They didn’t give her direction but Commissioner Don Dixon expressed his frustration at the response from stakeholders thus far. He said he has been contacted by numerous jurisdictions opposing the move.
“Our current EMA director is going from organization to organization standing up there saying that the commissioners are wrong, shouldn’t look at this, it’s been perfect for 50 years, we’re the best of the best and I’m asking you to prepare a resolution opposing it to the commissioners,” Dixon said. “Now if you start out with that in the beginning and you poison the well about opportunities, where does that leave us? I’m very frustrated at this point.”
He said he anticipated they and EMA Director Jim Bolen would have invited the stakeholders, namely all the various first responding agencies countywide, to have discussions about whether a switch should be made.
“We usually have the opportunity to defend our record,” he said. “Where do we go from here? I don’t know where we go from here.”
The commissioners passed a resolution in December putting the EMA board on notice — as required by law — so they can study whether there is a better way of handling emergency management. First responders flooded their meeting chambers then protesting the move and the commissioners assured them they would not unilaterally change things.
“When we passed that back in December, again, we did not have a decision made and this was just to make it an open process to discover and determine the best way to go in the future,” Commissioner T.C. Rogers said. “I’ll say this again, nobody had influence on me.”
Bolen told the Journal-News he hasn’t been touring the various local governments on his own, “if I’ve been to a jurisdiction it’s because I’ve been invited by their administration or their council.”
“There’s a lot of communities that are really concerned about the proposal that the commissioners have put forth,” Bolen said. “They have reached out to us to see how this effects them and to see what this means and identify kind of what the path forward is.”
He couldn’t readily recall which communities he has been talking to, except for a recent presentation to Trenton City Council and said more visits are scheduled. He said resolutions by a number of communities are forthcoming. He also said “my board has expressed their desire to meet with the commissioners and talk about any concerns they may have with the agency.”
The Journal-News obtained communications — all oppose the move — the county has received regarding the proposed takeover. They are from the Butler County Fire Chiefs Association, a text from Fairfield Mayor Mitch Rhodus to Rogers, an email from a Liberty Twp. resident, emails from Oxford Twp. Trustee Norma Pennock and Ross Trustee Russ McGurrin and a letter from the Ross Twp. trustees.
“The proposed transition to a county-commissioner-led EMA would significantly reduce input from local jurisdictions, including the Butler County Fire Chiefs Association, which plays a vital role in emergency preparedness, response and recovery efforts,” the letter from the fire chiefs association reads. “Limiting the voices of key stakeholders could undermine the effectiveness and inclusiveness of the county’s emergency management initiatives, potentially jeopardizing the safety and welfare of our communities.”
The Emergency Management Agency is not a first responder to emergencies, as the local police and fire agencies retain that role. The EMA becomes involved when incidents beyond a common emergency occur and marshalling a host of resources is required.
The Journal-News obtained data from the County Commissioners Association of Ohio that shows the county is one of 26 counties with an independent EMA board, the other 62 county emergency management operations are under the commissioners' control.
The commissioners brought up the issue because Dixon and Rogers said they are ultimately responsible for the agency — and have more financial resources —and it is worth examining whether the system that’s been in place for 50 years is still viable. The fact the agency this year raised per capita fees — that haven’t changed since 2010 — they charge communities was also a contributing factor.
The EMA board raised the fee from 39 cents to 55 cents this year and 60 cents in 2027. The fee increase will cull an additional $61,742 for a total collection of $212,240 next year and $81,037 more in 2027 for a total of $231,535.
In her email, Pennock criticized the fee increase takeover reason.
“It appears to me that someone cleverly did some math and figured out that the proposed annual fee increase from 39 cents to 60 cents represents nearly a 50% increase,” she wrote. “That’s a scary number, isn’t it. We could instead focus on the fact that we’re looking at 21 centers. Per year. Per household. I wonder how many people you could find in Butler County that would be concerned about that 21 cents per year.”
Dixon told the Journal-News that misses the point. He said EMA supporters keep saying the organization is “the best of the best” but they are also spending taxpayer money so accountability must be part of the mission.
“When they went and doubled the per capita fee it wasn’t a lot of money,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is the taxpayers didn’t have anyone to represent them on whether they were spending it in the right way or what the impact of that was going to be. They can say well this is a cheap deal, well I’ve never found anybody to have the best of the best and have the cheapest too.”
Commissioner Cindy Carpenter was on medical leave when the EMA decision was made but said “I am very interested in hearing the plan that commissioners Rogers and Dixon intend for a new structure of the EMA.”
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said he can’t tell the commissioners what to do but they are in a good place if they decide to make a change.
“You know you have the county sheriff who is interested in taking this over, he has staff that has taken a lot of courses in EMA management and emergency situations and he’ll describe that for you,” Gmoser said. “I think the EMA director would acknowledge that there is that education and certainly he would be happy to see that the county sheriff has that technological advancement in the Butler County Sheriff’s Department. How do you disagree with that, that’s what you want, you certainly wouldn’t want the county sheriff to go into an EMA blind with respect to what his duties are. He’s preparing in the event of your decision to take charge on day one.
Despite what appears to be strong opposition, Dixon and Rogers told this news outlet they aren’t backing down. Dixon said he doubts they’ll convene a giant meeting — given the antagonistic atmosphere — but he’ll meet with stakeholders one-on-one if need be to arrive at the best solution.
“Is it something that’s going to stop us from doing what we think is right, absolutely not, no. Not going to happen,” Dixon said. “We’re going to do what we think is right for taxpayers, they can paint it any way they want to, call us anything they want to call us, but at the end of the day we’ll lay out the case, either it is or isn’t better, this is why or this is why isn’t. This is a lot harder than it needed to be.”
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