Voters were asked to decide who will hold two-thirds of the seats on the Butler County county commission that holds the $500-plus million purse strings for a whole host of countywide services from police protection to social programs and taxation.
Dixon told the Journal-News he is grateful to the voters for allowing him to continue to serve.
“I’ve got a lot of work to finish up and go forward with,” he said. “I’ll continue to fight to get the formula for real estate taxes reduced, I’ve got a lot of economic development projects to work on. So that’s where I’m headed and I’ll continue to work as hard as I always have for Butler County residents.”
Rogers thanked voters for continuing to support him — he’s been in office since 2012 — and said he won’t let them down.
“I’m going to continue to make Butler County have the lowest taxes in Ohio for sales of vehicles and property tax and we’re going to make a more job-ready workforce with our transformational advanced manufacturing, and keep our AAA county financials with no debt and over $85 million in reserves,” Rogers said after his victory.
The incumbents said they were running to build on past successes, their opponents claimed new blood and new ideas are needed. The commissioners will earn $102,043 next year by statute but are not required to work full-time.
Dixon, 75, was a commissioner for one term in 1982, then ran again in 2007 and has served ever since. He had never been opposed until now. Raghu, 39, a veterinarian, is serving her second term on the Oxford City Council and is vice-mayor. Dixon owns and operates numerous healthcare, retirement and other companies.
Rogers, 76, a retired home builder and Realtor, faced a challenger this year for the first time in a dozen years. Small, 47 a nurse practitioner who also owns her own consulting business, The Institute for Employee Safety and was making her first run for elected office.
The county commissioners are the executive board for the seventh largest county in the state — home to 388,420 residents — with 1,679 full-time employees and a total budget of roughly $512 million. They hold the purse strings for 14 departments under their direct control, 13 other elected offices/courts and seven independent boards.
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