Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr delivers State of the City address

MOUNT VERNON—Mount Vernon Mayor Matt said 2025 would be an aggressive year when he delivered his State of the City address to the media and city employees on Tuesday.

“We have a lot of wonderful things happening right now, and I’m really excited to share with you what we’re going to be doing,” he said.

“We want to start making some bold moves to be aggressive and get the ball rolling on all of these things that have been broken for years.”

Starr touched on finances, achievements, goals and plans, and the city’s future focus. He also highlighted 2024 projects in city departments and the hours employees logged.

The city exceeded $20 million in tax revenues in 2024. Income tax withholdings drew in $15 million, with the rest coming from business profits and residents living in Mount Vernon but working outside of the city.

Additional revenue sources are the lodging tax, grants, Hiawatha Water Park, the cemetery, recreation and parks, fire and police departments, and the law office.

Engineering permits increased significantly after the city raised its fees in line with current costs. In 2022, permit revenue was $157,087.34. That rose to $421,267.77 in 2023 and $554,371.36 in 2024.

“In 2022 our permits were laughable,” Starr said, citing a $550 fee for a water utility tap.

“Now it’s $5,500. That’s probably just under middle of the road what it costs. We can buy some water lines with that. We can put in some hydrants with that, and we can actually add some capacity with that amount.”

What will it cost to be aggressive?

Starr said the “all-in” cost to be aggressive is $67.3 million: $15.6M in the general fund and $50M in the non-general fund.

“We did have a carryover that we were able to find, and as we continue to hone the accounting in our auditor’s office, we’re finding more and more we’re in good shape financially,” he said.

However, Starr said the city will not spend $67 million.

“We just know that as money comes in, we have appropriated that into the different accounts,” he said.

Where will the money go?

Starr said two priorities in the city’s aggressive push to get things done are the municipal buildings and finishing the west-end flood plain study.

“This is an area where we want to make some serious, bold moves,” Starr said. “Emptying the municipal plaza building quickly is a priority. Again, we have to get moving on this.

“We’re going to be the ones who are going to fix this,” Starr said.

He hopes to break ground on the new police station this year.

Starr said the city is pivoting from its original plans based on public involvement. It is now looking to move city operations to the former administration building in Heartland Commerce Park.

City Hall would become the new courthouse with a potential building addition since the city owns the property north and east of City Hall.

“We have to wait until after the final public comment period ends, but it’s looking like we would have absolutely no use for that building where the candy shop is,” Starr said.

Starr said the city does not need the entire 60,000 square feet in the administration building. Administration officials are talking with other agencies to create a one-stop shop of services.

Flood plain study

According to 1974 data, about 640 structures are in the flood plain. Each structure is required to carry flood insurance, which Starr said equates to the cost of two or three mortgage payments.

The city is conducting elevation measurements to determine whether any of those structures can be removed from the insurance requirement.

“We are going to be the ones who fix what is broken.”

Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr

Workers are also tackling levee maintenance and removing trees from the vegetation-free zone.

Tree removal stopped on April 1 because of the Indiana bat, a protected species, and will resume in the fall.

In the interim, workers will remove honeysuckle and other invasive species along the dike.

Starr noted that while raising the level of the dike appears to be a protection, it merely speeds up the current and causes more damage downstream.

A bridges and channels study of the Kokosing River upstream on the north and south forks and Dry Creek downstream will yield current data about flood control and stormwater runoff.

“The things that we can do that are going to help this neighborhood, that are going to help Mount Vernon, help the flood control plan and the disaster plan …probably most of it needs to happen outside of the city of Mount Vernon,” Starr said.

“We can still do some things, and we are going to do whatever is in our control to be able to maintain that.”

State Route 13

Starr said the Route 13/South Sandusky Street corridor also ranks high in importance. The city completed the project’s environmental and historical review phases, achieving two milestones.

Starr said Holmes Tire was on the state’s historical review list because of its connection to Kokosing Ironworks.

The project met the state’s historical requirements when City Development Services Manager Lacie Blankenhorn suggested using cinder blocks from Holmes Tire to create an archway stating, “Welcome to Mount Vernon.”

“We’re holding on to some of the past, creating a welcoming environment, so the historical Ohio Historical Commission … gave their stamp of approval,” Starr said. “So now we’re off and running and acquiring property and getting ready to relocate some people.”

Under the Federal Relocations Act of 1970, the city will pay a fair price for any land it acquires for the Route 13 project.

Fairgrounds Road

Starr acknowledged the traffic inconvenience stemming from the work underway in the city’s north end between the Dan Emmett project, culvert replacements on Mansfield Avenue, and utility work on Fairgrounds Road.

However, he said Fairgrounds Road is “incredibly important” because it connects the water line from Wooster Road to Old Mansfield Road.

Homes in the Grange, Fern, Longitude, and Latitude neighborhoods will benefit because when the city shuts down water, those homes will have a second water source rather than draining water tanks from dwellings on top of the hill.

The project is a joint city-county effort with additional private and Ohio Public Works Commission funding. It also includes stormwater and sewer work. Crews will repave the road after the Knox County Fair.

Other north-end projects include the Nuce and Nash project, which Starr said is nearing “the beginning of the end.” Crews found other sewer line problems and had to tear into the side streets more than anticipated.

State of the City: Upcoming challenges

An Ohio income tax bill pending in the Ohio House (HB3) would affect the city’s income tax revenue.

“What’s very popular is cutting taxes, but that’s one-fourth of our general fund,” Starr said. “That means we would have to make compromises. We would have to put off maintenance for our constituents, and we don’t want to have to do that. We want to keep those things going.

“Cutting taxes sounds great, but we never hear of cutting unfunded mandates because guess what? You all are left holding the bag. You have to make sure they are paid for.”

Starr cited the requirement for AEDs in parks and annual fire hydrant inspections as two unfunded mandates that the city will have to pay for. Another one is potentially increasing police and fire pensions.

He noted that for the same amount of money, the city could hire three more police officers.

Another hot topic is potential changes, which Starr said “would change the entire dynamic in how annexation happens.”

He said the proposed changes would preempt the city’s ability to get involved.

Housing

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission projects a population of 3.1 million in the 15-county Central Ohio region by 2050. That represents a 29% increase in the number of housing units needed.

Additionally, Mount Vernon’s fastest-growing demographic is retirees. Starr acknowledged these people honorably served their community but noted they do not pay city income tax while continuing to use roads, parks, and other amenities.

“We have to be able to replace that income source with some some fresh income source. That’s why housing is so important to us,” Starr said.

He said residents must choose between higher-density housing and urban sprawl because “you can’t have both.”

Regarding targeted industries coming to Central Ohio, Starr said the city is well-suited for the automotive and manufacturing sectors.

However, it does not yet have semiconductor infrastructure or data center power.

“Knox County is out of the direct line of fire, but that kind of positions us uniquely to be a supplier for these major corporations,” Starr said.

“It also allows us to grab on to some of the housing and have people live here.

“There could be some people who locate supply chains inside Mount Vernon. We’re certainly working to make that happen.”

Starr said the real challenge going forward is answering the question, “How can we get better as we get bigger?”

Mayor Starr will present the State of the City address to any group that requests it. For more information, call the mayor’s office at 740-393-9517. A video of Starr’s presentation is on WMVO Radio’s Facebook page.