorist will meet is an impossible task, but drivers who understand how deer behave are more likely to avoid a crash.

In 2010, there were 23,201Deer deer-vehicle crashes statewide with 1,063 people injured and four people killed.  Because so many deer-vehicle collisions go unreported to police and local authorities, the actual number of crashes throughout Ohio may be as high as 60,000 each year.  Last year, the Cincinnati area had one of the highest deer-vehicle crashes in the state with 620.

Motorists are advised to use these driving tips to help avoid collisions with deer:

  • Watch for deer-crossing signs and drive with extreme caution, especially in the posted areas.
  • If you see one deer near the road, expect that others will follow.
  • Watch for deer, especially at dawn and after sunset.  About 20 percent of these crashes occur in early morning, while more than half occur between 5 p.m. and midnight.