State of the Township

By Terry L. Blair, President
Washington Township Board of Trustees
Montgomery County, Ohio

Presented January 7, 2008

For the past twenty years of my life, it has been my honor to serve the citizens of this community as their trustee – making decisions on their behalf. And, I am glad to report that Washington Township, unlike many other local governments today, is in solid financial condition. The proof that Washington Township takes its fiduciary responsibility seriously is that it has received another unqualified audit opinion from the Auditor of State.

One thing that makes Washington Township unique is its focus on customer service at every level throughout the government. About every five years, Washington Township conducts a survey of citizens to assess its performance through the eyes of its stakeholders. And, once again, overall satisfaction with township services was measured at 95 percent.

Another contributing factor to the uniqueness of Washington Township is the active involvement of its citizens. Many citizens freely contribute their time to serve on a wide variety of boards and committees – the Zoning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Visual Improvement Committee, the Recreation Advisory Board, just to name a few. The extent of this involvement provides an excellent opportunity for citizen participation, and serves to keep our government on task.

There are more than 1,400 townships in the state of Ohio. Washington Township in Montgomery County is among the top five in both size and budget. It is larger than some counties in Ohio. In no small measure, the successful management of such a large entity is due to the administration of its government. The Township has had only two full time administrators throughout its history. Gary Huff, who has been administrator for the past twelve years, will retire at the end of January 2008. Gary has had a significant and positive impact on this community during its major growth years, serving as Director of Zoning and Development from 1984 to 1991. We wish Gary well in his retirement and owe him a debt of gratitude for his years of service to this community.

At our December 17 th meeting, trustees selected Jesse Lightle to replace Gary as Administrator of Washington Township’s government. Jesse will assume the duties of Administrator on February 1, 2008. Trustees are confident that Washington Township’s government is in very capable hands and the citizens can rest assured that Jesse is the right person for the job.

This past year also saw the retirement of Fire Chief Ken Parks. Ken retired after thirty-six years of service to our community – ten as its Fire Chief. Bill Gaul, a twenty-seven year veteran of the Fire Department and lifelong resident of Washington Township, was appointed on July 1st to replace Ken Parks as Fire Chief. Under Chief Gaul, the Washington Township Fire Department is working on the final step toward accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. We expect to receive accreditation in 2008, placing our fire department among a very select few nationwide.

Washington Township has long been a proponent of preserving open space as a primary means of preserving value and the quality of life. Much of our sense of the value of open space was due to the efforts of a small group of citizens in the 1950s. Spearheaded by Bill Yeck, the Washington Township Park District was established. Bill passed away in 2007, but before his passing he presented the Township with its first conservation easement – an easement that pertains to preserving his six acre property in northern Washington Township. During my tenure as trustee I have been privileged to know and work with Bill Yeck. As time goes by there will be fewer citizens who may remember Bill Yeck. However, all citizens of this community will forever benefit from his foresight and dedication to preserving open space.

Our primary means of protecting the investment citizens have made in this community is through our Zoning Resolution. It is a living document. It is the document with which the community arbitrates conflicting property rights between its citizens. Some believe it is too restrictive, some believe it not restrictive enough. Whatever your opinion, it has served this community well. In 2007, the Zoning Resolution Review Committee drafted modifications and additions to reflect the goals of the Create the Vision Community Plan. As a result, there will be two new zoning classifications – Conservation and Mixed Use districts. It is the first major change to our Zoning Resolution in many years.

Perhaps, the biggest constraint on the growth of all government will be the willingness and ability of the public to pay. So, cooperation will be the keyword for all governments in the future. Washington Township continually evaluates the services it provides – always looking for more efficient and cost-effective delivery. The challenge for governments will be to find ways to cooperate with one another to improve levels of service at a lower overall cost while maintaining local identity. To that end, we continue to work with Centerville to search for ways, through cooperative efforts, to lower the overall cost of government for our community.

In this regard, the township spent considerable time last year participating with other communities throughout Montgomery County to evaluate a Combined Joint Dispatch function for police, fire and emergency medical services. As of this report, trustees have not made a decision about their actual participation. However, whatever short-term decision is made, the long-term benefit from our year of study and discussion will be considerable. We expect this to be just the first step of a renewed interest in multi-governmental cooperation that focuses on reducing the cost of government for all. And, we hope that our commitment and participation will inspire other governments to be a part of future joint initiatives. But for such efforts to be successful, it is essential that all local governments participate -- including those that have not been part of the deliberation process for joint dispatch.

I am proud that Washington Township Trustees have set an example by their participation in discussions that have the potential to bring collective strength to our county and our region. To that end, I offer my promise that during 2008, we will continue to explore cooperative efforts and work for cost-effective service delivery in an effort to keep the cost of government down.