Denise Callahan

Dayton

Government Reporter at Cox Media Group

Butler County reporter @JournalNews

Articles

Domestic violence survivor complex will not be coming to New Miami

6 days ago | journal-news.com | Denise Callahan

The list of successful projects was released late last week — and the New Miami project — wasn’t on it. YWCA Executive Director Wendy Waters-Connell said from the beginning this project was a “long shot” because this is highly competitive program the New Miami site had challenges. The score was too low“Because the location was not a high score area in OHFA’s process, we knew this would be a long shot to win the grant,” she said.
Elderly Services levy request for additional taxpayer money may be on November ballot

1 week ago | journal-news.com | Denise Callahan

They say the need for elderly supportive services has risen exponentially since the last levy increase two decades ago — the number of residents age 60-plus has grown 79% and keeps multiplying rapidly. Council on Aging plans to ask voters for a renewal plus an additional tax levy in November. If approved the two levies combined would cost taxpayers an additional $24.50 per $100,000 of value. The total cost would double to $50 per $100,000 — and reap $20.4 million.
Area pastors urge Butler County commissioners to end ICE jail contract

1 week ago | daytondailynews.com | Denise Callahan

Kragt spoke in particular about one of his parishioners, Armando Reyes Rodriguez, 42, who was “scooped up” by ICE in April and is now living in the jail. He told the commissioners Reyes is living here with permission from the federal government and his wife and son are currently in the process of getting asylum from Honduras.
Area pastors urge Butler County commissioners to end ICE jail contract

1 week ago | journal-news.com | Denise Callahan

Kragt spoke in particular about one of his parishioners, Armando Reyes Rodriguez, 42, who was “scooped up” by ICE in April and is now living in the jail. He told the commissioners Reyes is living here with permission from the federal government and his wife and son are currently in the process of getting asylum from Honduras.
Eliminating property taxes could ‘cripple’ Ohio governments, critics say

1 week ago | journal-news.com | Denise Callahan

According to state budget documents, property tax collections for 2023 totaled $22.6 billion. State and local income taxes last year totaled $13.8 billion and sales tax $18 billion. Heidi Fought, executive director of the Ohio Township Association, said her board hasn’t voted on a course of action regarding this ballot initiative yet, but if it passes it will “cripple” townships. “Township services are provided mainly through property tax levies passed by township residents.
Butler County police departments land body cam funding

1 week ago | wcpo.com | Denise Callahan

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio — Butler County police agencies received $500,000 in new state grant money to support new and existing body worn camera programs that they say help convict criminals and provide transparency. For years, Butler County police departments shied away from body cameras because of the cost and uncertainty about what needed to be retained as a record, what should or cannot be redacted, and other privacy issues.
Effort to end property tax could spur ‘dramatic’ reform from Ohio lawmakers

1 week ago | journal-news.com | Denise Callahan

Beth Blackmarr, the spokesperson for Citizens for Property Tax Reform, told this news outlet: “We’ve launched.”“We’re going to have circulators everywhere,” she said. “We have probably thousands of people working across Ohio on this effort.”She has said multiple times this was an “effort of last resort” because the state legislature has failed to give taxpayers who are being crushed by high property taxes any “meaningful” relief.
Effort to end property tax could spur ‘dramatic’ reform from Ohio lawmakers

1 week ago | daytondailynews.com | Denise Callahan

Beth Blackmarr, the spokesperson for Citizens for Property Tax Reform, told this news outlet: “We’ve launched.”“We’re going to have circulators everywhere,” she said. “We have probably thousands of people working across Ohio on this effort.”She has said multiple times this was an “effort of last resort” because the state legislature has failed to give taxpayers who are being crushed by high property taxes any “meaningful” relief.
Butler County elected officials fine with hiring freeze

2 weeks ago | journal-news.com | Denise Callahan

He received verbal support from his fellow commissioners recently to hold the line on any new hires outside already approved staffing levels for this year and 2026. The approved budget for this year includes 1,784 full-time equivalent positions, excluding elected officials and board members. “There’s a lot of uncertainty out there right now, not sure where it’s all going to end up nobody really knows,” Dixon told the Journal-News.
Overdoses and death by suicide on the rise in Butler County - especially for veterans

2 weeks ago | journal-news.com | Denise Callahan

“It’s really hard to get a sense of what that would look like, but it would put more of an emphasis on using subsidies that in the past were considered fairly safe but it would come back on the board’s local subsidy dollars,” he said. “It’s really hard to put a number on it, thousands of dollars, hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.