OUR COMMISSIONERS
Commissioner Ed Humphrey discusses 2017’s major transportation projects, and how they have helped the county.
Commissioner Ed Humphrey discusses 2017’s major transportation projects, and how they have helped the county.
Commissioner David Painter shares his thoughts on accomplishments in the fight against opioids.
Commissioner David Painter shares his thoughts on accomplishments in the fight against opioids.
Commissioner David Uible looks at the county’s financial strength and economic development goals.
Commissioner David Uible looks at the county’s financial strength and economic development goals.
OUR GROWTH
POPULATION
2010
2017
%
INCREASE
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
%
2010
%
2017
%
DECREASE
HOUSEHOLDS
2010
2017
%
INCREASE
IN 2017 WE SPENT $1.3B ON SHELTER
IN 2017 WE SPENT $463M ON HEALTH CARE
IN 2017 WE SPENT $409M EATING IN
HOUSEHOLDS
MEDIAN INCOME
2010
2017
%
INCREASE
PER CAPITA INCOME
2010
2017
%
INCREASE
IN 2017 WE SPENT $174M ON APPAREL & SERVICES
IN 2017 WE SPENT $255M ON ENTERTAINMENT
IN 2017 WE SPENT $272M EATING OUT
REAL ESTATE
HOUSING STARTS
2010
2017
%
INCREASE
HOUSING SALES
2010
2017
%
INCREASE
TOTAL RESIDENTIAL APPRAISED VALUE
2010
2017
%
INCREASE
BUILDING PERMITS
2010
2017
%
INCREASE
IN 2017 WE SPENT $167M ON TRAVEL
IN 2017 WE SPENT $114M ON EDUCATION
SALES TAX REVENUE
2010
2017
%
INCREASE
Sources: ESRI Community Profiles; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Clermont County Auditor’s Office, Clermont County Building Inspection Department, Clermont County Office of Management and Budget, US Census Bureau
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
INFRASTRUCTUREAICHOLTZ ROAD CONNECTOR
The Aicholtz Road Connector in Union Township has re-established a vital link in the Eastgate roadway network by reopening a portion of Aicholtz Road that was split off when I-275 was originally built.
What we did:
- Widened Aicholtz and added new lanes
- Added a center turn lane, easing congestion
- Added a sidewalk on the south side of the street connecting to Ivy Pointe
What it means:
Drivers traveling between the Eastgate area and Mt. Carmel Tobasco Road have an alternate route to SR 32.
COST
OLD SR 74 WIDENING
This well-traveled corridor – Old SR 74 between Olive Branch-Stonelick Road and Armstrong Boulevard – was narrow and rough.
What we did:
- Widened Old SR 74
- Added a center turn lane
- Widened shoulders, added new curbs,
- Improved gutter drainage
- Improved pedestrian access
- Upgraded signals
What it means:
This project supports the recently completed Old SR 74 extension to College Drive, and the road will better accommodate increased traffic.
COST
WOLFPEN-PLEASANT HILL SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS
Wolfpen-Pleasant Hill Road in Miami Township was filled with sharp curves and narrow shoulders and iced easily in winter.
What we did:
- Realigned the road
- Built retaining walls
- Made drainage improvements
What it means:
The road is less steep, has better visibility and is safer for drivers, especially in wet weather.
COST
HOW ARE ROAD PROJECTS FINANCED?
County road improvements are funded through revenue from license tags and the gasoline tax. Bigger road projects that support economic development and help create local jobs are funded by the Clermont County Transportation Improvement District (read more at GoClermont.org). Funding for those projects comes from a combination of state and federal transportation grants, as well as contributions from its members, which include Clermont County, Miami Township and Union Township.
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
PUBLIC SAFETY
The Sheriff’s Office marked its first year under the leadership of Sheriff Robert S. (Steve) Leahy. Sheriff Leahy named several new command staff officers, as well as a new civilian county jail administrator. The Sheriff’s Office was also an integral part of the county’s efforts to find solutions to the opioid problems facing the region. Read more in the Opiate Task Force section.
In 2017, the Sheriff’s Office had a budget of $19.4 million.
CALLS FOR SERVICE AND ARRESTS
JUVENILE FELONY ARRESTS
JUVENILE MISDEMEANOR ARRESTS
ADULT MISDEMEANOR ARRESTS
ADULT FELONY ARRESTS
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT
- 3,822 traffic citations
- 5,441 traffic warnings
INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION
This office, overseen by Capt. Greg Moran, is staffed by six detectives and a detective sergeant. These detectives investigate crimes that are considered more complex and severe, including burglary, assault, homicide, sexual assault, child pornography, and financial crimes.
ARRESTS
FELONY CHARGES FILED
MISDEMEANOR CHARGES FILED
NARCOTICS DIVISION
The Narcotics Unit spans several jurisdictions, including the Sheriff’s Office, Miami, Goshen, Union and Pierce townships, and is led by Sheriff’s Lt. Doug Ventre. Some of the numbers for 2017:
ARRESTS
GRAMS OF CRACK
GRAMS OF HEROIN
GRAMS OF COCAINE
LBS OF MARIJUANA
GRAMS OF METH
METH LABS ELIMINATED
SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM
This is essentially the Sheriff’s SWAT team. It responds to hostage situations, or when people barricade themselves. The team tracks fugitives and executes high-risk search warrants. Even a robot that can be used in high-risk situations is now part of the team! In 2017, the Special Response Team responded to six high-risk calls.
TASK FORCE ONE
Did you know that Clermont County has an underwater search-and-rescue team? This unit is a partnership among the Clermont and Hamilton County sheriffs and the Loveland- Symmes Fire Department. Besides search and rescue operations, the team can recover bodies and evidence. In 2017, Task Force One responded to four calls for service.
K9 UNIT
Clermont County has eight K9 officers – and that includes German shepherds Mox and Paik, Belgian Malinois Paco, and Dozer, a bloodhound. These highly trained animals – and their deputy handlers — train constantly, and are instrumental in narcotics arrests. In fact, in 2017, the K9 teams went out more than 1,600 times, which resulted in 212 suspects charged.
COUNTY JAIL
Clermont County Jail is led by a new administrator, Joe Palmer. Among the initiatives in 2017:
- A body scanner, which helps to ensure that no contraband is smuggled into the jail. The scanner cost $187,000 and was paid through the jail’s commissary fund.
- Greater attention to inmates’ mental illness issues. This involves close coordination with Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services, Child Focus, and the Clermont County Mental Health & Recovery Board.
- Inmate enrollment into Medicaid if eligible
- Average daily enrollment: 276 men; 80 women
MEET JAIL ADMINISTRATOR JOE PALMER
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BODY SCANNER
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
Community outreach is important to the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Leahy and his officers and staff held their first National Night Out at the Batavia Township Community Center in August. This annual event promotes community and neighborhood safety. More than 800 residents of Clermont County attended this event!
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
HUMAN SERVICESClermont Senior Services, the Clermont County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Clermont County Public Health, and the Clermont Mental Health and Recovery Board are also all part of the human services network in Clermont County.
DJFS is primarily funded through state and federal funds. In 2017, its budget was $24.8 million.
1,200+
Reports of child abuse
94
Children in CPS custody
94%
Suffer no additional abuse
86
FOSTER FAMILIES
CPS currently works with 86 foster care families.
38
Adoptions
Adoptions: CPS found adoptive homes for 38 children whom Juvenile Court determined could never return to their biological parents.
Learn more about Children’s Protective Services
13,248
Open cases
46,266
Individuals served
$36M
Collected for families served
WARRANTS RECALLED
Learn more about Child Support
Many of these residents work in low-paying jobs.
36,813
500
14,369
479
Learn more about Public Assistance
OhioMeansJobs
Clermont County
VISITS TO OMJ
HIRING EVENTS HELD
JOB ORDERS PLACED
528-SAVE
2017 CRISIS HOTLINE CALLS
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
PUBLIC HEALTHClermont County Public Health’s mission is to strive to improve our county by preventing disease, promoting health, and protecting the environment.
Here is how the agency did that in 2017.
WIC
In 2017, there were 10,362 visits to the WIC office in Clermont County!
SHOTS AND VACCINES
Flu vaccines given
Children's vaccines given
FOOD INSPECTIONS
Food establishment inspections
BIRTH CERTIFICATES
CHILD CAR SEATS
Free car seats provided
FAMILY FUN ADVENTURE CHALLENGE
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
OPIATE TASK FORCEThe collaborative work of the Clermont County Opiate Task Force – the backbone collaboration that has been at the forefront of the county’s opioid fight since 2013 – continues to yield new approaches – and some progress.
But these initiatives cost money.
In 2015, voters approved an additional 0.25-mill levy supporting the Clermont County Mental Health & Recovery Board, increasing annual levy revenue from $2 million to $3 million. Those increased revenues in 2017 have allowed the board to fund many more services. That, plus diligent pursuit of grants and other revenue streams, has helped to fund these initiatives.
In 2017, MHRB spent over $1.9 million on addiction treatment services.
The Opiate Task Force began 2017 with several goals. Here are some of the accomplishments.
GOAL: Increase the availability of treatment for indigent, uninsured, or underinsured residents
Funding: Mental Health & Recovery Board levy and state funds
GOAL: Establish recovery housing in Clermont County. This allows for a safe, substance-free and supportive environment.
Funding: Mental Health & Recovery Board levy and state funds
GOAL: Increase the number of Quick Response Teams
and recovery coaches
Funding: Funding for the coaches and teams comes from Interact for Health, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and Mental Health & Recovery Board’s levy, state funding and grant funding.
GOAL: Increase outreach and education to the community
- The Opiate Task Force launched a new website, GetCleanNowClermont.org, packed with information for those seeking help and for families and loved ones.
- Get Clean Now also launched a Facebook page, and presents Facebook live videos once a month. The first seven videos have been viewed 20,000 times.
- 50 presentations in the community.
- Billboard PSAs, bus PSAs, mall PSAs, booths at community events.
Funding: Website funded through a private donation; PSAs funded by the Mental Health & Recovery Board and Public Health grant funding.
GOAL: Develop prevention programs in local schools
- Life Skills Training program adopted in several area elementary, middle and high schools.
- Youth-led prevention programs developed at Milford and West Clermont high schools.
Funding: Coalition for a Drug Free Clermont County via the Drug Free Communities grant, and the Mental Health & Recovery Board.
GOAL: Increase community-based Narcan distribution
Two more police departments began to carry Narcan in 2017. Amelia, Goshen, Pierce Township, New Richmond, the Clermont Sheriff’s Office, and Ohio State Patrol all now carry Narcan.
The county’s Project Dawn, located at the Clermont Recovery Center, distributed 256 Narcan kits during 2017.
Funding: Provided by the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services to Clermont County Public Health,
and the Mental Health & Recovery Board.
GOAL: Reduce the supply of narcotics
- 17 arrests for possession of drugs
- 12 arrests for drug paraphernalia
- Multiple warrants
Other 2017 milestones:
Clermont County opened a women’s wing in the Community Alternative Sentencing Center. Women who are convicted of drug-related misdemeanors can enter treatment instead of jail.
On tap for 2018:
Clermont County Public Health is launching a syringe services program that will offer services including syringe exchange, safe disposal of needles, and HIV and hepatitis C testing. It will also povide referrals to substance use disorder treatment. This program will help to counteract the alarming increase in hepatitis C and HIV cases in Clermont County, which will have astronomical health costs.
County Commissioners
Coroner
Job & Family Services
Mental Health & Recovery Board
Municipal and Common Pleas Court Probation Divisions
Prosecutor’s Office
Public Defender’s Office
Public Health
Sheriff’s Office
Other members come from community nonprofits, treatment centers, Mercy Health, law enforcement agencies, recovery support groups, and concerned citizens. The OTF is co-chaired by the Mental Health & Recovery Board and the Sheriff’s Office.
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
BUILDING PROJECTS
A new wing at Domestic Relations Court
For 10 years, the Domestic Relations Court staff of Clerk of Courts Barbara Wiedenbein worked in a triple-wide trailer outside the courthouse. Now, the 4,000-square-feet courtroom wing offers plenty of room for staff and customers.
The addition — whose exterior is brick, like the existing building — cost about $962,000. It houses files and records on divorces and dissolutions and other domestic-related orders.
911 Communications Center
In 2017, the county completed work on two communications towers, allowing dispatchers seamless contact with first responders throughout Clermont County. These new towers eliminated some spots in the county where first responders could not clearly communicate with dispatch operators.
A tower was added at Mount Repose in Miami Township at a total cost of almost $1.5 million. Another new tower was constructed on Wayne Township Fire Department property, at a cost of approximately $1.6 million.
These projects accompanied upgrades to the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system in 2016 that integrated the county into the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s MARCS Multi-Agency Radio Communications System.
OUR STORIES
Lyle Bloom, Director of the Water Resources Departments, talks about the four major water projects on tap for 2018.
Hannah Lubbers of the Office of Environmental Quality discusses the groundbreaking work that is being done to protect the health of Harsha Lake.
Karen Smedley of Children’s Protective Services describes what CPS does when it receives a report of abuse or neglect.
OUR FINANCIALS
2017 All Funds Revenues
| Revenue Type | 2017 Revenues | |
|---|---|---|
| Charges for Services | $39,702,554 | 17% |
| Fines & Forfeitures | $1,205,111 | 1% |
| Intergovernmental | $37,003,696 | 16% |
| Investment Earnings | $1,190,464 | 1% |
| Licenses & Permits | $1,818,170 | 1% |
| Permissive Sales Tax | $30,959,065 | 14% |
| Property Taxes | $44,639,250 | 20% |
| Other Taxes | $7,646,373 | 3% |
| Water & Sewer Charges | $31,830,885 | 14% |
| Other Revenues | $4,873,892 | 2% |
| Non-Operating | $5,803,341 | 3% |
| Transfers from Other Funds | $21,508,418 | 9% |
| Total | $228,181,219 |
2017 All Funds Expenses
| Service Group | 2017 Expenses | |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Justice | $27,627,926 | 13% |
| General Government | $21,238,910 | 10% |
| Environmental & Water Resources | $48,020,336 | 22% |
| Health & Human Services | $60,733,550 | 28% |
| Transportation | $17,129,570 | 8% |
| Internal Services | $16,954,060 | 8% |
| Judicial Services | $13,468,731 | 6% |
| Non-Operating | $4,447,358 | 2% |
| Parks | $1,538,426 | 1% |
| Public Safety | $5,185,248 | 2% |
| Total | $216,344,114 |
The General Fund is the largest discretionary source of funds in the county and finances 20 of 21 elected offices in Clermont County.
2017 General Fund Revenues
| Revenue Source | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sales Tax | $28,394,006.26 | 47.2% |
| Charges for Services | $10,710,221.35 | 17.8% |
| Property Taxes | $7,966,862.30 | 13.2% |
| Intergovernmental | $5,542,336.22 | 9.2% |
| Licenses & Permits | $1,254,022.62 | 2.1% |
| Other Revenues | $590,154.91 | 1.0% |
| Fines & Forfeitures | $746,735.53 | 1.2% |
| Investment Income | $1,135,872.88 | 1.9% |
| Total Operating Revenues | $56,340,212.07 | 93.6% |
| Non-Operating | $3,847,651.45 | 6.4% |
| Total General Fund Revenues | $60,187,863.52 | 100.0% |
2017 General Fund Expenses
| Expenses by Function | ||
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Justice | $23,429,541.53 | 40.3% |
| Judicial Services | $12,323,009.43 | 21.2% |
| General Government | $10,987,614.58 | 18.9% |
| Public Safety | $3,930,743.69 | 6.8% |
| Health & Human Services | $2,926,088.64 | 5.0% |
| Total Operating Expenses | $53,596,997.87 | 92.2% |
| Non-Operating | $4,559,113.23 | 7.8% |
| Total General Fund Expenses | $58,156,111.10 | 100.0% |
General Fund Operating Revenue Growth
- 2010
- 2011
- 2012
- 2013
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
| Year | Revenue in Millions |
| 2010 | $47.2 |
| 2011 | $47.1 |
| 2012 | $47.1 |
| 2013 | $49.6 |
| 2014 | $50.5 |
| 2015 | $53.2 |
| 2016 | $55.5 |
| 2017 | $56.3 |