Ottawa Hills Civic Excellence Collaborative

05/08/2026

🎥 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟰 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗮𝘄𝗮 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴?

The meeting recording is linked below.

Agenda and council packet will be linked in the comments for residents who want to follow along or review discussion topics in context.

What do you think would make council meetings more accessible or informative for residents?

05/05/2026

🗳️ 𝙋𝙊𝙇𝙇𝙎 𝙊𝙋𝙀𝙉 𝙏𝙊𝘿𝘼𝙔 (May 5, 2026)
⏰ 6:30 AM – 7:30 PM

📌 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘁

📡 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 911 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮

Purpose: Emergency communications infrastructure (not staffing)

Rate: 0.8 mills (up from 0.7) | 5 years

Cost: ~$28 per $100,000 of home value (up from ~$15)

Why it matters:
• Current system reaches end-of-life in 2027
• Funds radios, towers, dispatch tech, and software

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🦁 𝘛𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘰 𝘡𝘰𝘰 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘺

Purpose: Zoo improvements & facilities

Rate: 0.9 mills | 10 years

Cost: ~$32 per $100,000 of home value (lower than today)

What to know:
• Replaces two levies totaling 1.65 mills
• Focus on capital projects (vet hospital, café, amphitheater)
• Phasing out levy use for operating costs (like salaries)

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🏛️ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 & 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀

• Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General
• Ohio Supreme Court (2 seats)
• Congressional & State Legislative races
• Katie Moline (unopposed) – Lucas County Auditor

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📍 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.

🗳️ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲.

05/04/2026

🌳 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝟳:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠

As Council meets this evening, one item worth revisiting is the 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲 (𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴) 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Residents collectively contribute significant annual funding toward this program, yet a few key questions remain:

• How are annual trimming costs trending?
• How do current fund balances compare to yearly needs?
• Are we right-sized -- or accumulating more than necessary?

📊 More broadly, Village finances are primarily supported by local income and property taxes, making transparency and alignment especially important for assessments like this.

📌 What’s the opportunity?
A simple, data-driven review could help determine whether:
• The current assessment level is appropriate
• Adjustments could be made in future years
• Funds are being deployed as efficiently as possible

This isn’t about cutting services, it’s about ensuring alignment between what is collected and what is needed.

🗓️ Council meets tonight at 7:00 PM
We encourage residents to attend, listen, and engage.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

05/03/2026

At the April 6 meeting, Mayor Marc Thompson stated he was not aware of what financial analysis had been performed, but still recommended proceeding with a $171,393 bucket truck purchase - equipment marketed and designed for industrial electric utility work - to support hanging flower planters on light posts.

For comparison, aerial lift equipment suitable for this purpose rents locally for under $600/week (delivered).

Separately, current field practices raise questions about readiness for this type of equipment. Publicly observed work does not consistently demonstrate use of fall protection. OSHA has required harness systems for aerial lift operations since 1998.

From a governance standpoint, the Ottawa Hills Village Council has not responded to requests made in January to:
• Require financial analysis for capital purchases over $50,000
• Reconsider the Dec 1 approval made without documented due diligence

These are standard elements of due diligence and risk management for public funds.

📌 What’s the path forward?
How should cost, safety, and process factor into major decisions?

🗓️ Council meets Monday, May 4 at 7:00 PM - we hope to meet you there.

04/10/2026

Sharing a resource that may help you understand how upcoming levies could impact your property taxes.

LEVY ESTIMATOR ... The Lucas County Auditor has updated the online levy estimator tool to reflect the property tax cost of levies on the May 5 ballot.

“It is important for voters to have accurate information to make informed decisions for themselves, their families, and their community," said Lucas County Auditor Katie Moline.

Moline encourages property owners to visit her office’s AREIS website to estimate how upcoming levies will affect their property taxes.

To use the estimator, go to the auditor’s homepage at lucascountyohioauditor.gov and click on the Property Search button. Then enter your address on the property search screen. Finally, click on the Levy Estimator (on left) to view all levies for the current calendar year, including those on the upcoming ballot.

The estimator shows the taxing authority, levy name, current taxes paid to the levy, and new taxes generated upon approval. You can also view levy details and read the ballot language for each levy on the ballot.

Two levies in the ballot that would impact property taxes in the Village are the Lucas County 9-1-1 and Public Safety Communication Systems (additional .8 mills, or $28 per $100,000 of home value) and the Toledo Zoo Operating (additional .9 mills, or $32 per $100,000 of home value).

02/04/2026

In light of the tax season being upon us, the CEC is considering how best to share information about income and property taxes as they relate to Village finances.

We'd love your input as to what residents would like to know in terms of how taxes are calculated in accordance with property value and in relation to taxpayers' income.

Please comment or DM if there's information that you or your neighbors are interested in understanding!

02/04/2026

An opportunity to contribute your valuable expertise for the betterment of the Village of Ottawa Hills! Please share with any interested residents.

02/02/2026

Agenda for this evening's council meeting is posted. Council packet is linked below 👇🏽

01/30/2026

Village of Ottawa Hills Council Meeting
📌 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮 – 𝟳:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠

📍 Residents are welcome to attend or submit comments to the CEC that may be shared on their behalf.

📎 The CEC will follow up this post with more information as it becomes available.

01/13/2026

📌 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 – 𝟳:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠

Tonight, Ottawa Hills Council will:

• Swear in new members and select a Vice-Mayor
• Appoint the Village Administrator as Acting Clerk-Treasurer
• Adopt Council rules and make committee appointments
• Vote to approve ~$5,700 in legal fees
• Review year-end finances — income tax revenue finished at 103% of budget
• Consider a $320,514 engineering contract for the Evergreen Rd Bridge (design only; construction planned 2027)

The packet also includes a status list of capital and safety projects, with several items in progress or on hold, including roads, bridges, sidewalks, traffic studies, and safety planning.

📍 Residents are welcome to attend or submit comments.

📎 Full council packet linked in the comments.