Section 8/Rental Testimony

From today's Journal....From the Soundoff section

I live on Bellemonte Street in Middletown and I am one of the last homeowners on the street. Most of the homes have been foreclosed on and become rental properties. One of the houses rented has children who run the streets 24 hours a day. The kids are so rude that when you are driving down the road, they won’t even get out of the street. The value of my home is being destroyed because of the rental properties and the lack of respect from renters. Why can’t the renters at least mow their grass and keep their kids from walking through yards? ... I would love to let the owners of these rental properties know what they have done to my street and my neighborhood. Maybe I will go buy a house on their street, rent it out to Section 8, and see how it makes them feel.

NUFF SAID ABOUT YOUR GAME PLAN CITY LEADERS.

After a few call to the company that runs the Section 8  housing they might start getting the idea something is wrong.They might say its not there problem its the slumlords but Id beg the differ with them.They are the ones that accept the application. Id call them everyday till I got satisfaction.In between calls to them Ms Judy would be hearing from me to.Two can play that game.

The person in the story is either willfully ignorant of what it is truly like outside of their house or guilty of complete and utter hyperbole. Either way their soundoff was ridiculous and paints the whole street in a bad light that is simply UNTRUE.

To clarify - I live on Bellemonte, I own my home and neither I nor my wife was the person who called the sound off.

So first off, this person is not "one of the last homeowners on the street." Just spending a few minutes looking at publicly available information from the county and city tells me that about 2/3 of the houses on Bellemonte are owned by the person living in it. Only one house is owned by the bank, 3 by corporate rental places, and the rest by private parties who probably rent them out, though at this time several are vacant. Also part of the real estate on that street is an apartment complex that I've never seen the police at and always keeps the exterior neat and tidy, and a commercial building that has apartments upstairs. The commercial building has had a major facelift in the last five years and looks very nice.

There are not wild packs of feral children roaming the street being rude to people. There are kids crossing the street to and from their house and the public park with a playground, large green space, basketball court and volleyball court. Kids playing at a park, a novel idea!

Regarding mowed lawns, the worst offender there recently is the city but in all honesty in the last couple of weeks leading up to Sunday when was there time to mow other than during the rain. Us homeowners have to work for a living to pay the bills, so we may have missed the two 1-hour windows where it wasn't raining or the grass wasn't so wet as to be unmowable without commercial equipment.

This person calling in is more cranky than right.

I wrote a bit of a longer response to the editor and it got published in Sunday's Journal:

(I'm pasting the entire text of my letter, they had to trim it for the printed version.)

“In Defense of Bellemonte”

In Sunday’s “Sound Off” an anonymous homeowner on Bellemonte called in and made remarks that painted the entire street in a poor light. From what they said, Bellemonte is turning into a dilapidated shantytown. This is not at all the case.

The majority of houses on Bellemonte are not rentals. Spending only a brief amount of time searching publicly available information shows that the majority of residents are the homeowners, me included. There are properties that are bank-owned or owned by private parties or companies for rental, and several properties are currently vacant. Part of the real estate on the street is an apartment complex and a commercial building that has upstairs apartments which increases the percentage of renters on the street.

Many of the houses on this street have had or are undergoing minor to major exterior rehab done over the last several years, including the commercial building. Most houses look nice, though there are always exceptions. This may not be “slumlording” but an instance where the cost of the fix is beyond the means of the homeowner. I think in this economy we can all relate! Most all residents keep their lawns mowed, though in the two weeks leading up to the sound off comment almost no one could mow with the rain and wet conditions, and the worst offender was the city mowing at the park. Having a perfectly manicured lawn isn’t the main priority of everyone on the street. If you want to live in a place like that, move next to a golf course.

The street was repaved last year and the curbs and sidewalks repaired. We also have one of the best parks in Middletown right in the middle of our neighborhood that includes tennis, sand volleyball and basketball courts, as well as a playground and huge amount of green space for any manner of activities. There’s even a pool that would be a huge bright point if the city leaders would commit to operating it instead of trying to demolish every unused structure in town that can’t be given away to potential new businesses. We are close to three of the best locally owned restaurants in town (Stefano’s, Java Johnny’s and The Jug), have several nearby churches, and are in close proximity to two grocery stores and gas stations. We are fortunate to have a very nice neighborhood in a very good location!

There are not wild packs of feral children roaming the street at all hours of the night being rude to people. There is heavy kid traffic crossing the street to and from Sunset Park. Kids playing at a park, a novel idea! If the children of your neighbors are rude to you that has nothing to do with whether they rent or own, it has to do with your relationship with your neighbors – treat others with respect and kindness and you will get the same in return!

Since the Great Recession, everyone’s home values have declined. It isn’t all the fault of Section 8 or rental property owners, though when those abuse the system they definitely aren’t helping our home values. More of the blame should be laid at the feet of the politicians who deregulated the banking industry, allowing the banks (also very much to blame) to give loans to people who truly couldn’t afford them under ridiculous schemes like Option ARM loans. And part of the blame goes to the consumers who took out loans they knew they could never hope to repay to buy houses far out of their price range. This culture of debt we live in, where it’s encouraged to have a thing and owe for it rather than to live within one’s means, is likely a root cause of the collapse of our economy and decline in our home values. More so than the straw man “slumlord” or “lazy Section 8 voucher holder.”

Bellemonte isn’t a perfect 1950’s utopia straight out of “Leave it to Beaver,” but it isn’t a ghetto either. We are a nice, quiet little neighborhood that has the same struggles as the rest of this city and other neighborhoods in other cities have had since the economic downturn. Instead of blaming our neighbors for the problems in our community, be they homeowner or renter alike, we should be working together with them to solve those problems.

April 2nd Journal article.....

Demand for rental property raises rates
Report: Many local families unable to afford modest apartments

A growing demand for rental properties has widened the gap between earnings and housing costs for many blue-collar workers in the Miami Valley, and tens of thousands of renters in the region do not earn enough to reasonably afford basic housing units, according to a new report.

The troubles of the housing market stemming from the foreclosure crisis and high unemployment led many middle-income residents and families to enter the rental market, and rent prices climbed as a result of increased demand, analysts said.

As prices rose, incomes did not, and the average earnings of renters in Butler, Champaign, Clark, Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Warren counties fall short of the wages needed to reasonably afford modest two-bedroom apartments, according to a new report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“People make all kinds of trade-offs,” she said. “They double up so they have more people in the household, which causes its own problems, or they forgo things, or in the worse situations they lose their housing.”

Unlike food or health care, housing is not a guaranteed entitlement to low-income people, and residents cannot even apply to be on the waiting list for Section 8 housing in the Dayton area because of a large backlog, Probst MacAlpine said. She said all subsidized public housing options in Montgomery County have waiting lists


DON'T LET US DOWN MIDDLETOWN LEADERS. MAKE SOME CALLS TO THESE COUNTIES THAT HAVE THE BACKLOG OF SECTION 8 HOUSING AND TELL THEM WE'RE "OPEN FOR BUSINESS" HERE IN GHETTOLAND. THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO RAMP UP THE LOW INCOME HOUSING IN TOWN AND REAP THE REWARDS OF THOSE ALL-IMPORTANT FED REVENUE DOLLARS TO RUN OUR TOWN. WE NEED MORE SECTION 8! YOU CAN START RECEIVING EVEN MORE LOW INCOME WHEN CRISTO BUILDS HIS APARTMENTS DOWN BY WAL-MART. IN THE MEANTIME, WE HAVE FREEDOM COURT, THE APARTMENTS JUST PAST BARNITZ STADIUM ON THE RIGHT ON S. MAIN ST. AND ROBIN SPRINGS TO KEEP FULL, DON'T WE? HOW ABOUT PUTTING SOME LOW INCOME APARTMENTS WHERE ROOSEVELT SCHOOL ONCE STOOD.....YOU KNOW, RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THOSE NICE BIG HOMES ON CENTRAL. MIGHT AS WELL DEVASTATE THEIR AREA TOO. PERHAPS WE COULD SQUEEZE SOME IN AROUND THE MAYORS HOUSE SINCE HE SEEMS TO LIKE THE SECTION 8 IDEA SO MUCH.

Believe me... we have more than enough Section 8 in the 2nd Ward. I think most of my neighbors are section 8 and many of them just went to jail for copper theft or drugs. Is it possible for a city to not have any section 8 housing at all? I think one apartment (govt project) full of section 8 is more than enough for any city.

swohio75
The number of vouchers for Middletown have not been reduced only the number of vouchers that are now being used. The number of vouchers in use changes every month. The only reason the number is down now is because of the major problems that they have had with the new company and the new computer program over the past year.

Thursday's Journal.....

Middletown Section 8 investigation leads to arrest
Police say landlord was living in apartment and collected rent payments

MIDDLETOWN — A local and federal investigation into Middletown’s Section 8 program has led to another arrest of a landlord.

Police said landlord Jerry Robinson lived with a woman who paid him more than $19,000 in Section 8 rent payments for three years.

Middletown officials have vowed to clean up the Section 8 program, claiming it has led to increases in crime in the city. More than 1,600 people hold vouchers for Section 8 housing from Middletown, which is more than all cities in Butler County combined

MIDDLETOWN OFFICIALS CREATED THIS NIGHTMARE-SCUMMED THE TOWN UP, CREATED MORE CRIME.....NOW THEY "VOW" TO CLEAN IT UP. 1600 VOUCHERS......MORE THAN ALL CITIES IN BUTLER COUNTY COMBINED.....NICE TO HAVE WHAT NO OTHER TOWN HAS IN THE COUNTY, ISN'T IT? MERCY!

Most area jurisdictions that administer vouchers serve less than 1 percent of their local low-income population, according to a city report. Middletown administers vouchers sufficient to serve 8.6 percent of the city’s population

MOST 1%- MIDDLETOWN 8.6% DISGUSTING CITY LEADERS, DISGUSTING.
Changes to the city’s Section 8 program started around March 2011 when the city switched program administrators. Nelson and Associates took over management of the program from Consoc Housing Consultants, which had been in charged of the program for 15 years.

The changes in administrators occurred because of “a number of irregularities became apparent,” said Middletown Community Revitalization Director Doug Adkins in January

WELL DOUGGIE, IT SOUNDS LIKE NEITHER ADMINISTRATOR HAS DONE THE JOB. BOTH ARE FAILURES AND NOT WORTH PAYING. WHERE'S THE OVERSIGHT IN THEIR PROGRAMS FOR MONITORING? SOUNDS LIKE THEY'RE LETTING THE POLICE DO THAT FOR THEM.

THIS WHOLE PROGRAM HAS BEEN A NIGHTMARE FOR THE CITY SINCE INCEPTION. THANKS GOES OUT TO GILLELAND, COUNCIL AND ALL THE OTHERS WHO WANTED TO BRING THIS BLIGHT INTO THE CITY. ANOTHER SCREWUP TO ADD TO YOUR PORTFOLIOS.

Thank goodness Marconi isn't still on council, we'd be up to 3000 vouchers by now.

DRUG TESTING!!!!!!

I think some of you missed the point of the article. I t wasn't the person on Section 8 that was arrested; it was the landlord!!! Do you want to drug test the landlords? 

And again, to re-enforce the topic of too much Section 8 in town......today's Journal follow-up.....(this story is also a plug to entice you to support their safety levy by the mention of the lack of manpower on the street to combat this increase in crime)

Serious crime in Middletown hits six-year high

MIDDLETOWN — Serious crimes reported in Middletown reached a six-year high last year, bucking a trend that shows rates going down in the state and nationally.

Police records examined by the Middletown Journal show 4,733 crimes were reported in 2011, an 8 percent increase compared to the previous year.

City officials said they are concerned with the high rate, but economic issues have forced the police department to reduce the number of officers on the streets

Police Lt. Scott Reeve said there are any number of factors impacting crime in the city, not the least of which is the economy has squeezed the city so tightly, they have lost 17 sworn officers and a total of 34 department employees since 2000.

He said as many big employers have left the city jobs have been lost and poverty is prevalent.

“While every community should take care of their needy, we ended up with a situation where our community was taking care of a disproportionate number of needy people,” he said. “Unfortunately a high number of needy people find themselves in that position because of poor life decisions. Their children tend to follow the same path and our schools end up in academic distress and our crime rate goes up.”

IMAGINE THAT.....THE CITY CREATES THE LOW INCOME/POVERTY SCENARIO AND THE LT. COMMENTS THAT THAT IS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS PROBLEM...

NOW HERE'S THE KICKER FROM MULLIGAN.......

Mayor Larry Mulligan said he doesn’t think people should be afraid to live to Middletown.

“It’s a challenge, public safety is an important priority,” he said. “I know we’re working to get more people on the streets, but it’s a challenge with the budget cuts we were forced to make.”

He said it also might be due to migrating criminals from Dayton and Cincinnati because those cities have stepped up their police presence, he said.

“Much like a water balloon, you squeeze it and the water has to go someplace, it might be coming up the road to Middletown,” he said. “Or from Montgomery County, that’s the challenge of being in the middle


WELL, LET'S SEE LAR BABES. YOU BRING A PROGRAM INTO TOWN THAT ATTRACTS THE POVERTY AND THE FRIENDS OF POVERTY. THE PROGRAM ENTICES BAD PEOPLE TO DO CRIME IN OUR CITY. EVERYTHING YOU AND THE OTHERS ON COUNCIL HAVE DONE, HAS OPENED THE DOOR TO THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR BY ATTRACTING THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT FROM DAYTON AND CINCY. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT? WE SEE THE PROBLEM AND IT IS YOU. IF YOU WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE LEVEL OF POLICE ON THE STREET ALL THIS TIME. WHY WOULD YOU SIGN ON TO A PROGRAM THAT WAS GOING TO PLACE MORE CRIME ON THE STREETS? YOU HAVE CUT YOUR OWN THROAT.

Middletown appears to be an anomaly in Butler County, according an examination by the Middletown Journal. Hamilton, Butler County and state statistics all show crime, or at least criminal court cases, have been steadily dropping.

Hamilton police statistics show the number of arrests dropped 13 percent between 2010 and 2011 and violent crimes — murder, rape, robbery and crimes of that type — have decreased 7 percent since 2007, according to Hamilton Police Captain Steve Poulemanos

HMM, LET'S SEE. LESS POVERTY, LESS SECTION 8, EQUALS LESS OF AN INVITATION TO ATTRACT THE CRIMINALS FROM OTHER TOWNS AND YOU GET LOWER RATES OF CRIME. MIDDLETOWN IS THE ONLY CITY IN BUTLER COUNTY THAT HAS A CRIME RATE INCREASE. MIDDLETOWN IS THE ONLY CITY IN BUTLER COUNTY THAT HAS MORE THAN THEIR SHARE OF SECTION 8 AND PUTS OUT THE WELCOME MAT FOR THIS ELEMENT OF SOCIETY. NOT HARD TO FIGURE OUT, IS IT? GET RID OF THE OVERABUNDANCE OF SECTION 8 AND THE DAM CRIME WILL DECREASE AS THERE WILL LESS REASONS FOR BAD PEOPLE TO VISIT OUR CITY.

MERCY!

No...you got it wrong Vet IMO.

All the Journal and Mayor Mulligan are doing are tethering it together so they can show minor crime is up, and use it as a selling pt for an unjustified tax levy attempted to be hammered through in August. Its about the levy, not about the non-sensical notion Dayton and Cincinnati meet in Middletown.

In fact, isn't that what the housing and commercial development market was supposed to do---15 years ago and counting?.