STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

CARLISLE, OHIO 2006

Fellow Council members and Citizens of Carlisle, it is my privilege to deliver to you my third State of the City Address as Mayor of Carlisle.

As we review the progress we’ve made in 2005 and look forward to 2006, the City continues to see moderate growth as we have predicted in the past.

In 2006 the City will continue with the Central Avenue reconstruction project, which will change an old two-lane highway into a three lane urban design to help ease the flow of traffic through the City. In 2004 we saw the completion of phase III from the railroad underpass to Lincoln Drive. In 2005 we completed the planning and engineering for Phase IV which will go from Lincoln to Park Drive. The contractor is staging for Phase IV now and later this year, construction on Phase V will also begin. Phase V will encompass the section of Central Avenue from Jamaica Road to Sunset.

Carlisle continues to see growth in the retail business sector. 2005 saw the addition of a new Chinese restaurant, a Curves franchise and a Nationwide Insurance office.

2005 was a tumultuous year for our Fire Department. In 2004 we were concerned that a proposed merger between Franklin and Franklin Township would cause the loss of the Fire Contract with the Township. Even though the merger issue was defeated and the Township will continue to exist, the effect upon our fire department is the same because the Township has cancelled the contract with Carlisle for fire protection in the Township west of the river. The revenue we received from this contract was a significant part of the budget for the Carlisle Fire Department and now that we have lost it, we have to take some action to replace the lost revenue needed to fund our fire department. In 2005 Council decided to have the Fire Department consolidate Emergency Medical Service with fire service and placed a levy on the ballot. The levy was defeated at the ballot in November in what turned out to be a flawed election. Our Citizens in the Montgomery County portion of Carlisle used new electronic voting machines and there were enough problems with the results to cause Montgomery County to pay for a whole new election on the Fire Levy issue which will be on the ballot again February 7^th. The passage of this levy is critical to maintaining adequate fire and emergency services in Carlisle. Also, I would like to thank Chief Wallace and all our firemen for maintaining our fire service during this time of uncertainty for the fire department.

In 2005, we saw the repaving of Oak, Walnut and Chestnut streets. In 2006 we will repave Fairview Drive and Central Avenue.

In 2005 the Service department acquired a new 1-ton plow truck. After the record snowfall last winter, the City is determined to be prepared for such an event in the future should it happen again. I want to thank Gaylon Brown and all the Service department workers for their hard work in maintaining our City.

In 2005, Police officer Jim Slyder was promoted to Sergeant. Currently the department has seven full time officers and five reserve officers. I would like to thank Chief Boggess and all his men for their hard work.

In 2005 Carlisle continued to add new homes in Timber Ridge and Pineview subdivisions, and opened up two new subdivisions, The Villas at Timber Ridge and Eagle Ridge. These exciting new additions to Carlisle’s housing stock offer two new levels of homes not seen before. Eagle Ridge offers high-end homes while the Villas at Timber Ridge offers a low-maintenance development geared toward empty nesters and seniors. In 2006 another new subdivision, Waterbury Village will open on the south end of town. This new development will contain 109 new lots and feature a pond and walking trail. Despite the addition of these new subdivisions, our growth remains moderate at about 40 new homes per year.

 In 2005 the City grew by 80 acres with the annexation of the Eagle Ridge subdivision. Approximately 60 acres of this is in Warren County and 20 acres in Montgomery County. Of the Montgomery County portion, 5 acres is in German Township and Valley View School District. Carlisle now lies within two counties, three townships and two school districts.

In 2005 Carlisle created four new TIF (Tax Increment Financing) districts to generate revenue to pay for infrastructure improvements with the City. These districts encompass our new residential developments. As these new developments are built, the property tax generated from the new housing will fund infrastructure improvements necessitated by this growth. These TIF districts will provide a new source of revenue for the City to fund improvements without raising taxes.

When it comes to the City’s finances, 2005 was another successful year for the City. Our income tax revenues were up from the previous year, which means our citizens and businesses had a better year in 2005. We ended last year with a balanced budget once again, and I want to thank our Finance Director, the Manager and all the Department Heads for their efficient use of our limited resources. We are budgeting conservatively for 2006 and hope that it will be even a better year. Our bi-annual audit was completed last year and the City received a clean opinion once again on its financial statements.

In 2006, our Finance Director Ron Hovell will retire and Julie Duffy will take over the job as Finance Director. Ron has undoubtedly been the best finance director this City has ever had and has helped us through a crucial time in Carlisle’s growth.

In January of 2005, the Miami River flooded to its highest level since 1959 and spilled over its banks in Franklin, south of the Lion Bridge. The water flowed across land and through the south end of Carlisle before returning to the river near Twin Creek. Fortunately, the City escaped with relatively minor property damage. I want to thank all our service department workers, fire and police personnel and everyone else who helped for such a valiant effort in dealing with the flood.

In 2005 John Ransom resigned from City Council and Tim Humphries was appointed to fill the remainder of his term. I would like to thank Tim for his interest in serving on Council and I look forward to working with him in 2006.

And finally, I would like to thank the Manager, Finance Director, all the Department Heads and Staff for their service to the City and its citizens. You are the ones who make this City government work and I look forward to serving with you in 2006.

Mayor Gerald T. Ellender