Greenfield considers Census recount

The city of Greenfield is weighing its options on what will happen if they are officially classified as a village following the release of 2010 Census numbers.

   Greenfield City Council discussed the matter during their regular meeting Tuesday and reviewed the possibility of the loss of potentially millions of dollars in federal funding and grant dollars, and the consolidation of the Highland County Court in Greenfield into the Hillsboro Municipal Court system. 

   While some members of council want to try for a recount, another member said Greenfield should look at what led them to this point, and dedicate themselves to bringing people back. 

   City Manager Betty Bishop reported to council that, "Census is on everybody's mind. The preliminary 4,639 figures that we have for Greenfield are the ones from the census website. I am told that the official notification will arrive around April 1, 2011. I have no reason to believe that number will change. I have contacted our law director Brian Zets and he is to get back to me with answers on what can be done, what should be done and how to proceed. I have encouraged our employees to remember that we are serving the same number of people as we were the day before these numbers came out and we vow to strive to do our very best for the citizens of Greenfield. I also encourage council to seek additional information on city/village operations and the method of changing in order to make the best decision for the future of the community." 

   Council member Brenda Losey asked Bishop what it would cost Greenfield for a recount. Bishop said that she would look into that if that was council's wishes. Bishop said the matter had been forwarded to law director Brian Zets, who had a person on his office working on it. 

   Council President Betty Jackman read a letter from Highland County Court Judge Robert Judkins regarding the future of the court in Greenfield if it loses its city classification. 

   "The first effect is upon revenues received by the municipality of Greenfield from fines and costs collected by the court," Judkins said. "As a village, Greenfield would ultimately receive a different share of revenue obtained through the Highland County Court than Greenfield would as a city."

   "The Highland County Court itself may be affected by a change of status from city to village during the next round of court reform that will eventually take place in Ohio; however, I do not anticipate any such reform in the next two years. Without a city to anchor the judicial district, Greenfield may lose having a local court located within the municipality. It would be another factor leaning toward a likely consolidation into the Hillsboro Municipal Court system."

   Jackman also read a letter from Peg Beekman, who works on grant funding for the city. Beekman said Greenfield has the potential to lose funding from the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), the Downtown Revitalization Program, and other funds for economic development through the Federal Economic Development Administration and the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission. 

   "I encourage you, city council, to seriously consider a recount of Greenfield's population," Beekman said. "The loss will be tremendous if the city reverts to village status. In regard to the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) alone, it could mean the loss of $2.5 million in housing assistance over the next nine years."

   Bishop said that she saw pros and cons in the city's status changing. She said that several people in Greenfield, and in the surrounding communities had contacted her volunteering to assist in a recount. 

   "It's almost unbelievable what would happen," Jackman said, encouraging a recount. 

   Council member Harvey Everhart said that even if the city counted more than 5,000 residents, they would have to get the Census workers to come back to make it official in the eyes of the federal government. 

   Council member William Redenbaugh said that he did not believe that the city would be able to "find" more than 300 people that would have had to have been missed by the Census in order for the city to retain its status.

Rather, he said the city should focus on why people left Greenfield, and how to bring them back. 

   "They left because there wasn't a job," Redenbaugh said. "We need to work on filling that void. You bring jobs back, you bring people back."

   Bishop said that she and employees in her office would continue to look at paths the city can take, and report back the best options during the next

council meeting.