Molony replaced Finney on TLRC

Fifteen months ago, two Hamilton County commissioners fired all but one member of an all-volunteer tax review committee because they didn’t follow commissioners’ mandate.

Today, a new board of commissioners took up the idea of revamping that committee – and perhaps reinstating some fired members.

Commissioners met today to discuss the role of the Tax Levy Review Committee, a group of volunteers that considers requests to place tax issues on the ballot.

Changes are being pushed by Commission President Todd Portune, the lone Democrat on the board in November 2005 when Republican Commissioners Phil Heimlich and Pat DeWine ousted all but one of the committee members.

DeWine and Heimlich said the committee did not honor a mandate to keep levy requests to no more than the rate of inflation. The committee recommended levies to support Drake Hospital and the board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities that were nearly four times the inflation rate.

The lone member kept was chairman Chris Finney (pictured) -- a Heimlich friend, political supporter and business partner.

Heimlich was voted out of office last November. Finney resigned from the TLRC after that.

Portune has contacted former members to see if they wish to be reinstated.

One, David Cook, declined because he now is a law partner of Portune and wanted to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

Dale Van Vyven, a former state representative, is interested.

"It does bother me in a way because they deep-sixed everybody except for Chris," Van Vyven said at the time.

Portune nominated Tim Molony, treasurer for the city of Norwood, as tax review committee chairman.

Commissioners asked all interested to provide personal and financial data to prevent any conflict of interest.

No official action could be taken today because commissioner David Pepper was stuck in Washington, D.C. on a flight delay.