CINCINNATI — Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece introduced a resolution that would benefit thousands of veterans, but a motion to move it forward was received with complete silence from fellow commisisoners Denise Driehaus and Stephanie Dumas.
The commissioners refused to second her motion to advance the resolution keeping it from seeing a vote at Thursday's meeting.
"I think it was silence to the veterans, not silence to me," Reece said, "and I think it's a difference of opinion. Veterans have been waiting. Veterans need help right now."
Reece rejected comments from her fellow commissioners that Veteran Service Commission officials needed to once again come before the commission to address veteran service shortfalls.
"I'm not interested in studying the problem anymore," she said.
The resolution comes as the Hamilton County Veteran Services Commission has come under fire for inadequately assisting veterans.
WCPO 9 began digging into Veteran Service Offices (VSO) in Southwest Ohio late last month after veterans told us how they were being treated. We found that $31 million allocated for veterans in Hamilton County was being used on other projects.
When WCPO 9's report came out, Reece previously showed a desire to get more answers as to what’s going on within the VSO and the county commission’s long-standing commitment to veterans.
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"We need to take some action," Reece said Thursday at the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners meeting. "And this doesn't have to be the only action, but we need to take some action."
Reece's multi-part resolution that called for the creation and funding of an Office of Veteran Affairs, which would be under the Board of County Commissioners and County Administrator. The office would have an ombudsman that would liaison between citizens, veterans and the board to make sure resources and opportunities are correctly and efficiently presented Hamilton County veterans.
"I can't think of a more important office than to have a veteran's services support office," Reece said.
The resolution also proposes more funding to the Veteran's Service Commission to purchase a transportation van for veterans, provide additional services to veterans and also expand outreach efforts.
Commissioner Driehaus proposed her own solution to the veteran services issue in a letter drafted to VSC Thursday.
The letter directly referenced WCPO's investigation in the first line reading, "Earlier this year, WCPO investigated the funding requests and services provided to Hamilton County’s veterans via the Hamilton County Veterans Service Commission (HCVSC). It was found that the HCVSC consistently requested significantly fewer funds than neighboring VSC’s, and the accusation was made that the services provided are therefore lesser in both quantity and quality."
The letter suggested VSC request a more than 10% increase in funding year-over-year which would trigger a state rule allowing the County Commission to appoint up to six members to VSC's board of commissioners.
"We have to know how they're going to use those dollars," Driehaus said.
The letter acknowledged the board likely wouldn't agree to a wholesale take-over by appointment, and proposed an agreement under which the board would only appoint two new members who'd served since the Gulf War.
"Recognizing that the VSC might not appreciate such a drastic change in the composition of their board, this BOCC would be willing to make a written commitment to only appoint two (2) new members to the VSC if the VSC requests more than a 10% increase from their previous annual budget," the letter reads.
Driehaus said that would allow the commission to have sway over the Veteran Services Commission, add resources for additional services like transportation, and change the composition of the board.
"I'm just hopeful that we can kind of come together and say, yes, this is our best collection of ideas," Driehaus said. "This is what we're going to move on, and then move on it."
WCPO 9's reporting found that Hamilton County spent the lowest amount — only $538 spent on bus passes — when it came to transportation for veterans. In Southwest Ohio, Warren County topped that list spending a total $1,039,130 in 2022, transporting 6,938 veterans.
Lastly, Reece wanted to establish the county's first-ever Annual Hamilton County Veterans Appreciation Resource Day. The event would be held at Paycor Stadium and would feature on-site application assistance for grants, housing, jobs, healthcare, disability and more.
At Thursday's meeting, Reece and vice president Denise Driehaus had a heated discussion about the motion.
"I want to have something from all three of us that incorporates ideas that as a collective move forward for veterans," Driehaus said.
Two commissioners said they would fund all that the Veterans Services Commission asks when they pass budgets next month, but ultimately no vote was made on the motion Thursday.
"I think until we hear from the owners of this commission we do not need to move forward and try to take over with our own ideas," said Commissioner Stephanie Summarow Dumas.
READ MORE:
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Hamilton County Veterans Service Executive Director takes back reins, works from home
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