Election eve! MT Meeting this afternoon--Capital Fund Sleuthing.

Dear People:  It's Election Eve!  Thanks for making it this far with me!  I trust you all have your voting plan for tomorrow in place--if you haven't already voted.  Please see my note below for more details on my recommendations, including YES on Issue 16, and please reach out to me if you have any questions you think I can answer.  This is the final push!   

We're having an election night party tomorrow night, 8-11 pm!  Email me for details!

Another reason to vote for Marilan and for me: Case in point, tonight's MT Meeting (5 pm at the new Firehouse):   A key reason, among many, that I so strongly support Marilan's incumbency, is that right now she the only person who has been actually been closely and carefully tracking the budget and repeatedly protecting us as citizens and taxpayers from sometimes huge financial decisions made too lackadaisically under the current chair, and with a failure to follow basic recording and appropriating procedures, particularly in the final days of the previous fiscal officer, as Marilan's memo the capital funds item on tonight's MT meeting agenda demonstrates.  

The confusion that her memo is seeking to untangle has to do with a fund created to buy a new ambulance and the apparently rather chaotic recording and appropriate procedures that were being followed after the Trustees duly voted to appropriate those funds.  

Clarity on funds such as these is especially vital because right now the costs of new ambulances and fire trucks have skyrocketed and wait times are now about 4 years!* (see *note below!). In order to keep our fire/EMS service running at excellent efficiency, we have to get the accounting and reporting processes fully in order, and Marilan is devoting countless hours to sorting many such problems like this out.  

We can't afford these kinds of errors, and anyone new to this Board will need someone with Marilan's institutional memory built from this hard work. This kind of forensic work is just one very small example of the non-glamourous work Marilan has been quietly doing behind the scenes.  No one else is really doing this, or even realizing that it needs to be done, and she is doing it with tremendous skill, smart networking and serious tenacity. 

MT needs Marilan there to continue diving into these important financial weeds.  And Marilan needs a working and ready partner, someone who has been actively engaging with the documents and actively participating in the meetings since April, who can hit the ground running on Jan 1, in terms of working with our fiscal officer, our fire chief, James Cannell, and consultant, Fred Kouser, and other staff, to track our path forward in this challenging environment. 

Other than that, the main issue on the agenda tonight is the cybersecurity issue I mentioned a few weeks ago.   (The meeting I missed two weeks ago due to a household emergency focused primarily on passing the new Zoning Code for the Township areas).  I'll report on tonight's meeting, after the election!

Finally, I hope you read the candidate letters in the YS News on Friday, especially if you have questions about my stance on greenspace / infill (link is to the full draft; I responded to a question raised in an earlier letter), and also  Marilan's note about the exclusive representation that rural Township residents have on the two rural zoning boards that they entirely control (the Township Zoning Board and Board of Zoning Appeals - 10 seats).   Rural residents are  not under-represented in Township governance. 

(*The backlog and skyrocketing costs of ambulance and firetruck is due, by the way, to private equity buyout of the industry to create a monopoly, which the US Senate is investigating, in an effort spearheaded by the economic whiz, Elizabeth Warren: "Large fire truck manufacturers may be exploiting their market power to raise fire truck prices and restrict the supply of fire trucks. In 2013, a pumper truck cost $500,000, and a ladder truck cost $900,000. Today (2025), these prices have skyrocketed to nearly $1 million and $2 million, respectively, far outpacing inflation for heavy-duty truck manufacturing over that time period."  This means that just to purchase a new fire truck it's likely to require a levy, we are told.  We have to get our fiscal house in order, now, as all these big ticket items depreciate and need an excellent maintenance and updating plan. 

---------- Forwarded message ---------

Date: Thu, Oct 30, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Subject: Vote! You're invited! Election night party for Moir and Askeland! 8-11 pm, Tue Nov 4! (Plus Ohio Fair Districting urgent notice!)
To: <askeland4trustee@gmail.com>

1) vote on or before Tuesday, Nov. 4! (Your voting location for election day voting should be the same as in previous years, but you can check here.).  

Obviously I urge everyone to... 

• Vote for me, Lori Askeland AND for Marilan Moir for Trustee and 
• I am personally voting YES on all of the ballot issues, but esp. relevant to our race is Miami Township's Issue 16, which is a levy renewal, not a new tax, and provides 47% of the Fire-EMS tax revenue).  Please read and learn or watch the short video from Chief Cannell--I think you'll agree that it's a wise choice.

Quick note:  Welcome new recipients of my informative emails!  In double checking my records, I realized that I had incorrectly entered a lot of new contacts I made when out canvassing door-to-door in town--I had entered emails but I missed a step when I thought I placed you on a mailing list. As promised, I personally write these emails, not AI! I use them to give you information about the Township (and this week, a party invitation! and usually a poem!), not to make lots of money-asks.  You can see my earlier emails on my blog, here.  But if you want to be removed from this email list, just ask!  No explanation needed!  (Still, do consider coming to our party!)

--

Lori Askeland, candidate for MT Trustee

Check out my blog! askeland4trustee.blogspot.com 

Or find me on Facebook or Instagram

Donations gratefully accepted to Friends of Lori Askeland (ActBlue), checks or cash. 

    Just email me if you want to be removed from this list--not a problem, no explanation required!