'United in spirit:' Miller talks accomplishments, what's to come in State of City address

Ready to kick off the new year with some excitement, Ashland's mayor addressed community spirit, quality of life, what's to come and finances at the annual State of the City address.

Mayor Matt Miller said city government works so well together to achieve great things because "we are united in spirit to move this community."

He said many communities, as well as the state and federal governments, are accomplishing nothing because they fight with each other constantly.

"If they are accomplishing something in many instances, it's harming the quality of life in their communities," Miller said at the address held Wednesday at Ashland High School's Archer Auditorium.

Miller said Ashland's government is on board to work together in order to improve quality of life and keep the community moving forward. He said the government is considered the heart of the body, and if the heart is unhealthy, the whole body will suffer.

"The whole body being the school district, being the business community, being the nonprofit community, every other element of what makes up a community," he said. "If we're unhealthy and not performing as the city government, everyone else will suffer the consequences."

He and the rest of the government are on a mission to create a city of excellence, Miller said, noting the 250 city employees' key vision is to make Ashland the most livable city around.

"We want to be the place where everyone wants to live. They want to live here because we're safe, we're affordable, and we're fun." Miller said. "And I think if you stop and think about it, you'll see that we can check the boxes on all of those three priorities. We want to be the place that everyone wants to live. A community that is safe, affordable, and fun."

Miller's breakdown on budgets and taxes

While talking about 2023 projects, Miller pointed to the "financial indicators" of Ashland.

Miller said he looks at sales tax collections, real estate tax collections and the city income tax.

"Last year when we stood here, we were talking about record numbers," he said. "Significant double-digit increases on every one of those financial indicators."

The mayor said he was pleased to announce the trajectory has held steady. "We are still on an upward swing when it comes to the county sales tax collection."

Miller said in the past two years county sales tax collection increased about 13%.

"Since last year, we've experienced about a 1% increase in our county sales tax collections," he said. "Here's the bottom line, we'll take that because after those two big record years of increased spending, for us to still be increasing, even if it's just a percent, we're still in a good place."

Miller said property tax collection went up to 4%.

That means that now at of the conclusion of 2023, the collection was almost $70 million. So, obviously, record levels for our community," he said.

The average price of a home in Ashland County is $289,000, he said.

"Is that not incredible?" he said, noting some builders told him to expect to build a new family home for under $350,000.

When looking at income tax collection, Miller said it is up 2.5%.

"Again, we come off of record years. So, the fact that it goes up to 2.5%, about $20 million, is what it was," he said. "We actually increased our collections by about a half of million more this last year."

In regard to the city's budget, Miller said the budget is $76 million.

"When we finished 2023, we had a carryover balance of just over $3 million. We started with a $3.2 million carryover," he said.

The city, after a $2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation, will pay about $5.5 million for the Claremont Avenue resurfacing project, the mayor said. The project included a waterline replacement, which was an additional $2 million for which the city borrowed $1 million. He said he expects the loan to be paid off by June.

Miller said in the past six year Ashland has resurfaced more than 200 of its 315 streets of the city.

What's in store in Ashland in 2024

Miller declared the city will not resurface 66 streets in 2024. The key focus will on a couple of major streets, including Sandusky.

"From Cottage to the city limits and beyond," he said.

The Sandusky Street project and US. Route 42 from the old WNCO studio around to the US Route 250 bypass will probably cost about $4.5 million, he said, eating up most of the city's budget for roads.

Most of the cost will be paid by ODOT, with the city chipping in close to $1 million, Miller said. "So, we believe it's worth our investment."

Another 2024 road projects will be repairing the sinkhole on East Main Street by Dairy Queen. The project will include installing a new culvert under the street. The project will be about $1.5 million. The city received a $500,000 grant to put toward the project.

One other project on the books is repair of the bridge on West Main Street, which is a county project. Work will begin around Memorial Day and run until Labor Day. The street will be closed while the bridge is being replaced.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland mayor stresses community and success in State of City address