Final State of the City Address
December 29, 2023
It has been an honor and a pleasure serving the residents of the city of Bucyrus for the last nine and one half years. My job has been made much easier by the staff members who work for the city, especially the Safety Service Director of 12 years, Jeff Wagner and our Administrative Assistant, Kelli Patterson. These two dedicated public servants have done an admirable job for Bucyrus and they will be missed. In addition, Bucyrus is fortunate to have excellent supervisors leading their individual troops. Shay Schnabel, John Rostash, Jeff Dunn, Chad Schwemley, Neil Assenheimer, Tim Wood, Chad Slagle and John Ernsberger are top notch leaders and I thank them for their dedication to the city. We also have excellent servants in Auditor Kali Lewis and City Attorney Brian Gernert.
Looking back on our administration I am grateful for the support of the community as we tried to leave Bucyrus in a better place than when we started and I believe that we have done so. We are very proud of the appearance of our parks—especially on a limited budget. The Tree City, USA Board is a dedicated group who are making a difference in our appearance for many, many decades to come. Our Bicentennial celebration was a huge success and the commission did not let COVID get in the way. The members continue to work on Norton Park which will be another gem in our Downtown business district.
Losing General Electric was a blow but our local employers have picked up the slack and are still hiring. Bucyrus and Crawford County are doing well thanks to the investments of local businesses. The Crawford Partnership led by David Zak has put us on the map nationally and good things will continue to happen here. Investing in the Partnership is critical to bringing and keeping jobs in Bucyrus. We cannot afford to fund an economic development department on our own and thanks goes to many local investors and especially the Crawford County Commissioners for their leadership.
There are many challenges that face Bucyrus residents which the next administrations will have to address.
Park Funding
We have been unable to carve out funding for our park system beyond the regular maintenance like mowing and maintaining the swimming pool. Bucyrus needs a full time parks director to manage all of our fine parks. This person would be responsible for programs for all ages and well as planning for future growth and improvements. Most communities are size have a full time director. In addition, we have fewer city parks than most cities our size. We need good parks not only for our physical and mental health but this helps us attract new residents, especially young families.
Park Legacy Fund
We have many generous corporations and individuals who have made a significant difference in the quality of life in Bucyrus. I don’t want to single any one in particular but one needs to look at the improvements made recently at the YMCA as well as the completion of Schines Art Park to see the generosity of those willing to “pay it forward” and we owe a debt to many people who were involved. I proposed a Park Legacy Fund that would be managed by the Crawford Foundation and would be used for equipment, repairs and expansion of our city parks. The cost of establishing parks is very expensive. Pool replacement would cost several million dollars. Playground equipment can cost a million dollars. The city cannot afford these expenses so I am asking our community members to begin contributing to the Park Legacy Fund once it is established. Please consider adding the Legacy Fund in your will. The money will be greatly needed.
Downtown
We are fortunate to have a well preserved Downtown Business District but much work needs to be done to maintain the historic nature so we will be able to attract new businesses as well as residents. Visitors can tell much about how residents feel about their community by the condition of the downtown area. I am calling on business owners and building owners to work together with Heritage Ohio to form a group that will insure that our beautiful building will be preserved and to help restore building that need work to restore them.
Taxation Issues
I was disappointed that city council members failed to tackle two serious issues facing our residents. It is factual that a minority of residents are paying local income tax because of our overly generous tax credit. Out of town workers who live in Bucyrus pay taxes to the city in which they work. Retirees do not pay income tax. I have asked city council to match what every other city in our area has done and reduce or remove the income credit but they have failed to do this, instead placing an unnecessary income tax levy on the ballot. The levy passed most likely with the majority voting for it being those who do not pay income tax. This is blatantly unfair and failure to address this issue will cause an issue with the upcoming renewal of the Streets Levy. I ask that our new council take up the issue again to reduce or eliminate the credit and then reduce the income tax level back to 2% where it belongs.
EPA Issues and Wastewater Treatment Plant
We have been working to reduce combined sewer overflows according to the US EPA consent decree. The city is in the second phase of compliance and this will be an ongoing project as we cleanup our river as well as Lake Erie. It is an expensive project and we need to upgrade and repair our aging wastewater treatment plant to comply with the mandate as well as expand our capacity to attract new businesses to Bucyrus. This will be the largest financial undertaking in Bucyrus history and we wish Mayor Truka, SSD Tom Starner and Auditor Kali Lewis, as well as new city council members Godspeed in bringing this necessary project to reality. Grants will be needed to offset some of the cost.
Housing issues
Bucyrus needs housing. But first, we need infrastructure which includes new roads, sewers, storm water, street lights, etc. It’s expensive—about $6,000,000 per mile to complete. Grants to help reduce the costs are available. I expect interest rates to drop and the cost of housing to drop as we distance ourselves from the inflationary effects of COVID fiscal policies which have been detrimental to borrowing funds.
EMS
We were forced to take on EMS services due to a lack of qualified providers willing to bid on EMS services for the District. BFD has upgraded the quality of service significantly and the cost is very high. Decisions by three council members to grant a 20% raise to the fire department has cost the city taxpayers and utility users nearly $1,000,000 per year since the effects of that decision were felt across PD and AFSCME budgets. This was a short sighted decision that will be felt for years. The costs are not sustainable to city residents. City Council doubled down on their decision by overturning my veto of an ordinance requiring minimum staffing at all times in the Fire Department. This was an illegal ordinance but more important, a blatant waste of taxpayer funds. It was illegal because the Fire Department Union signed a contract giving sole authority of staffing to the Safety Service Director yet they chose to intimidate council members into voting to override my veto. In reality, EMS and fire run numbers clearly show that we are overstaffed especially from 7PM to 7AM when runs slow down considerably. Our research shows that we could save city taxpayers several hundred thousand dollars per year in payroll cost by reducing excess coverage during certain hours. I ask the next city council to address this issue and do the right thing for the taxpayers by overturning the ordinance. The records do not lie and are available for the public to examine.
Countywide EMS Coverage
I have a solution to the problem if leaders are willing to work together. I am calling on the Crawford County Commissioners, Township Trustees and Bucyrus, Galion and Crestline administrations to study the possibility of a county-wide EMS department. Other counties have done the same—the wheel does not have to be reinvented. Crawford County residents spend well over $150 per person for fire and EMS coverage. A county wide EMS system will drop that cost down significantly by economies of scale especially in equipment cost. In addition, our cities are overpaying for EMS wage by having to “cross-train” firefighters and EMT which increases wages and state pensions. The current system is not sustainable without additional tax burdens for all county residents.
Attracting New Residents
Many of you have heard me say that none of us are from Bucyrus—we all moved to Bucyrus for a reason (with few exceptions—descendants of our founders, Samuel and Mary Norton). It is critical to realize that every administration, every organization and every resident has a responsibility to keep this in mind. Do not look to the city administration for all the answers. Bucyrus is made better by having good organizations, excellent corporations as well as retail businesses and churches which make up what is known as the “quality of life.” We are in a competition for future residents and I ask all residents to keep that in mind. Get involved. Volunteer. Make Bucyrus better by your efforts.
Finally, I pray that God will continue to bless Bucyrus and guide our incoming elected officials. Every administration’s goal is to make life better for current and future residents and, God willing, the next city officials will be able to leave office proud of their accomplishments just as we are. God bless Bucyrus!
Mayor Jeff Reser