by Michael Monks
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Covington Mayor Chuck Scheper took the podium at the Madison Events Center Tuesday night confident and inspired for the State of the City address, an ambitious and thorough assessment of where the city is and where it will go. Starting now. Publicly, Scheper has spent much of his one-hundred days in office becoming acquainted with the technicalities of presiding over commission meetings, but last night all the work he has done behind the scenes was on display in 3-D. Flanked by two sharply constructed miniature towers proudly displaying his theme of C+V=G on attractive pastel blocks, Scheper dove into his explanation of Courage plus Vision equals Growth.
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"We have the potential to achieve greatness," Scheper said. "This needs to become our plan as a community. My mission when I took on this challenge was to work collaboratively to help solve the long-standing problems so that future leadership will be able to continue to build our city from good to great."
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The packed, standing-room-only crowd of engaged Covingtonians quietly absorbed every word. Among the faces in the crowd were elected officials, neighborhood leaders, city employees, business owners, and residents old & new. While the city has experienced a difficult streak of challenging years, there was an optimistic energy in the room created by a unanimous desire for a new direction for Covington. The roadmap was laid out in the most professional, most well-organized event that City Hall has orchestrated in years.
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From the CVG logo's 3D constructions, lapel pins, and a well-crafted video in which the logo danced and grew, to the fully printed copies of the mayor's speech, this event was meant to be significant and everyone involved knew it. The people want answers and solutions and while some that were presented will require further debate for the parties involved, the experience in that ballroom Tuesday night was one of unified excitement for the future. After several stormy years and at nearly two-hundred years old, Covington never looked so good.
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The issues facing the city were laid out again, just as they were last Thursday during the Covington Business Council luncheon. Rising health care costs, pension costs, the unique geography of the city in relation to emergency response, declining population, depleted revenues, neglected infrastructure needs, union negotiations and Scheper's perception that an evergreen clause in the workers' contracts may be unconstitutional, declining surplus funds, lower state & federal funding, and the need for more green space.
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Many of those problems have been hashed out publicly for the last year but some went unspoken in the appropriate forums. Finally, with all of the burdens out in the open, the mayor presented his 10-point plan to change the direction of the city. "The answer is in the very initials that identify our city, CVG," the mayor said before explaining the courage, vision and growth strategy.
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We will build stronger public/private partnerships by forming a business & community advisory board, gaining perspective from all nineteen neighborhood groups, continuing to support the top one-hundred businesses through direct engagement, working with business organizations (Covington Business Council, Latonia Business Association, Mainstrasse Village Association), and meeting with the Youth Commission to highlight the thoughts and ideas of Covington's next generation of leaders.
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We will conduct an independent review of each and every department within the City. A national firm has already offered a proposal to conduct the review . The findings will be transparent and will be published on the City's website. The mayor will use half of his City salary ($15,000) to pay for half of the cost of the internal review while soliciting the other half from the private sector.
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We will complete the union negotiations. "I'm not faulting either side," Scheper said, "but one of the reasons these discussions historically have taken so long is the evergreen provision." Scheper has met with union representatives and said that he believes that they understand "the serious issues we are facing." The key elements to a new contract, Scheper said, are deuductibles and co-insurance features, education and wellness programs, fair compensation, and a dispute resolution mechanism.
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We will examine all expenditures from a starting point of zero starting with the new budget that begins on July 1. "We need to consider every expenditure as an investment," Scheper said. "If it isn't required for regulatory or legal purposes, or it doesn't pay a dividend to our citizens or businesses above the cost, then we should eliminate that item."
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We will think regionally and consider shared services or privatization if there is significant/cost benefit without impacting public safety. One suggestion by the mayor is to seek a merger for Covington's 911 dispatch center. "Consolidation will save money without jeopardizing public safety," Scheper said. "We are the only county in the state with three different dispatch providers."
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We will optimize the value of the nearly three-hundred properties owned by the City. "Many of these properties have a negative value in that they are vacant and costing the City thousands of dollars to maintain," Scheper said, noting that the properties have already been inventoried. The City will work with the Catalytic Development Fund, the Center for Great Neighborhoods and private developers to ensure the highest value for the properties. "Some of these blighted buildings and lots could be converted into pocket parks, urban farms, or even a dog park," the mayor said.
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We will make it easier to do business with the city. "There is too much red tape and we're going to change that," Scheper said. A "barrier removal team" made up of staff and community members will examine the process of doing business in Covington.
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We will form a marketing team "to better tell the story of how Covington is changing." At this point the mayor revealed that the new CVG logo was created free of charge by Covington resident and Landor CEO Mary Zalla and her company, which markets products for Procter & Gamble. Zalla will be a member of the marketing team.
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We will reduce our payroll tax. "We have heard it from our large employers and small businesses alike that our payroll tax rate is too high," the mayor said. Incentives for businesses include a 10-year incentive of 1% tax rate (if the business has a payroll of at least $2 million annually). "Accordingly, for every business that relocates to Covington by the end of this year, we will use those revenues to reduce the tax rate starting January 1, 2013 for all businesses in the city. That way we all have an incentive to bring in new businesses."
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We will enhance our incentives to help fill our empty storefronts. "We are packaging three programs and doubling the incentives, and with a new name: Covington's Revitalization Empowerment Zone (CREZ)," Scheper said. For the Center City, the incentives will include:
- a 50% rebate on payroll taxes from business occupants in buildings that are at least 50-years old and that have been significantly vacant for three years. The tax break will be extended from five to ten years and will also include existing businesses at the same 50% rate as opposed to the 25% already offered to businesses located here.
- a 100% match of rehab costs up to $20,000 per unit for residential use on floors above a retail space. The investment will be in the form of a 5-year forgivable loan.
- a $500/month for one year grant for new businesses to fill up empty storefronts. The funding comes from the Duke Energy Foundation and Community Development Block Grant money.
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Concluding his ambitious 10-point plan, Mayor Scheper drew the focus on all of the great things Covington already has: not one, but two rivers with development on the way there; a valuable stretch of waterfront known as Riverfront West, "maybe the most valuable stretch of real estate in the midwest"; proximity to Cincinnati; a growing hub of innovative businesses such as bioLOGIC and Bexion Pharmaceuticals which may be very close to curing cancer; a huge investment in the urban core through the $54 million expansion of Covington Latin; the wonderful philanthropists Oakley & Eva Farris who have so generously bolstered public projects in Covington; the intended creation of a large urban campus for Gateway Community College; the non-profit catalytic fund which is at the cusp of hitting the "launch-point" of $10 million ("Bill Butler, the visionary leader of Corporex, who invested in Covington when no one else would take the risk, committed the first $1 million to this entity," Scheper said); Covington's diverse population; and the mosaic signs that welcome people into every neighborhood.
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Then, finally: "I want to make two personal pleas," Scheper said. The mayor urged everyone to become a mentor for a student in Covington saying that Superintendent Lynda Jackson could use four-hundred more.
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"Secondly, be a salesperson for Covington," he said. "Let folks know where you live and work. Working together we will achive CVG and make Covington a great city!"
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