The fiscal officer works closely with the board of trustees, the other three elected positions in the township. The officer manages the fiscal team, maintains township records, and is in charge of payroll, issuing checks and waste disposal service charge collections, among other duties.
Matthews, 70, was elected as a trustee in 2013, finishing second in a six-candidate field for two seats. A project manager, he resigned as a trustee in March 2017 to avoid any potential conflict of interests when he accepted a job at Frost Brown Todd, a firm with which the township has contracted.
ELECTION: Check out our voters guide before casting a ballot
He no longer works for that company.
Newell, who turns 30 Saturday, won the seat in November 2015, edging John Barber by less than 0.5 percent in a two-candidate race. An accountant/procurement specialist, he succeeded Ann Barhorst, who chose not to seek re-election after winning the seat in 2011.
Compensation for the part-time position is $31,064 a year, according to the Montgomery County Board of Elections. The following are snapshots of both candidates that include responses to questions submitted by the Dayton Daily News:
Bob Matthews
Matthews said the biggest challenge facing the township is maintaining a cash flow and keeping a vibrant business tax base to help provide services.
He said he will work with trustees “to ensure that our township is a great place for businesses to reside and thrive.”
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Matthews said he will seek stretch tax dollars by closing examining “all expenditures and shop for services to be sure we get the best price on purchases.”
Matthews said he will also “expedite” the sale of unused township properties “that have sat idle” for years.
“Not only will the township see additional income from the sales, but we will begin to receive property taxes from the new owners,” he said.
Matthews said he is best qualified for the office based on his 16 years township resident and property owner, as well as his experience as a trustee.
“The fiscal officer needs more than accounting experience,” Matthews said, noting his “over 40 years of real-world experience, including enterprise and accounting systems, information technology, project management, investment planning, and law.”
Aaron Newell
Maintaining its infrastructure is the township’s largest issue to overcome, he said.
A study commissioned by the township in 2015 indicated more than one-third of the township’s roads were in poor or critical condition.
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The township can use only a road and bridge fund to locally pay for those improvements, and voters twice in recent years have narrowly rejected two requests to hike that tax to generate about $1 million a year.
“To ensure that this challenge is handled appropriately, I would work with state, and county resources to explore ways to increase funding for residential streets and create a sustainable roadway maintenance program that would help fund the township’s infrastructure,” according to Newell.
Newell said he is most qualified the job based on his education – a bachelor’s degree in accounting – and his work in office.
This includes re-establishing the township’s bond rating and starting an open checkbook management system that is “easy for any citizen” to review.
“Every expense is broken down per department and then within that any citizen can continue to break it down further into subcategories to explore and track,” he said.
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VOTERS GUIDE
Learn more about these and other candidates in our interactive voters guide at vote.daytondailynews.com. There you can also read about the tax levies and other issues on the ballot. Election Day is Nov. 5.
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