City’s vote on land bank expected this month
By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer 9:19 PM Tuesday, February 7, 2012

    MIDDLETOWN — City Council has yet to officially support Butler County’s efforts to form a land bank in order to deal with property blight.
    But council is set in two weeks to approve supporting the economic development tool which is being considered by the county commission.
    The commission has yet to move forward with forming the land bank, a quasi-public, nonprofit organization that can acquire vacant, abandoned, tax-foreclosed or other real estate property for rehabilitation and reuse. But it already has the support of Hamilton City Council.
    Middletown council Tuesday night introduced a resolution of support for the plan. Vice Mayor Dan Picard thinks the majority of council will vote later this month for the resolution.
    “It’s not the be all, end all of everything,” he said. “It’s something worth pursing so I think we should give it a shot. I think it’s important we should jump on board and participate.”
    Vacant and abandoned properties have become a problem in the county’s two largest cities, Hamilton and Middletown, which have been brought on by home foreclosures. City and county officials say one way to combat that problem is to form a land bank, also known as a County Land Reutilization Corporation.
    The county has seen a 500 percent increase in foreclosures since 1999, when there were about 500. There were 3,000 foreclosures filed in both 2009 and 2010, according to Thriving Communities Institute.
    Montgomery and Hamilton counties have already formed Land Reutilization Corporations.
    When City Council does vote, there will be at least one dissenting member.
    “I have issues of transferring, or creating an entity that would transfer, liability to property owners,” said Councilman Josh Laubach, the only member of council who has been vocally opposed to the concept. “In addition, there’s no money without borrowing or taking from another fund to provide for this.”
Fire union contract approved
    City firefighters had agreed to no wage increases for 2012 and 2013, and to double their health care payments, according to a new three-year IAFF contract.
    City council ratified that agreement by approving the contract Tuesday by a 6-1 margin.
    “Would it be nice for them to take less? Of course it would,” said Picard. “But I don’t think it’s going to happen and I think it’s the best deal we could get.”
    Picard said he believes the city has done well at “holding the line” in negotiating union contracts in recent years, holding pay raises at zero or 1 percent.
    The contract allows for wages to be negotiated for 2014, the last year of the contract, except if council approves raises for nonunion and other union employees as dictated by a “me too” clause.
    The firefighters’ health care payment will increase from 7.5 percent to 15 percent. The contract will affect approximately 75 firefighters.
    Laubach voted against the contract.
    “The contract, in my opinion, is not affordable for the city, nor do I see it as a benefit for the citizens or the firefighters,” he said.
    Jon Harvey, IAFF 336 president, could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
    Chelsey Levingston contributed to this report. Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc.com.