county government

Whenever we have a long hiatus in our podcast, we return with a new season of jam-packed government content for our one listener! We jest (but do appreciate our one fan). In our season opener, we talked with Robert Bell and Gabrielle Woehler with the Hamilton County Economic Inclusion and Equity Department.  Robert and Gabrielle discuss the evolution of DEI efforts baked into the County's purchasing, spending, and hiring efforts. 

Under Mr. Bell's leadership, Hamilton County has an overall MBE/WBE spending goal of $14 million per year and $70 million in five years. This is a direct result of implementing the County's first disparity study. We get into the details and discuss the equity framework that guides the department to provide opportunities for all Hamilton County residents!

To learn more about Hamilton County, Ohio, our services and job openings, visit hamiltoncountyohio.gov.

Six former executive directors and Jon Walden, the agency's current executive director sit down to talk about 50 years of history at the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS). 

Hamilton County Administrator Jeff Aluotto talks about the County's biggest achievements in 2022 with some of his top operations staff. Human Resources Director Frank Spataro, Senior Policy Manager Marc Von Allmen and Assistant County Administrators Holly Christmann and Lisa Webb take the mic to discuss some of their favorite projects in 2022 and what they have to look forward to in 2023. Hamilton County continues to launch new programs that improve lives of our residents, our businesses, and our employees. This is the penultimate edition of Heart and Hustle in Hamilton County (the final episode for 2022 was canceled so we could use the word-of-the-day “penultimate” in the podcast).

To learn more about Hamilton County, Ohio, our services and job openings, visit hamiltoncountyohio.gov.

Does your community have a Port Authority?  Better yet, does your community have an Economic Development agency that is working for your city or your county?  Well, here in the State of Ohio, a port authority is a political subdivision formed by a local government - county, township, municipality, or combination thereof.  They provide economic development benefits to a community.  Yes, they can, do, and have managed various types of transportation facilities but for example, they also have the power to purchase, sell, or lease property, and can be used for general obligation bonds.  As this economic development tool and because they have tax-exempt status, port authorities have the advantage of passing savings onto projects.  Port Authorities are able to get themselves into a variety of economic development projects, such as public improvement projects, industrial parks, and of course, creative financing opportunities for businesses.  Tune into this week's episode as we host Jesse Roush, the Executive Director of the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority located right here in the same building we produce these amazing episodes for you, our listeners.  Southeastern Ohio Port Authority serves Washington County, Ohio.  We ask Jesse about his organization, what they can do, what are some challenges, but more importantly, we wanted you to know that these types of organizations exist and people like Jesse, are here to help.

Who’s on it?
Sam Tuten
Jared Perry
Bret Allphin
Jesse Roush, Executive Director of Southeastern Ohio Port Authority

Recorded
October 2020

Resources
Southeastern Ohio Port Authority - Washington County Economic Development
LinkedIn of Jesse Roush
County Commissioners Association of Ohio

Questions?
Email us at support@mytownhustle.com

Shout out!
As always thank you to The Saylor for the hot jams. Check him out NOW on iTunes and Spotify

As co-founder and president of RoadBotics, Benjamin Schmidt, PhD leads a dynamic team in the rapidly growing “GovTech” space. RoadBotics offers artificial intelligence-based road infrastructure assessments for governments around the world. By leveraging standard smartphone camera and app technology, which is paired with cloud access, they are able to deliver their product in an accessible and easy-to-use format. Most governments struggle to maintain their road networks because the process is too cumbersome, time consuming, and subjective. The robust imagery, reporting tools, and data generated by RoadBotics allows for objective decision-making and planning by those responsible for infrastructure maintenance and management.

Dr. Ben began his career in bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Realizing he had a drive and passion for startups, he worked as a data scientist and chief technology officer for a venture-backed company that focused on energy market forecasting and analytics. He then joined the founding team that launched RoadBotics, which was started at, and later spun out of, Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. In our conversation, Dr. Ben discusses the evolution of the company, the challenges of selling to and servicing the government market, and the importance of quickly testing a concept with a minimally viable product.

If you have any questions or if you’d like to chat, you can reach me at my contact info below. The purpose of this podcast is to share ideas, inspire action, and build a stronger small business community here in Pittsburgh. So please say hello, tell me what you think, and let me know how I’m doing. It means a ton!

YOU CAN REACH ME AT:

Podcast: https://www.proprietorsofpittsburgh.com

Website: https://www.thestartupshoppe.net/podcasts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/proprietorsofpittsburghpodcast

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/proprietorsofpittsburghpodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darinvilano

Phone: 412-336-8247

YOU CAN REACH DR. BENJAMIN SCHMIDT AT:

Website: https://www.roadbotics.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidtbt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roadbotics

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roadbotics

Twitter: https://twitter.com/IamBenSchmidt

On today’s episode I conclude my interview with Tom Fisher. We get into the wide range of activities Tom is involved with in Ohio from his work at the county to the non profits he helps to support. We also discuss how the current Covid-19 crisis is affecting everyone, and how his county is responding and going about providing as much information as it can to it’s citizens.

Host Katie Boyle talks with Margaret Nimmo Holland, Executive Director of Voices for Virginia’s Children, about the upcoming 2020 Census and efforts to ensure a successful count in Virginia.  This episode is sponsored by Avaya -- a leading provider of next-generation communications solutions for businesses and government entities worldwide.

Utility-scale solar energy (USSE) projects are growing in size and number across the Commonwealth. Unlike a traditional electric generating facility, they are land intensive. One Megawatt (MW) of generation capacity typically requires the siting of solar panels on 8 to 12 acres of land. The result is larger projects - in the 150MW to 500 MW range - now measure in the thousands of acres and even square miles. This episode explores both the land use impacts and local revenue implications of this emerging energy production market on Virginia’s counties. 

RESOURCES – LAND USE

Mecklenburg County Solar Facility Impact Analysis: An Examination Land Use Impacts by the Berkley Group, LLC (https://www.vaco.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/MecklenburgCountySolarFacilityImpactsAnalysis.pdf) 

Utility-Scale Solar Facility Development: Assessing Impact on Historic Battlefields and Related Resources – American Battlefield Trust (https://www.battlefields.org/solar)

§ 15.2-2232.H of the Code of Virginia (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/15.2-2232) - Requirement for Utility-Scale Solar Energy projects to conform with local comprehensive plans. 

§ 15.2-2223C.8 of the Code of Virginia (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title15.2/chapter22/section15.2-2223/) - Prescribes that a locality’s comprehensive plan map may include “…The designation of corridors or routes for electric transmission lines of 150 kilovolts or more.” 

RESOURCES – TAX & REVENUE

Composite Index Ruling for Mecklenburg Solar Facility – April 6, 2017 Letter from Virginia Tax Commissioner (http://www.vaco.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CompositeIndexRulingMecklenburg.pdf) 

SB 902 (https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?181+ful+CHAP0849+pdf) – Bill introduced at VACo’s request – and now law - that caps the mandatory exemption from local property taxes for solar facilities of less than 150 MW and enables localities to provide exemptions for facilities of 150 MW or greater, as a local option. 

§ 58.1-2606.C of the Code of Virginia (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title58.1/chapter26/section58.1-2606/) – Prescribes that the personal property tax applied to electric suppliers of 25 MW or more in generating capacity shall not exceed the applicable real estate rate.