Speaking as Mayor and for myself: First, this has been –to say the least—frustrating for our residents. I thank our residents for their engagement. Good communication is so important and is often so tricky for humans to get right. What I very much appreciate is the willingness of our residents to have calm, focused, and straight-forward conversations with us at the City --whether with employees or elected officials—to move in a positive direction. In addition to this, residents are also suggesting solutions; this is quite helpful as it gives City employees insight as to what residents really need to know and what might work moving forward.

I thank Mr. Knauber (who began this petition) for personally keeping me informed of his work, for breaking down the issue, as he sees it, so well, and for providing possible solutions. This is a complicated issue with many moving parts and no one person is responsible for everything. Our residents are working with the City and communicating effectively. Thank you, Middletown.

Next, City Staff is working diligently on this issue. It is one of the highest --if not the highest-- priorities at the moment. As things progress, City Manager Ashley Comb’s plan is to stay in routine communication with our residents. She shared that this will be in the form of press releases on the City’s website (cityofmiddletown.org) and on the City’s social media accounts. For the most up-to-date information, please visit these sites. Some things can be communicated quickly; other things take more time. Some things may never be able to be shared, but reasons as to why that is, can be given, and that is something I am encouraging as part of the City’s communications for our residents.

The City hears you and is working on a clear and workable way forward for our residents. City Manager Combs has assured that there will be no shut-offs in the month of December. If you have further suggestions, please consider posting them here on change.org so that everyone may have access to the same information. You may certainly also always contact the City directly.

Thank you for engaging with us, Middletown; we are listening.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Slamka
Mayor of Middletown, Ohio