John Green, Tipp City Financial Director: Numbers are His Business

“I’ve come to realize as I’ve gotten older, I didn’t know everything, and still don’t know everything, but every day is an opportunity to learn something new.”

That comment is from John Green, Finance Director for Tipp City. Of course, he works with numbers every day, but he doesn’t talk about numbers, he talks about the projects which improve the lives of Tipp City residents. John grew up on a small farm where his father had him bailing hay, feeding cows, etc., getting him used to hard work. But his mother, who was a teacher, made him read every night and do his math homework, to encourage him to “think more intellectually.” After John finished high school, he decided to attend nearby Wilmington College in its Park Ranger Program, but he arrived only to find it had been cancelled. So, because math had always been easy for John, he enrolled in and graduated with an accounting degree.

John was hired by the Ohio Auditors Office after graduation. Eventually he moved to Marysville where a former Tipp City employee told him that Tipp was looking for a Finance Director. John thought about it and decided, “Yeah, I’ll check into that.” He was soon hired as Financial Director for Tipp City, beginning work in 2010. John says, “We’ve been able to do about $40 million of capital improvements in the last 10 years, partially due to the income tax increase in 2011. Support of our residents is what has driven that and allowed us to do the things that needed to be done.” John mentioned he keeps hearing that people want a grocery store in Tipp, although he notes that there are two Kroger stores within a few minutes’ drive, and now they deliver. He explains, however, that there’s not enough parking in the Plaza area for a grocery store, so it would have to be built on the Long property at the SW corner of 25A and 571.

John says his toughest challenges as Financial Director have been replacing retired employees, moving to the automated meter reading system, and keeping an eye on spending since converting to full-time fire and EMS employees. Also, coming soon, is the upgrade of the sewer plant on Needmore Road in Riverside, co-owned by Tipp, Huber Heights, and Vandalia, a $150 million project. He also suggested that eventually, Tipp will need a new water tower somewhere west of 25A. On the other hand, he notes, all the city department heads have lots of experience, which helps prevent problems, and is unusual for a city as small as Tipp.  “Tipp is a great place to live, work, and play,” says John, and he is glad he has been part of the projects which have resulted in good things for the community.

John will be retiring from Tipp City in 2027 and says he would like to get a small place with a few acres of land, a small farm environment, with “a cat a dog, and a goat,” since he grew up on a small farm. He notes, “once you live on a farm, it’s hard to leave it. You can’t leave it.”