The Dayton REALTORS® Government Affairs Committee had a busy start to the year. We hosted several elected officials to speak with the committee about issues that matter to REALTORS® in the region.
Meeting with Karl Keith: Ohio REALTORS® is working to advocate for House Bill 126 at the State level. The current version of this bill as passed by the Senate prohibits any person or political subdivision from filing a property tax complaint with respect to property that the person or political subdivision does not own. It allows a school district to file a counter-complaint only if the school board firsts adopts a resolution authorizing the counter-complaint. It also prohibits a school district that has filed a counter-complaint from appealing the decision of a board of revision and does not allow a property owner and a school district from entering into a private payment agreement whereby the owner pays the school district to dismiss, not file, or settle a counter-complaint.
The State of Ohio Auditor association has expressed concern with some of the language in the bill. The Government Affairs Committee asked Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith to speak with the committee about the bill and provide his professional perspective. Ohio REALTORS® Government Affairs Director Beth Wanless and Thomas Zaino from Zaino, Hall & Farrin joined the meeting as well.
Meeting with Montgomery County Treasurer John McManus and Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague: The Government Affairs Committee was able to speak with Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague while he was visiting with local groups in the Dayton Area with Montgomery County Treasurer John McManus. The group discussed a number of issues important to REALTORS®, and it provided an opportunity to remind local and state officials that REALTORS® always appreciate having a seat at the table when discussing matters that affect homeownership.
Meeting with Dayton Mayor Jeff Mims: The Government Affairs Committee spoke with Dayton Mayor Jeff Mims about the funds Dayton is receiving from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). At the end of 2021, Dayton announced their plans for spending the $138 million in funds they received through ARPA. They have dedicated $55 million of these funds to go toward improving neighborhoods. The full break down of these neighborhood improvement funds includes: demolishing blighted structures ($15.8M), improving housing conditions ($18.7M), supporting neighborhood based businesses ($800K), sidewalks and curbs ($10M), tree lawns ($1M), parks ($2.2M), spray parks ($4.4M), and improving other amenities ($2.1M).
The City of Dayton has set aside $820,000 to begin demolishing 1,025 properties on the City’s blighted property list. They will begin by demolishing 90 properties with the initial budget and will continue to remove blighted structures using the $15.8 Million set aside for this task with the ARPA funds.
Mayor Mims provided an update on the spending of these funds to the Government Affairs Committee and Dayton REALTORS® will continue to advocate for the neighborhoods where we live and work. If members would like to join in a Q&A session with Mayor Mims, we will be hosting him as the first guest for our new Legislative Coffee Talk Series on March 25. Register for this free event
Placemaking:
The Government Affairs Committee is always looking to engage the community, and one of the ways we can achieve this is through Placemaking Projects. Dayton REALTORS® is looking for membership ideas and proposals for community projects. NAR has resources and grants to turn unused or underused sites into destinations in a community.
Some projects that NAR has funded through the grant process include temporary & pop-up parklets, parks, pedestrian plazas, and bike lanes. They will also fund bigger projects such as new parks, pocket parks, plazas, parklets, alley activations, trails, dog parks, play/fitness areas, and community gardens.
If you have a project in mind or know of a space in a community that might be a good fit for one of these projects, please email your ideas to Dayton REALTORS® Government Affairs Director Dan Douglas at DDouglas@daytonrealtors.org.
Learn more about placemaking grants
Future Plans: The committees at Dayton REALTORS® are working to bring a variety of speakers to meet with our membership. Our goal is to create a dialogue between public officials and REALTORS®. If you have any questions on how to get involved, how to run for office, or the advocacy work of Dayton REALTORS® please contact Government Affairs Director Dan Douglas at DDouglas@DaytonREALTORS.org
