The three-member county commission is the general administrative body for the county has specific and limited authority by the Ohio Revised Code such as holding title to all county properties; serving as the sole taxing authority for the county; and controlling county purchasing. The commissioners are also the budget and appropriating authority for all county agencies and elected officials.
County commissioners have four-year terms and are paid $96,868 a year.
Nabila Babar
Babar is running for county commission because her work in mental health and addiction is motivating her to seek public office for the first time.
“I aspire to remove the stigma against this illness and introduce quality treatment,” she said. “I also want to focus on prevention and introduce programs in schools for identification of high risk youth and provide positive support in a non threatening way.”
Babar is a physician and a medical director in her field of mental health and addiction. She is also a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. A native of Pakistan, Babar did her post-graduate training at Wright State University and is board-certified in internal medicine and in addiction medicine.
She said voters should elect her because nearly everyone has been touched by mental health and addiction issues in some way.
“I am trying to bring bipartisan solutions to homelessness, mental health and addiction and work together towards a common goal,” Babar said.
If she is elected, her top three priorities will be introducing treatment into the criminal justice system for mental health and addiction; introducing programs in schools for the identification of high risk youth and non threatening intervention; and focus on recycling and introduce programs to incentivize it.
To address those top priorities, Babar wants to build relationships with the sheriff to introduce treatment in criminal justice system for people suffering from mental health and addiction. She also wants to build relationships with school boards and work towards identification of high risk youth. Babar also said she wants to use the commission’s control on the county budget and spending by advocating and allocating funds towards primary prevention and treatment.
Babar said running for public office has been “a positive, constructive experience” and she is becoming a better public speaker.
“It’s been a challenge running for the first time,” she said. “There is a large learning curve running against an incumbent and I am learning from my mistakes.”
Tom Grossmann
Grossmann said he’s running because he’d wants to continue as a Warren County commissioner.
“I have been active in public service for many years,” Grossmann said. “I served for 11 years on Mason City Council and was the Vice Mayor and Mayor of Mason. I am running for my third term as a Warren County commissioner. As a commissioner, Warren County has improved its financial position. We have cut real estate taxes, controlled spending and made major capital improvements.”
He wants to continue to manage the county and maintain its excellent financial position with low taxes, great services and wonderful amenities.
Grossmann said the commissioner’s office oversees the fiscal health of the county.
“We have maintained a high level of county services while cutting real estate taxes every year since 2017,” he said. “In 2021, the Commission enacted the largest one-year real estate tax cut of almost $47 million on taxes paid in 2022. The Commission has controlled spending giving the county a 2021 year-end cash balance of $56.9 million plus a $12 million reserve. The Commission built the largest capital improvement in county history by completing the new county jail in 2021 for $53 million which was $5 million under budget.”
He said the county will be debt-free by 2023 and the county since 2017 has been awarded the top triple A bond rating possible for a county by Moody’s Investor Service.
Grossmann said his top priorities are to keep taxes as low as possible by controlling spending; to maintain a high level of county services; and to encourage strong business development in the county.
To accomplish those goals, Grossmann said he will ensure that real estate taxes and sales taxes are as low as possible and continue to promote strong business development policies. He said the county will provide excellent public services with fair but low rates for those services.
Grossmann is a current or former member of numerous boards and community organizations in southwest Ohio in addition to his public service as an elected official. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati.
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