I received notice today that The Ohio Elections Commission has scheduled a “Notice Of Probable Cause Hearing” dealing with my complaint (See PDF) concerning Kettering’s levy campaign (Case No. 2009E-009). I write about my complaint here. The hearing is set for July 16 at 9:30 AM in the Wyandotte Building in Columbus. The purpose of the hearing is to determine if there sufficient reason to believe that Ohio’s Revised Code has been violated and to determine if a complaint should therefore go forward.

The notice said, “Your presence is strongly encouraged at the Probable Cause Hearing but it is not mandated.” I intend on being there.

I telephoned Betty Springer, the Commission Secretary, who signed the notice and she said that all complaints that meet the administrative code, regardless of merit, have a probable cause hearing and that whereas the full commission has seven members, at a probable cause hearing, only three or four of the members are involved. If the probalbe cause hearing determines that the complaint should go forward, then a hearing is scheduled with the entire commission where witnesses can be called to testify under oath.

Ms Springer said that Probable Cause Hearings are usually short meetings, and that the attending commissioners consider not only the written complaint but any written response to the complaint as well. If there is a written response to the complaint, I will be given a copy prior to the meeting. (And, if so, I will print such a response here.)

Over a year ago I finished a long analysis of Grassroots Dayton by mumbling “I want to suggest some workable answers to that question in future posts.” The question, I deferred answering, is how do we accomplish our purpose — to vitalize democracy? To this post Gary Steiger replied and made the observation, “Lacking is the engine to move it forward.”

I’m thinking that if this engine is ever to get started, now is a good time. I report here that according to David Matthews of the Kettering Foundation, to improve education we must improve our democracy. We need a more engaged, more informed, more active public. Every local school district this November has local school board elections, so this seems a big grassroots opportunity. Deadline for returning a petition to get on the ballot for a local school board position is August 19. We have all of July plus some to line up new slates of school board candidates. I believe that there is a public who would eagerly welcome the chance to discuss public education and its future, and positively engage those who are willing to serve on the local board of education.

Here is what I propose to do:

• Create literature explaining the goals of a subgroup, Grassroots Kettering, that would be appropriate for door-to-door solicitation.
• Solicit “community organizers” to help achieve Grassroots Kettering goals.
• Solicit community organizers to create parallel groups in other school districts — Grassroots Centerville, Grassroots Northmont, etc. — and using same material as Grassroots Kettering, print door-to-door literature for each group interested in forming.
• Find a responsible person who will serve as administrator for each local group and local cadre of “community organizers” in each local group.

I’m thinking door-to-door literature might ask questions like these:

• Would We Be A Better Community — If We Communicated Better With Each Other?
• Would We Be A Better Community — If Ours Was A More Vigorous Democracy?
• Could Public Education Be Greatly Improved — If Our Was A More Vigorous Democracy?
• Would We Have A Better Future — If Our Democracy Was Vitalized?

Most people, I feel, agree that our democracy is not working very well. I reported here that when I asked a group, “On a scale of zero to 100, to what degree do we have a government of the people, by the people and for the people?”, the average of the answers to that question was 40%.

If someone could be engaged in discussion, the idea would be to ask them to fill out

A questionnaire, with these types of questions:

1. Name, Address, phone number, e-mail address
2. A good citizen is an informed citizen, yet most of us know very little of what is happening in local or state government. Would you like to have easy access to effective reporting about all levels of government?
3. Would you consider becoming an active member of a nonpartisan group, Grassroots Kettering, dedicated to vitalizing grassroots democracy?
4. Would you consider joining a Grassroots Kettering Facebook group?
5. Would you consider running for Kettering School Board?
6. Do you know anyone who you would like to see run for Kettering School Board?
7. Would you like to see the community have an in-depth discussion about the future of Kettering Schools, such as, “Where are we headed in ten years?”
8. Would you attend a locally held neighborhood meeting to meet school board candidates?
9. Would you consider buying a chance or buying from this list of products to support the action plan proposed by Grassroots Kettering?
10. Would you consider working as a “community organizer” for Grassroots Kettering?
11. Would you consider working as a board member for Grassroots Kettering?

Funds Raised by Grassroots Kettering Will Be Used:

• Informal Neighborhood Meetings — Meet the Candidates (School Board)
• One mailing to all Kettering voters to publish candidate’s answers to questions
• District wide meetings (2 or three) on the general topic of Kettering Public Education in 2020
• Sponsoring the forming of a “Democracy Club” at Kettering High School
• Stipends and monetary prizes for development of videos focused on local and state representatives.
• Stipends and monetary prizes for articles involving in-depth research — often defined in an Request for Proposal (RFP) process
• Starting and Maintaining a local web-site

My idea is that the “Democracy Club” would be a video club — with the emphasis on creating short news type videos and longer type documentaries — creating informative videos concerning matters of local interest, especially those dealing with local government agencies and elected officials. A stipend could be available for an RFP requesting a video production on a specific issue or question. These videos, then, would be the source of news on the Grassroots Kettering web-site, which in turn would be linked to DaytonOS.

All of this needs more explanation.

What I would like is to be able to offer the job of “community organizer” to qualified individuals, including high school and college students, for say $12 or $15 per hour. I’m wondering if such an offer could be made contingent upon money raised? I’m hoping there are those who will find this interesting enough to begin without any promise of compensation.

Anyway, my personal goal is to put at least 200 hours into this project, between now and August 5, and see what happens.

The Center for Community Solutions’ publication, State Budgeting Matters, in its June issue is reporting that in order to balance Ohio’s new 2010-2011 budget, that over $500 million is needed.

The report centers on proposed cuts to the Department of Job and Family Services (JFS), and says that at this time of economic downturn, when child welfare, child support, Medicaid, food stamps, cash assistance, unemployment compensation, and workforce development all need of additional funding, that Ohio’s General Revenue Fund is drying up.

The report says, “The reductions would come on top of three rounds of budget cuts in fiscal years 2008 and 2009, as well as significant reductions to agency spending taken along each step in the budget process. Additional cuts likely will hinder basic operations.”

The Center for Community Solutions is calling for action to increase revenue to the state. It says, “It is time for action.” It criticizes the Tax Reduction Act of 2005, and says, “By design, Ohio’s tax overhaul has reduced revenues in the state treasury over $2 billion each year. It might have seemed to some like a good idea at the time, but the reality today is that Ohio cannot afford these policies”

The report says, “Tax changes made in FY 2005 have reduced the state’s largest source of revenue and its most progressive tax—the state income tax—by 21 percent over the past five years. In addition, according to some professional employer organization services, the state’s corporate income tax on non-financial businesses has been eliminated.

The Center for Community Solutions is a nonprofit organization. Its web-site says, “As we near our 100th year of service, Community Solutions strives to be the premier statewide resource for accurate, up-to-date information, analysis that cuts through the clutter, and practical recommendations and tools that can be used to improve health, social, and economic conditions.”

I’ve written about this topic in these 11 prior posts:

1. Republican Ohio Assembly Candidates Must Be Punished For Ohio’s Decline
   June 23, 2008
2. Ohio’s 2005 Tax Reduction Law Diminished, By 21%, The Progressivity of Ohio’s Tax Code
   August 6, 2008
3. Ohio Budget Expert, Richard Sheridan: “Ohio’s Budget Problems Are A Long Way From Being Solved And One-Time Fixes Have Dried Up”
   October 7, 2008
4. Chris Widener, Republican Senate Candidate, Boasts About Tax Cuts, But How Will He Solve Ohio’s Budget Crisis?
   October 8, 2008
5. Twelve Tax Loopholes Ohio Should Close To Generate $270 Million Additional Revenue Each Year
   October 15, 2008
6. Assembly Candidates Should Take Stand: Will Ohio Raise Taxes Or Will Ohio Cut State Services?
   October 25, 2008
7. Democrat Candidates For Ohio State Assembly Fail To Challenge Republicans On Crucial Budget / Tax Issues
   November 3, 2008
8. Gov. Strickland Should Seek Revision In Ohio’s 2005 Tax Reduction Law — Before He Asks The Feds For Cash Handout
   December 9, 2008
9. Ohio’s 2005 Tax Reduction Act Was Predicted, By 2010, To Result In Yearly State Budget Shortfall of Billions
   December 15, 2008
10. Governor Strickland Fails To Explain Impact Of 2005 Tax Reduction Act On Ohio’s 2009 Budget Shortfall
    January 28, 2009
11. The Quinnipiac Poll Failed To Ask: “Shouldn’t Ohio’s Most Wealthy Be Taxed More?”
    March 18, 2009