Where I stand
Four things, and what I’d actually do.
Hold the line on taxes
Vandalia’s income tax is 2%. Under the charter, Council cannot raise it without a majority vote of the electors, and Council’s unvoted property tax authority is capped at five mills. Those protections already exist, and I would not support asking voters to loosen either one.
The part that is genuinely at risk is the credit. If you live here and work in Dayton or Huber Heights, Vandalia credits you for the municipal tax you already paid there, up to what you would have owed here. Cities under budget pressure trim that credit because it raises revenue without a ballot question. It is a tax increase on commuters by another name, and I would vote against it.
Holding a rate steady means finding money elsewhere. That is the next three sections.
Utility bills you can plan around
Here is where we are. The minimum monthly water bill is $25.01 and the minimum sewer bill is $17.35. Stormwater is $3.60 per household. The last round of increases added roughly $12 a month to a minimum user, about forty cents a day.
Looking ahead, Tri-Cities Wastewater must complete more than $145 million in plant and collection upgrades to meet EPA requirements enforced from 2027. The city is applying for over $15 million in grants against that. Water mains need a replacement schedule running twenty years.
So the work is grant writing, and it is not glamorous. State infrastructure money, federal appropriations requests, and every program the Ohio Public Works Commission runs. Each dollar we land there is a dollar that never reaches a household bill. I would also like the city to publish a plain rate forecast, so a family knows what the bill looks like in three years instead of finding out when it arrives.
Schools that are safe and steady
First, the honest part. Vandalia-Butler is a separate school district with its own elected board. City Council does not set its budget, hire its staff, or write its safety policy, and any candidate who tells you otherwise is confused about the job.
What the city does control is worth using. We run the police department, so coordination with the district on building security and emergency response is ours to offer. We control the crossings, the signals and the traffic patterns around every school building. And we negotiate the development and revenue-sharing agreements that already send money to Vandalia-Butler from growth around the airport.
That last one is where a council member can do the most for school finances. When the city signs an agreement with a developer or an employer, the district’s share should be part of the conversation from the start rather than an afterthought. I would push for that every time.
Decisions you hear about in time
Council meets at seven on the first and third Monday, with a study session at six that is open to anyone. Most residents have never been to either, and the reason is usually that they did not know a decision was coming.
Three things would fix most of that. Post agenda packets earlier than we do. Attach one paragraph of plain English to every appropriation saying what is being bought and why. And when a development or a rate change is on its way, say so in advance rather than at the first reading.
None of this requires a charter amendment or a budget line. It is a habit, and a council can decide to have it.
Three seats are open. I’m asking for one.
Leave your email and I’ll let you know when I’m knocking your street.