MIAMI COUNTY —A Montgomery County Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Mary Wiseman, has been appointed to the Conservancy Court of the Miami Conservancy District. The appointment was recognized at the July 26 annual meeting of the Conservancy Court. The Honorable Judge Wiseman fills a vacancy left by retiring Montgomery County Judge Denise L. Cross.
The Conservancy Court comprises one common pleas court judge from each of the nine counties included in the Miami Conservancy District. The nine judges are from Shelby, Miami, Montgomery, Warren, Butler, Hamilton, Preble, Clark, and Greene counties.
The Honorable Judge Wiseman has served on the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court General Division bench for seventeen years. She received her B.S. from Ball State University in 1984 and her J.D. with honors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1988. Prior to her judicial service, Judge Wiseman practiced complex civil litigation in state and federal courts nationwide. She was elected to a new, six-year term in November 2022.
Other actions taken during the annual meeting include approving the 2023 Annual Report and authorizing the rate for the flood protection assessments. The Conservancy Court voted 6-1 to increase the maintenance rate used to calculate the assessments from 2.19% to 3.35%. Revenue from the maintenance assessments ensures that Miami Conservancy District can cover the costs of necessary, ongoing maintenance of the dams, levees, storage basins, and related parts of the flood protection system. In February, the Court approved a capital spending authority of $34.5M for the rehabilitation of 55 miles of levees and five flood protection dams. The revenue from the capital assessment will be used to rehabilitate the aging infrastructure and ensure the unfailing protection of the region.
For over 80% of the parcels of land that are protected by the Miami Conservancy District flood protection system, the combined annual assessment for maintenance and capital is less than $200 per year. The assessments are based on an appraisal of benefits that were approved in 2012. Plans to use 2024 values were paused in May after the Board of Directors carefully considered public feedback and the need to address evolving economic and environmental challenges.
The Board of Directors has committed to evaluating the method of defining and calculating flood control benefits to ensure fairness and sustainability for property owners and communities. This month, the Miami Conservancy District and its Board of Appraisers contracted with Stantec Consulting to launch an expedited review and evaluation of the Miami Conservancy District’s flood protection benefit assessment methods.
This study will identify and quantify the significant indirect benefits of the Miami Conservancy District’s flood control measures, such as access to vital services and infrastructure inside and outside the 1913 flood inundation area. The accelerated study will be completed at the end of 2024. Additional phases over several years will include additional technical analysis, stakeholder involvement, and legal and administrative procedures.
The Miami Conservancy District’s flood protection system protects more than 47,000 properties, over $10B worth of buildings and land, eleven hospitals, nine water treatment plants, nearly 60 schools and colleges, 814 miles of public roads, and 14 wastewater treatment plants. One million people use or rely on these facilities.
The duties of the Conservancy Court include establishing districts and sub-districts, adopting official plans and amendments, appointing a Board of Directors and a Board of Appraisers, confirming the appraisers’ report of benefits, damages, and appraisals of property, authorizing a readjustment of benefits in accordance with section 6101.54 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC), approving the method of financing improvements and activities under section 6101.25 of the ORC, and examining the annual report of the Board of Directors of the conservancy district as provided under section 6101.66 of the ORC.
The other Miami Conservancy District Conservancy Court Judges are: Butler County, the Honorable Keith M. Spaeth; Clark County, the Honorable Thomas J. Capper; Greene County, the Honorable Cynthia Martin; Hamilton County, the Honorable Amy L. Searcy; Miami County, the Honorable Jeannine N. Pratt; Preble County, the Honorable Stephen R. Bruns; Shelby County, the Honorable James F. Stevenson; and Warren County, the Honorable Robert W. Peeler.
