Findlay's crime stats improving

Findlay's goals report for the first quarter of 2023 shows both violent and non-violent crime dropping below the three-year average, a number city officials said would come. Last year, the "key performance indicator" or KPI report, showed both violent crimes and non-violent crimes climbing above the three-year average. However, city officials said the numbers only appeared to be higher due to the decrease in crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, which skewed the report. The city also began capturing more data in 2020, when it transitioned to a new, more comprehensive collection system, which also drove the crime numbers up. City officials said the performance, as tracked by the report, would improve. In the first quarter of this year, the report shows violent crimes, including homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault fell below the adjusted three-year average of about 50 incidents per month, to an average of 36 incidents per month. Non-violent crimes are being reported at 87 per month, down from the three-year adjusted average of about 110 per month. In all, there are 46 performance indicators included in the report that were identified by city departments as "key" or "most important" in determining the success or improvement of city services. The report is on council's agenda for today's regular meeting. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the Findlay Municipal Building, 318 Dorney Plaza. Council meetings are open to the public and are live-streamed on the city's YouTube channel: Findlay Ohio. Once reviewed by council, the complete report will be listed online at the city's website at www.findlayohio.com. Another problematic performance indicator for the city in recent years has been the amount of water "missing" from the city's system. The report shows that the city continues to make progress with the ongoing problem of missing or "unaccounted water use." According to city officials, all municipal water systems have a percentage of water that goes unbilled. This may be due to leaks, use by the fire department, meter inaccuracies or unauthorized consumption. Based on the most recent numbers, the city's percentage of water that goes unbilled has dropped to a low of 4.8% this year. That's well below the city's goal of 18%. According to the report, the city's water department continues to investigate the water loss and is working to fix the problems. Attempts to remedy the ongoing loss have included installing new meters at the water plant, continued evaluation of flushing stations and monitoring of unmetered water use. The report may also be pointing to a significant drop in zoning code violation cases opened by the city this year. The city's zoning department has 47 non-compliance cases open, most due to junk motor vehicles, junk and material storage and dilapidated structures. In 2022, there were a total of 536 complaints opened by the zoning department. Junk vehicles and storage again made up the bulk of the cases. High grass and weeds accounted for about 35% of the cases. The city has been working to resolve violations by working with property owners toward voluntary compliance. So far, 160 cases have been closed this year. Only one involved court charges. In 2022, the zoning department resolved 413 cases with no court action.