“This community means everything to me,” said the 48-year-old city manager. “I feel like me and my family, not just my wife and I, but my family for generations, have been blessed to be a part of this community and the opportunity to continue to serve here and help the people of this community and help this community move forward. It’s a great honor.”
Hamilton Police Chief Trent Chenoweth succeeded Bucheit as the city’s top cop, and had worked with the now-city manager for more than two decades. He said Bucheit “is dedicated to this community,” and what he did as police chief he’ll do as city manager: building relationships and work the problems.
“He’s all about Hamilton and making Hamilton a better place,” he said. “Hamilton’s his top priority, and he’ll do anything he can do to make the community better.”
After Joshua Smith announced he would leave the city administration to lead the Butler County Development Finance Authority, Hamilton City Council planned to promote its next top executive from within its ranks. There were several internal candidates seeking the job, but Bucheit was named to the post in March, starting a few weeks later on April 8, the day of the solar eclipse.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
BUCHEIT’S FIRST HURDLE
The first big challenge for Bucheit was to navigate the issues Hamilton residents and City Council had with the Miami Conservancy District when it announced planned re-assessments. That was his first week on the job. A month later the MCD voted to rescind those re-assessments in favor of re-evaluating the formula.
Mayor Pat Moeller said everyone, from City Council to Bucheit and the administration, had to educate themselves on the MCD.
“What a first-week-on-the-job issue to have,” the mayor said. “He just dug and dug and dug into that issue, and he does his homework.”
Hamilton Executive Director of Public Safety Scott Scrimizzi said Bucheit could not have a better background as a police officer and police chief for not only taking on the MCD issue, but anything that could come up. The police chief job is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week job as ‘it changes every day and challenges are thrown at you every day.”
“You got to be able to stay calm, work the problem and you’ll get through it,” he said.
Scrimizzi said he likely wouldn’t be able to be as rock steady without the support of his family.
“That’s Craig’s life,” he said of Bucheit’s family. “He’s a main of faith, but his family is everything to him. It’s good because it’s such a solid base for these jobs.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS
Bucheit follows Joshua Smith, who left the city after 13 years to lead the Butler County Development Finance Authority. Smith is credited by many with the city of Hamilton’s revitalization. Moeller said Smith was the right person at the right time for the city of Hamilton when he was hired in 2010.
Bucheit is the right person for the city of Hamilton now.
“Chief Bucheit’s skillset is different, but like Joshua, he’s a solutions-type of person,” said Moeller. “Though they have different skillsets and different life experiences, Joshua definitely got the job done and Craig is showing that same ability and will definitely get the job done.”
And one thing Bucheit has is the institutional knowledge of Hamilton. He not only has worked for the city for 27 years in law enforcement, the 48-year-old grew up in the Lindenwald neighborhood and graduated from Hamilton Badin High School.
“I think it’s exceeded my expectations,” Bucheit said of the city manager’s job. “In my time with the city, I had a chance to work with a lot of the people that I’m working with today, though it had been in a different capacity.”
He’s needed to address some changes in the staffing at the start of his city manager tenure, which Bucheit said “has been a major focus in the first 100 days.” One of the city administration’s executive directors retired and another one left for a new job, but that allowed him to promote some of the city’s long-time administrative staffers to new leadership positions, including Liz Hayden moving from Planning Director to Executive Director of Community Services, and Aaron Hufford moving from Chief of Staff to Executive Director of Economic Development.
There will be some other organizational changes happening, which are expected to be announced soon.
As he continues to navigate staffing changes and meeting the more than 600 city employees, he is looking at “charting a course” for his tenure as city manager, which includes looking at strategic priorities for the next three to five years, and developing a plan. That planning includes Bucheit talking with each director in the city, engaging with employees, visiting all of the city’s work sites, and being out in the community as part of his priority is identifying key objectives, which includes “being people-centered, neighborhood focused and development driven.”
NEXT 100 DAYS AND BEYOND
Over the next 100 days and beyond, people can expect the same momentum the city’s seen in the past 100 days.
“We have some great economic development projects, great businesses, great announcements and projects that are in the works,” he said.
In his first 100 days, the city’s seen the announcement of Aglamesis Brothers planning to expand into Hamilton, the start of the CoHatch redevelopment project beginning, and the Mueller Hotel project at 20 High St. getting historic tax credits.
“Maintaining that momentum and keeping that excitement and that pace has been a key priority, and continuing to drive development at the same time turning our attention to focus on our neighborhoods,” he said.
Moeller said Bucheit has already served Hamilton for nearly 30 years, having a career in law enforcement and public safety. But as Bucheit earned his law degree in May, the mayor said the city manager “is somebody who is improving himself, becoming an even better problem solver.”
Scrimizzi said Bucheit “was set up with a great team,” and Hamilton is in a great position with his years of crisis managing experience and his ability to “work the problem.”
“I don’t think he’s going to walk away from a challenge,” he said.
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