Check out the letter to Sherrod Brown urging relief.

"With a heavy heart, I'm sad to report that on June 5th, 2008, the beloved "Pepper Van" met its untimely end...felled by a storm-tossed tree in Wyoming, Ohio."

But let us not remember how She passed, but how She lived. She came to us in 2001. She logged hundreds of miles carrying a generation of Cincinnatians to and from parades and delivering signs to thousands of households...always reliable, always workmanlike. And even when backed into a building or driven into other vehicles, She never complained.

DaVinci once reflected: "As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death." While it ended poorly, the Pepper Van indeed led a life well-used.

As we enter the post-van era, it's time to create new memories! Please join us this Fourth of July.

We will be marching in Madeira on Thursday at 6:30pm. On Friday July 4th, we will march the streets of Montgomery, Northside and Sharonville. Joining us for even one parade will be a great help.

If you would like to volunteer in one or all of the upcoming parades, just email Bridget at Bridget@davidpepper.com.

And I have to say, I'm so glad I did. It's not only a citizen's duty-it's an eye-opening and educational experience that benefits every citizen who does it.

I happened to serve on the grand jury (probably would not have made it onto a regular jury). For two weeks, I and 10 other dedicated citizens from all across Hamilton County heard case after case, and deliberated about whether or not to indict fellow citizens for alleged crimes. I can't reveal any specifics, but I can tell you how rewarding the experience was in general.

In this month’s newsletter, foster and adoptive parents take center stage. Hamilton County recently launched a new campaign to increase the number of parents willing and able to create a new safe home for our foster and adoptive children. Also inside are the results of last weeks survey. Just click on this link to read more.

Happy New Year, and thank you for your support and friendship.

As we begin this new year, I wanted to provide a summary of the County’s accomplishments in 2007, and the challenges and priorities we face for 2008. Overall, it was a busy and productive first year for me as a County Commissioner. Let me first say that it’s a wonderful position, with so much opportunity to make a difference—for the entire community, and individual lives. It is a great mix of policy and execution, which suits my interest in style. And for the most part, even in a challenging environment, we at the County were able to work well together—across party lines, and across a broad array of departments and offices.

Most importantly, I think we made some very positive strides in cleaning up a mess that was left by some reckless decisions in prior years. The “cleaning up” we did in 2007 will put us in a strong position to take big steps forward this year and beyond on our key priorities. While we have a long way to go, I was proud to see in a recent survey that the citizens’ view of “County Political Leadership” was at its highest point in years.

The voluntary salary givebacks come as part of a tight budget in which County Commissioners froze wages, made job cuts, and eliminated other services in an effort to close a large budget deficit while holding the line on taxes. Each Commissioner is returning $2,372.00 to the County General Fund.

“When we’re asking so much of our workforce in difficult times, we have to lead the way,” Commissioner David Pepper said."

Today, Hamilton County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution supporting and advancing a community effort pursuing solutions to teen driving fatalities in the community and State.

“This is a responsible roadmap out of the crisis we’re in,” Pepper said. “We get through the budget emergency, while doing all we can—with limited resources—to deal with the safety challenges we face.”

The four key parts of the plan are:

In 1996, Commissioners used the property tax rollback as an inducement for voters to support a sales tax increase for riverfront development. Since its passage, 30% of the sales tax proceeds have been used to offset property taxes.

In response to a looming budget crisis and potential credit rating downgrade, the county administration prepared 6 options for reducing the property tax rollback that could have generated up to $20 million. All were rejected by commissioners, who opted to continue to rollback at the level promised to the voters.

"We can not go back on a promise made to the taxpayers over a decade ago," said County Commissioner David Pepper. "While we have to tackle our tough budget issues, we can not do so by raising property taxes."

10 Month Results: In just the first ten months of the Homeowner Preservation Partnership (through October 2007), the counseling agencies have reported very positive results.*

• From 1/1/07 through 10/30/07, the Hamilton County Homeowner Preservation Initiative has saved over 400 homes from foreclosure, well ahead of the goal of saving 300 homes in 2007.

• With the estimated community cost of a foreclosure being as much as $60,000, the small investment in counseling has preserved up to $24 million in property value.

• The need is considerable. Counselors are currently scheduling appointments an average of 21 days out. They have received thousands of requests for service.

• In 2006, the City’s emergency mortgage assistance saved 22 homeowners who had an average family size of 4, resided in their homes for an average of 6 years, and had an average home value of $86,736. A 1-year follow up found that all but one of these homeowners remained stabilized in their homes.