Promises Made, Promises Kept

Chuck Keiper has been our Portage County Commissioner since 1993. During all of that time Chuck has worked full time serving the needs of Portage County. He promised to fight for our rights to use the water in the Cuyahoga River and he kept his word. Portage County citizens now enjoy full rights to that important body of water, rights we lost at the turn of the last century and regained under Chuck Keiper’s leadership at the beginning of this one.

Chuck promised to help protect our natural resources and our natural areas. He helped to bring crucial grant dollars for our parks and for the restoration of the Cuyahoga River and removal of the Kent dam. He stood up for us at the Summit National Super Fund site and again at the Ravenna Arsenal when the Army wanted to burn old buildings and risk releasing toxic levels of poisonous chemicals into our air. He fought for the removal of old tire dumps and helped to create a nationally recognized county wide recycling program. He used his voice to fight landfill operators who were avoiding the rules and polluting our community. And he has been a leader in the area of storm water management, helping us to work collectively and efficiently to meet the new federal and state requirements.

“Run it like a business” is what we hear so often. Chuck Keiper promised to do just that and, boy, has he delivered. New and innovative programs in dozens of areas from workers comp management to risk pooling to salary administration to benefits management to cost containment and financial management programs have defined his tenure. Each and every day Portage County reaps the benefits in dollars saved. Despite the very challenging financial environment of the last few years, Portage County lived within its means and kept its budget balanced. Despite enormous challenges, Portage County received an upgrade to its bond rating while the communities around us either were held flat or received a downgrade in their ratings. Chuck Keiper has been an important reason why. Promises made and promises kept. That’s what Chuck Keiper is all about.