John Eby on Health and Human Services

Kathy Helmbock, Oakley asked:

Last winter five council members attempted to kill city funding for human services. After four standing-room-only public hearings, council “compromised” by cutting those funds from 1.5 percent to 0.06 percent of the budget. What is your position on this issue?

My Response:

I will try to answer your question by saying I am the product of my parent’s lineage. Our line is a mix of Swiss, Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch. (Amish, Mennonite and Catholic). Hard work, fiscal responsibility, living within your means, loyalty, charity, mercy, devotion to God, family and the community weren’t just buzz words to them.”They lived those ideals.” My parents grew up during the depression. If you didn’t work - you didn’t eat. Everyone helped everyone else in that time of need. I follow in the footsteps of the “greatest generation” grateful for their sacrifices. Thus, both groups had valid discussion points.

I support utilizing 1.5% of the city’s budget for health and human services. At the very least, it provides a safety net for those within our city who need it most. Having said that, our Council must live within a budget, offer financial prosperity and develop economic opportunities for all. We can’t have world- class quality service programs without a world-class quality tax base. The two are intimately joined. Council has to think in terms of “AND” and not “OR”. We must build our economic base so that the tax base is sufficient to address the societal necessities of our neediest citizens. This is the “AND” principle. We have a societal, moral obligation”to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. “The devil is in the details” of balancing the needs and wants of the entire city while being severely limited on resources. We can’t pay for human services if the coffers are bare. We must fill the coffers by competing with Northern Kentucky, Butler Township, and Liberty Township through innovation, creativity, and hassle free business procedures.