It looks like Ohio’s next two year budget will have a deficit of at least $8 billion. A survey of 1800 Ohio registered voters shows that 50% of voters think that the best way for Ohio to balance its next budget is to reduce the compensation of government workers. The scientific survey was commissioned by the Buckeye Institute and purports to have a margin of error of only +/- of 2.3%.

In this survey, 41% of respondents indicated they are “Independent,” 40% indicated they are “Conservative,” and 19% indicated they “Liberal.” And in the survey, 40% of respondents identified themselves as a Democrat, 32% identified themselves as Independent, and 28% identified themselves as Republican.

The second priority chosen by respondents for balancing Ohio’s budget was “Cutting government services,” chosen by 27%. Only 16% of respondents said they would support the option of raising taxes.

Here are some other questions:

“Do you think Ohio workers should be required to join a labor union in order to get a job or should Ohio workers have the freedom to choose whether or not to join a labor union in order to get a job?”

• Freedom to choose whether to join labor union  85%
• Required to join labor union ………………………….12%
• No opinion …………………………………………………..  3%

In your opinion, should the pay, benefits, job protections, and pensions of government workers be higher, the same, or lower than private sector workers in Ohio

• Same as private sector workers……. 73%
• Lower than private sector workers.. 14%
• Higher than private sector workers….8%
• No Opinion ……………………………….     5%

With over 83% of Ohio’s energy coming from coal, do you think Ohio should incur higher energy costs by moving to solar and wind energy, add more nuclear and natural gas energy, or stick with coal to keep energy costs down?

• Stick with coal to keep costs down……………….38%
• Add more nuclear and natural gas energy ……29%
• Move to solar and wind energy…………………… 28%
• No Opinion ……………………………………………..    5%

Justin Coussoule, Democratic candidate seeking to be elected to congress to represent Ohio’s 8th District, is outraged at the lack of federal help for Lake St. Marys’ residents and is calling on the current 8th District congressman, Republican leader, John Boehner, to, “For once, do your job.”

Coussoule, on his blog, urges Boehner, “Fight for federal dollars to help pay for the cost of cleaning-up Grand Lake St. Mary’s and eliminating the sources of contamination to the lake. Help save people’s businesses, their communities and possibly even lives.”

Lake St. Marys is in Boehner’s district and earlier this year it was discovered that a new and toxic algae was growing and proliferating in the lake. The algae produces a deadly toxin that causes liver damage to humans. It is killing fish and pets and causing a lot of distress to area residents who miss the dollars of tourists who are going elsewhere. The increasing toxicity of the lake is causing an economic disaster in the Lake St. Marys’ region.

Boehner says he has never asked for earmarks for his district and refuses to consider seeking an earmark for Lake St. Mary’s. Coussoule is emphasizing that in this election voters should hold Boehner accountable for his refusal to bring in federal dollars, and he is saying that the disaster at Lake St. Marys is just one example of where Boehner has failed to help his district.

Coussoule writes,

You are the representative for the federal government on this issue. Start acting like it! You are the House Minority Leader with 20 years in office, yet you refuse to lift a finger to help Celina and the surrounding communities in the wake of the ongoing crisis in Grand Lake St. Mary’s.

You take your own constituents for granted and have all but anointed yourself the next leader of the House, yet you refuse to lead on important issues affecting the lives of the people in the 8th District.

Lake St. Mary’s is turning toxic because of the runoff from neighboring farms of animal waster. According to this article, “Grand Lake straddles Mercer and Auglaize counties, and the 58,000-acre watershed around the lake is home to the largest number of swine farms in Ohio and the second largest of cattle and calf farms. According to 2007 statistics from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Mercer County has 169 swine farms and 453 cattle and calf farms. Auglaize County has 86 swine farms and 252 cattle and calf farms.”

Coussoule says that Boehner’s stand against earmarks is “disingenuous.” He writes, “It is disingenuous because he’s only against them for his own district, but has voted for countless dollars for other districts across the nation. Boehner won’t fight for federal dollars to help find a solution. Instead, he’ll hide behind his empty stance and instead spend his summer recess everywhere BUT the 8th District, as he embarks on his 30 state bus tour to listen to everyone but his own constituents. This is not leadership. This is the total and complete absence of leadership.”

Last February, I requested that I receive a copy of all material sent to the Kettering Board of Education members and, since February, at the time of each board meeting I have received a packet of material for which I have paid 5 cents a page.  Some of that material I have posted here.

Yesterday, I heard from the district treasurer, Steve Clark, that this practice would be discontinued, because he discovered that according to Ohio Revised Code, I cannot request future records, I can only request records already in existence.  I telephoned Clark and he said he was alerted to his error by a Kettering board member who informed him that the current arrangement to provide me with public documents was exceeding the requirement of the Ohio Revised Code.  He writes (below): “The definition of a public record is ‘a record kept by any public office.’  A record which does not yet exist does not meet this definition.”

I told Clark that, of course, I could simply make a request each month for the material, but that this might mean that by the time I actually received a copy of these public records, some of the material might no longer be current.  My intent is to keep up to date with the thinking and actions of the board.   I believe public records should not only be available, but available in a timely manner.   This is a reasonable request and so I hope the Kettering Board will comply.

Below is Mr. Clark’s e-mail and my reply:

Mike,

In February, 2010 you requested copies of “all reports, letters, memos and e-mails provided to Kettering School Board Members that are designated in law as public information.”  It was my understanding that you were requesting copies of all future reports, letters, memos and e-mails provided to the Board of Education.

However, a further review of the Ohio Revised Code indicates that a request for access to public records must relate to records currently in existence.  The definition of a public record is “a record kept by any public office.”  A record which does not yet exist does not meet this definition.

We will not be sending records in the future in response to your request that do not currently exist.  Please accept my apology for incorrectly interpreting the Ohio Public Records law at the time of your request.

Steve Clark

Steve,

Since February, at the time of each meeting of the Kettering Board of Education, I have been receiving a copy of the packet of materials provided to each Kettering Board member.  My request in February was that each packet contain a copy of all reports, letters, memos and e-mails shared by board members generated in the time period from when the previous packet was prepared.  My intent is to keep informed in a timely manner of all communications made to this public board.  Your e-mail (copied below) indicates that you’ve discovered that this February request exceeds the requirement outlined in Ohio Revised Code, and, that, therefore, your honoring of this request exceeds your authority as an employee of the board.  I appreciate your informing me of this discovery.

It sounds like that a public body, if it chose to do so, could implement a strategy of delay as a means to frustrate the process of making public records available in a timely manner.  I am confident that the Kettering Board has no such strategy.  I am copying this e-mail to Jim Trent, Board President, and the other board members, and I am requesting that the board approve the current practice of my receiving a packet, in a timely manner,  containing a copy of all reports, letters, memos and e-mails provided to the board in the time period from when the previous packet was prepared.

Thank you.

Mike Bock