In accordance with Article IV, Section 4.02(3) of our city charter, I present to you our 2024 Oakwood City Budget. This is my 22nd budget as your city manager. Many people assisted in the preparation of this important document, most notably our department heads and our finance department, led by Finance Director Cindy Stafford, CPA. The budget also reflects input and counsel from our 34-member citizen Budget Review Committee (BRC). The BRC met four times in 2023 and recommended approval of this budget at the November 28, 2023 committee meeting. City Council adopted the budget via Ordinance No. 4985 on December 4, 2023.
Oakwood remains the premier residential community in the Miami Valley. We have this distinction because of our beautiful neighborhoods, unmatched public safety department, public works services, recreation and leisure offerings, excellent schools and library, and, most importantly, our citizens. The following qualities of Oakwood continue to be examples of the benefits of living in this city:
- We have a very safe community, with very low crime and very low fire loss.
- We have an extremely fast police and fire response, and we answer every call with highly trained professionals.
- We always have qualified paramedics and EMTs on-duty to respond to medical emergencies. On average, medical help arrives in less than two minutes – unparalleled in the area.
- We have well-maintained streets, sidewalks, public trees and landscaped boulevards.
- Our citizens place strong emphasis on property maintenance and our home values prove it.
- Our city parks, public pool, community center and natural areas are wonderful community assets.
- Our overall community ambience is second to none.
Since its beginning, Oakwood has been a very stable and desirable community in which to live, raise a family, work and/or retire. In 2023, we celebrated the 151st anniversary of the first platting of what was then called the “Town of Oakwood.” We incorporated as a village in 1908 and became a city in 1931, following the 1930 census which reported that our population exceeded 5,000. The 2020 Census reported our population at 9,572.
Year after year, Oakwood citizens provide the resources needed to pay for comprehensive and first-class city services. In the book Oakwood: The Far Hills, originally printed in 1983 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Oakwood’s incorporation, City Manager Dave Foell is quoted as saying, “It’s not a question of how much you pay in taxes; the question is whether you receive good value for each dollar