John A. Barber
Age: 66
Address: 2262 Cross Village Drive, Miami Twp.
Education: I have an accounting degree that is equivalent to a 4-year degree in the USA
Current employment: Retired
Political experience: Miami Twp. Zoning Commission member
Political party: Republican
Description of political office: Miami Twp. fiscal officer
Term of Office: 4 years
Annual salary the job will pay: $28,176
Family: Married to Christina for 44 years; 2 daughters, the eldest lives in Miamisburg, the younger lives in Manchester in England.
Aaron Newell
Age: 25
Address: 45-B Highpoint Drive, Miamisburg
Education: Bachelor's degree in accounting, Indiana Institute of Technology
Current employment: Aeroseal, LLC
Political experience: First run at political office
Political party: Republican
Description of political office: Miami Twp. fiscal officer
Term of office: 4 years
Annual salary the job will pay: $28,176
Family: Wife, Alyse Rettich, a law student at the University of Dayton
ELECTION COVERAGE
What's on the ballot? Learn more about the candidates and tax issues on the Nov. 3 ballot in our interactive election guide at vote.daytondailynews.com
State marijuana issue: Ohio voters will decide whether to legalize marijuana in the upcoming election. Learn more about that issue and get answers to common questions at DaytonDailyNews.com/ohiomarijuana
Election night radio special: Tune in to AM1290 and News 95.7FM from 8-11 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3 for the latest updates. Stream it live at whio.com
Live results: Get results on the key races and issues on the ballot Tuesday night at DaytonDailyNews.com and on WHIO-TV Channel 7.
A new fiscal officer will be selected by Miami Twp. voters next month, the fourth one they have had in as many elections.
Republicans John Barber and Aaron Newell, both first-time candidates for elective office, are seeking the four-year term. The winner on Nov. 3 will replace Ann Barhorst, who was elected four years ago, but opted not to run again for the job that pays $28,176 a year.
Barhorst’s decision to not run for re-election, as well as personnel moves within the township’s finance department have increased the spotlight on this position in recent months.
Barber, 66, has called for more “quality control” in the finance department while Newell, 25, wants a finance director “local to the Miami Valley.”
A non-voting member of the township’s elected officials, the fiscal officer oversees the finances in one of the Dayton area’s fastest developing communities.
Those responsibilities include supervising the finance director, a post that has drawn attention the past few months since Harry Steger was indicted.
Steger, who had served as finance director since June 2013, was charged in Aug. 19 with seven counts of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, in a case that involves two preteens. A day later, trustees suspended him without pay and ordered an internal audit. Steger resigned last month.
Whether or not the internal audit finds any irregularities, Barber said he believes a top priority of the next fiscal officer will be to improve the quality of work in the finance department.
Barber, who is retired after more than 40 years in accounting, said he reviewed the township’s 2014 financial statement and was “horrified” by what he called “amateurish mistakes.”
Those who work on the township’s finances must be “competent and reliable people” who are trained correctly and complete work that “is produced on time so the township can meet its obligations to the taxpayers,” Barber said.
Working with the trustees is a key aspect of the job, he said.
“The job of the fiscal officer is to make sure the funds are spent per the trustees’ directions,” Barber said. “So the fiscal officer needs to look at all of the transactions that are moving through the accounts payable system and that are arriving in the accounts receivable system.
“It is also imperative that the fiscal officer makes sure that all of the filings … to the (Internal Revenue Service) are done correctly and on time so as not to incur any penalties,” he added. “And it’s also imperative that all of the township’s records are in fact correct and are archived correctly.”
Barber said other top priorities include reviewing the township’s real estate holdings and its long-term debt. Between debts for its administration building and the Austin Boulevard interchange at Interstate 75, he estimated that the township owes as much as $17 million.
“If interest rates start to kick up and we’re carrying that much debt, (with) property values in the township (being) as low as they are … we’re really going to hurt,” he said.
The importance of hiring a “competent and highly qualified finance director who will call the Miami Valley his home” is a top priority for Newell, a staff accountant with Aeroseal, LLC. After putting Steger on unpaid leave in August, trustees approved the hiring of an interim finance director.
They unanimously voted to bring on C. Clay McCord. Although McCord has more than 25 years of experience in auditing and finance, they recruited him from the Columbus area.
“If I get somebody that’s actually from this area, they will actually care more about this area and how the money’s invested,” he said.
Reviewing investment and debt portfolios for compliance and looking for opportunities to maximize returns would also be high on Newell’s list of priorities.
“And to make sure that tax dollars are spent effectively and efficiently,” he said.
The most important aspect of the job is to “run the office with integrity and work as hard as I can to make the people that live in Miami Twp. happy and to know that their money is well spent and invested properly,” Newell said. “And to do the best I can to bring financial responsibility to the township itself.”
Newell said he would work with township administration to market the area as a “vibrant community in which to work, live, and raise a family.”
“The township’s fiscal status is stable, but newer income streams in the Austin Landing-Dayton Mall corridor are trending toward consumer-based discretionary spending and their success is dependent on volatile economic factors,” according to Newell.
About the Author
