Hard Work and Common Sense is not just a slogan for Jim Stith, the Auditor for the City of Norwood. Jim is accustomed to providing excellent service to others through his many roles in the Southwestern Ohio community, of which he has been a part of for most of his life.

Jim currently serves as the Elected Auditor for the City of Norwood. He was first appointed to that position in January 2008, and then was elected in November 2009 by Norwood’s residents. Norwood is the 2nd largest city in Hamilton County and has a budget of $23 million dollars which requires effective and conservative management. Through his diligent work in the city of Norwood, Jim has modernized the City’s financial systems and technologies, prepared and filed financial reports for the years 2006 and 2007, both of which are requirements for the City being released from fiscal watch, and presented a proposed balanced budget for 2009 and the City’s first five year forecast to Norwood City Council.

For the first time since 2003, the City of Norwood’s Auditor’s office filed a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for 2008, for which Jim and his staff received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The GFOA, a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals, presented the award to City Auditor Jim Stith because his department was designated by the government as responsible for preparing the award-winning CAFR.

His professional development doesn’t stop with the Auditor’s office. He practices Emergency Medicine as a Physician Assistant with Premier Health Care Services, serving locally at Mercy Fairfield Hospital’s Emergency Department. Jim is Board Certified in Surgery and Primary Care and has 17 years of service in Emergency Medicine. Jim attended the University of Cincinnati, Kettering College of Medical Arts and LaSalle High School in Cincinnati.

Jim serves his Country and community. Jim is an honorably discharged United States Marine where he served in the infantry. He has served as cub master for Norwood Pack 9 and Assistant Scoutmaster for Norwood Troop 9. He is a Former Faithful Captain of the Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree SIJA and a current Member of the Norwood Moose Lodge 301. Jim and Jennifer, his wife of 21 years, have lived in Norwood for 11 years with their 3 children.

He believes that the problem is not that there are too few taxes; it is that there is too much spending. Jim knows that it is impossible to dig yourself out of the bottom of a hole; we must demand a balanced budget and begin paying off our debt.

When re-elected, Jim will continue to work for transparency in government, as well as a smaller, more effective government which is accountable to the people.

Jim is not a career politician or government employee. He is a husband, a father, a hard worker, a community volunteer, and a servant in local public office. Experienced in the private sector, Jim knows what it takes to meet a payroll, pay bills, and manage cash flow. Jim Stith will continue to bring his values of Hard Work and Common Sense to the Norwood Auditor’s office.