LOVELAND, OHIO - Loveland Mayor Rob Weisgerber announced today that the City of Loveland has filed a lawsuit in Clermont County against the Loveland City School District because they tabled an annexation resolution last Tuesday night. The City wants control of the site that is currently in Symmes Township, and the ability to tax income of school employees.
Weisgerber said,”Annexation would provide approximately $40,000 in new revenue for the City annually.” He said the income tax would allow the City to recoup the expenses of providing water and sewer service lines to the high school in 1992.
On Tuesday night, Board member Linda Pennington urged the Board to take more time to study the issue. Pennington desires negotiations between the City, Symmes Township, and the District over providing a School Resource Officer to the high school. Symmes Township currently funds a Sheriff Deputy that is assigned to the school. She estimates that the position would cost the District $80,000 per-year if the annexation now goes through. The City has not offered to provide a replacement resource officer.
“I found that an interesting choice of words (the need for more information),” Weisgerber said of Pennington't request for more time. “The agreement hasn’t changed since 1992, and this information is all readily available. The Board’s pattern of feet dragging and wastefulness cannot continue.”
Pennington was on her way to City Hall early this afternoon to talk to City Manager Tom Carroll about setting up a meeting to discuss the resource officer issue. At the time, she was not aware that the City would file suit today.
City Manager Tom Carroll attended last Tuesday's meeting as he has done for the past three Board meetings. He quickly departed after the Board tabled the resolution, and local residents described his departure as, “stormed out” and “childish.”
In 1992 the City and District completed a “Sale and Purchase” agreement where the City would provide sewer and water infrastructure to the new high school, in exchange for 9.5-acres that is now known as Boike Park. The City took money from their sewer and water enterprise funds to make the land purchase possible.
The City ordinance approving the purchase of the land was signed by then Mayor Roland Boike. The park was later named Boike Park in honor of Boike's son who passed away after a long illness.
Besides deeding the land adjacent to the high school to the City, the agreement also provided an obligation that the District, “Execute a petition” requesting the annexation of the Loveland High School into the City of Loveland.” The District has signed annexation papers in the past, but the annexation never materialized. The Sale and Purchase agreement also says the City may make annexation requests any time, “...in the future.”
The Mayor's press release makes no mention that the City received the Boike Park property in 1992, yet he said, “Without annexation, Loveland taxpayers will never recoup their investment.”
Loveland Magazine is awaiting a response from the District. Meg Krsacok the District's
Communications Coordinator said late Thursday, “At this time, the Board has not received any court papers regarding legal action by the City of Loveland. “
Below is Mayor Weisgerber's press release in its entirety:
In response to the Loveland City School Board’s decision Tuesday to again table a decision on Loveland High School’s contractually-obligated annexation into the City, the City of Loveland today filed a lawsuit in Clermont County Common Pleas Court seeking to compel compliance with the 1992 agreement requiring annexation.
“The City was deeply disappointed in the Board’s reaction to the annexation issue. The Board’s continued refusal to uphold its obligations is mind-boggling,” said Loveland Mayor Rob Weisgerber. “There is no question that the District is legally obligated to annex; even the School’s own lawyer agrees. It is a real shame that the School Board has chosen to waste taxpayer dollars by breaching this contract, but patience clearly isn’t getting the City anywhere. Unfortunately, the School Board is busy wasting money, despite the voters’ recent signal that they are concerned about school costs and taxes. They are wasting tax dollars at the same as they are discussing placing another levy on the November ballot.”
The issue hinges on a 1992 contact in which the City provided water and sewer services to the Loveland High School in exchange for the District’s support of annexation when the City requested it. The City has provided more than $473,000 in taxpayer funds toward infrastructure improvements at the school, allowing the School Board to invest its money in the high school campus instead of offsite infrastructure.
“Had that money been collecting interest all this time, it would equal nearly a million dollars. That’s a huge investment for City taxpayers,” Weisgerber points out. “Without annexation, Loveland taxpayers will never recoup their investment. Annexation would provide approximately $40,000 in new revenue for the City annually. There is no cost at all to the School District, and everything to gain for Loveland taxpayers.”
According to Mayor Weisgerber, timing is critical now due to the additional income annexation represents in the current steep economic downturn.
The School’s resolution to annex the high school to the City was again tabled at Tuesday’s School Board meeting due to “the need for more information”. “I found that an interesting choice of words,” said Weisgerber. “The agreement hasn’t changed since 1992, and this information is all readily available. The Board’s pattern of feet dragging and wastefulness cannot continue.”
A copy of the 1992 Agreement between the City and Loveland Schools as well as the legal opinion of the School District’s own counsel advising the School Board of their duty to annex, can be found in their entirety on the Loveland City website, www.lovelandoh.com.
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