What I Wish My Readers Knew

Vol. III, No. 184 - A personal reflection on this newsletter and the value it brings to our hometowns

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For the first time in a while, this newsletter goes out with a certain degree of hesitation. The usual Civic Capacity formula is straightforward enough: take a local issue, examine it carefully, and offer a perspective readers may not have considered, then leave them alone to make up their own minds. No mystery there, and certainly no grand theory to manipulate the masses.

Today is different. This is less a novel angle on the facts than a look under the hood at how I think about this publication and it’s role in civic life. Looking back from the beginning of this project, there are a few things that have never been spelled out, and perhaps should be, before the next work of “creative fiction” lands in your inbox.

To begin with, the next journalism class I will take will be my first. This is not a newsroom, and I am not a trained reporter. The closest I ever got to the real work of the news world was passing papers for the Troy Daily News as a youngster. I do not pretend to know all the tricks of the trade, nor to be engaged in capital-J Journalism in the conventional sense. What I believe makes this effort different, and what many professional newsrooms lack, is long, direct experience with local government—on all sides of the table: taxpayer, resident, elected official, and staffer.

That vantage point is the point. This project was never intended as a delivery mechanism for press releases, or another voice in the unthinking chorus of civic boosterism. The purpose is to subject local decisions to serious scrutiny: to think deeply about how they were made, whose interests they serve, and what they mean for the community now and years from now. That work rests less on credentials than on a stubborn sense of responsibility to the people who have to live with the consequences.

Responsibility, in turn, has a corollary: restraint. This newsletter is read by more than a few of the county’s decision-makers, and many of them talk, sometimes candidly, about what is happening. Only the smallest fraction of those conversations ever see print. Some of that is simple respect for confidence. Some of it is a recognition that not every story belongs to the person who hears it first. The stories told here are drawn from public records and public meetings, not whispered palace intrigue; the aim is to encourage participation, not to feed outrage.

Which brings us to the preferred tactic of those who would rather not explain themselves: emotional manipulation. Consider Monday night’s Troy City Council meeting, where discussion of the city’s budget and its large unspent balances gave way to a swipe at the “creative fiction” supposedly being peddled by this publication. Given a chance to explain the city’s policy of maintaining six months of operating reserves—how it was set, why that figure—some decided to shoot the messenger. It’s no the first time it’s happened, it certainly won’t be the last.

But, back to the “creative fiction” this publication was accused of putting foward. Where exactly is the fiction? Were the documents filed with the County Budget Commission false? Were the numbers crunched by the County Budget Commission false? I tend to think not. No, what was “false”, was this publication had the audcaity to look at data and make some basic observations. For a city administraion that tries to pride itself on openness and transparency, it’s much easier to say those words than to actually live up to them.

Episodes like this expose a familiar weakness in local government: an inability, or unwillingness, to tell its own story plainly. Too often the expectation is that civic cheerleading will smooth over any awkward question, that residents will “go along to get along” as they always have. But that era is passing. People have access to more information, more viewpoints, and more ways to compare notes than ever before, and many of them are prepared to think for themselves.

Civic Capacity exists to help them do precisely that. It is not trying to be the final word on any issue, but a prompt: to understand the decisions being made in their name, to ask better questions, and to take seriously their own role in local life. If more residents accept that responsibility, then the hopeful wager of this newsletter is simple: our hometowns will be better run, and better off, than they are now.

A New Handbook to grow Civic Capacity!

Recently, we created a new digital handbook, “The Citizen’s Guide to Public Records”. This handbook is designed to help residents have a better understanding of public meetings and meeting records. It’s filled with templates, ideas and other information that will open a new world of public affairs.

Also, if you have ideas for future handbooks, please let us know at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com.

Want to Learn More About Troy’s Businesses?

Our publication has recently released our September 2025 Economic Abstract, the most comprehensive and up-to-date report on the businesses and industries in the City of Troy. For those that want to understand our community’s business and industries, this is a must-have report.

Thank you to our New Media Partners!

Recently, many of our stories has been showing up on the local news website, www.mymiamicounty.com. We are grateful for the good folks for sharing our work with their audience and we would encourage our readers to check them out at their website!

Our publication would also like to recognize the good work being done at www.piquanewsnow.com. Piqua News Now is a new web-based news and information site for the Miami County area, with a specific focus on Piqua!

In addition, the good folks at Piqua News Now have started a new, 24-hour streaming YouTube channel. This channel is awesome with continuous weather updates and more importanly, it provides a 24-hour audio feed from county wide dispatch. Check it out here!

You Can Help Support This Work!

Our readers and subscribers have been asking for a new way to support the work being done here at Civic Capacity! Some of our readers do not like the idea of having to sign up for another subscription service. Some of our subscribers occasionally want to give more support through a one-time transaction.

Civic Capacity is partnering with “Buy Me A Coffee” to give our readers, subscribers and friends an opportunity to give one-time support to Civic Capacity. Personally, I don’t like coffee, but I will never turn down a nice iced tea. If you feel compelled to support this effort, just click the button below. In other words, this is an online tip jar.

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