2009 Budget passes 7-4

Last night, at the Special Council meeting, the budget passed 7-4 as proposed by the administration (Craig, Gibbs, Krischer and Tanner voted against it). Immediately prior to the Council meeting, we spent a great deal of time in the Finance Committee meeting reviewing my proposed $504,668 in cuts to various areas of the General Fund. My suggestion was to use this money to supplement the Police Department's Personal Services budget to allow the police to keep more manpower.

These cuts, minus $100K to be restored to Landscape Maintenance, were also proposed by motion at the full Council meeting and were summarily rejected by a majority of Council (7-4). A spreadsheet is in the Documents section that shows these proposed cuts to the General Fund. Many of the line items were for payment of mileage and travel allowances, including the Mayor's personal travel allowance. Unfortunately, the majority of Council was not even willing to eliminate payment of mileage and travel reimbursements to provide more money to the police department.

$404,668 injected into the Police Department's budget would mean that almost half of the personnel let go could be retained (see EPD 2009 Cuts in the Documents section). If there were pay concessions, possibly more could be saved. In the alternative, it would allow more patrolmen to be hired to perform these functions.

We will continue to push for changes to the budget so that we can stay focused on our critical priorities, such as the safety of this city. We certainly should not pay mileage or travel reimbursements if that means we have less money for services provided by our police department.

Special Council Meetings Scheduled for the Budget

The upcoming events list on this page has been updated to reflect the special council meetings that have been scheduled for the three readings of the ordinance to pass this year's budget and the last two readings regarding the EFD Agreement. An updated copy of the 2009 Budget as of today is posted in the Documents section or follow this link: 2009 Proposed Budget March 20

Changes that were made on March 13 include:

General Fund
Finance Admin – Hospitalization decreased by $10,000 lowering the total budget for Finance Admin by $10,000.

Street Construction M&R Fund
Traffic Lights – Salary reduced by $49,100 lowering the total budget for Street Construction M&R by $49,100.

Special Parks & Rec Fund
Special Parks & Rec – several line items in Operating and Maintenance reduced by a total of $60,000.
-Capital Outlay reduced by $35,000 (vehicles).

Total Special Parks & Rec Fund reduced by $95,000.

Workers Compensation
Workers Compensation – operating and maintenance increased by $149,737. We’ve received our 2009 bill from Ohio Bureau of WC and it is $150,000 higher than estimated.

Today's changes include:

General Fund:

Total increase of $18,747 as follows:

Health Dept.
Salary +87,000 due to a change in estimated revenue from fee increases.

Mayor’s Office
Reduced Personal Services and Fringe Benefits a total of ($68,253) for transfer of wages to Water, Sanitation, and WWPC funds.


Water, Sanitation and WWPC :

The total increase of $68,253 in these three funds all relate to the transfer of wages and benefits from the Mayor’s Office to these three funds as follows:

Water
Increase in Personal Services and Fringe Benefits totaling $22,751.

Sanitation
Increase in Personal Services and Fringe Benefits totaling $22,751.

WWPC
Increase in Personal Services and Fringe Benefits totaling $22,751.

First Street Repair Meeting

Last night, the Public Utilities, Safety and Environment Committee met to discuss street repairs for 2009. Engineering provided a list of top-priority streets for repair with estimates (a copy can be found here: 2009 Preliminary Estimates and options for Resurfacing). Discussion included major projects and funding sources, including NOACA (federal money), Issue 2 (state money) and federal stimulus money. West River Rd. N. was a topic of discussion, along with Ford Road Bridge.

The Auditor anticipates that $808,323 will be available for 2009 Street Resurfacing. Including the below 4th Ward streets, the estimated cost to repair the streets ranked as "1" (must repair) for all wards in the city total $557,166.

Ward 4 streets that have already been estimated and were provided for discussion purposes include:
Bailey Court, $8,992
Elywood Drive, $41,969
Eschtruth Street, $73,718
Penrose Court, $36,839

We also asked the Engineer to obtain estimates for Caroline Street and for Windsor, from Stafford to the cul-de-sac.

West River Rd. N was discussed at great length. Engineering believes that the road should also be widened to help stabilize it and allow for better drainage. Preliminary estimates for all options with W. River Rd. N include:

Repair from lift station north to city limit: $172,905
Widening 2' on each side for above section: $94,710
Repair from lift station south to Griswold: $100,474
Widening 2' on each side for above section: $35,175
Total Possible for W. River Rd. N.: $403,264

As previously mentioned, the portion from Griswold to the lift station (near Schadden Rd.) will likely be repaired using money from the enterprise fund as part of the lift station work. If we want to repair West River Rd. N. this year, 100% of the repair money (other than that section) will come from our own street resurfacing funds. We can obtain state or federal money to pay for these repairs, but the earliest the repairs would happen is 2010. As such, we need to make a decision whether to repair W. River Rd. N this year or try to wait one more year.

Due to federal stimulus money, funding of SR 57 was supplemented by $1.7 million. This covers the $1 million in cost overruns, plus the additional $700K for the City's contribution to the project. Therefore, we were already prepared to borrow $700K for street repairs, to be applied to SR 57 and we can still borrow this money but use it elsewhere in the City. We still need to spend approximately $110,000 on the SR 57 project this year, which would either come from our existing Street Resurfacing funds, or from the $700,000 we could borrow.

Other possible uses for the $700,000 include additional side street repairs, engineering for the repair of Ford Road Bridge ($116,400), design costs for W. River Rd. N if we submit it for NOACA funding ($100,000), or $700,000 to be applied to the engineering for the widening of East Broad Street. The Mayor informed the Committee that an additional $100,000 from the Street Resurfacing funds would also need to be allocated if we decide to proceed with the East Broad Street project.

There has not been a follow-up meeting scheduled yet. Please contact me with any thoughts or suggestions regarding the above.

Financial Review Board Re-Established

Last night at the City Council meeting, Council voted to re-establish the Financial Review Board, an appointed group of citizens who review the City's finances and provide guidance and suggestions to City Council. The applicable portion of the Elyria Ordinances is below. If you have any interest in serving the City in this capacity, please contact a Council member and ask to have your name submitted for consideration.

CHAPTER 176 Financial Review Board

176.01 CREATED; MEMBERS; TERM.
There is hereby created and established a Financial Review Board, which shall consist of five members appointed for terms of five years each. The members of the Board first appointed under this chapter shall be as follows: one of such members shall be appointed for a one-year term; one of such members shall be appointed for a two-year term; one of such members shall be appointed for a three-year term; one of such members shall be appointed for a four-year term, and one of such members shall be appointed for a five-year term and shall continue in office until his successor is appointed. Two of the members of the Board shall be appointed by the Republican members of Council; two of the members shall be appointed by the Democrat members of Council; and the fifth member shall be appointed by the other four members of the Board. In the event that there are no Republicans on Council, then the City Chairman of the Republican Party shall make the Republican appointments. In the event that there are no Democrats on Council, then the City Chairman of the Democrat Party shall make the Democrat appointments.
(Ord. 77-72. Passed 5-26-77.)
176.02 MEETINGS.
The Financial Review Board shall meet as often as necessary, but not less than twice each calendar year, preferably in January and early July.
(Ord. 77-72. Passed 5-26-77.)
176.03 DUTIES.
The duties of the Financial Review Board shall be to review the budget, year end reports and other financial matters of the City; to meet with Council's Finance Committee, the administration, the Auditor, Finance Director and such other persons as the Board deems advisable; and to make recommendations to Council concerning the City's financial matters.
(Ord. 77-72. Passed 5-26-77.)
176.04 COMPENSATION.
The members of the Financial Review Board shall serve without compensation.

Agreement to Avoid Layoffs in the Elyria Fire Department

Over the past few days, the City reached an agreement with the EFD to avoid layoffs. Tonight, the Finance Committee will review the agreement and recommend approval or rejection of the Agreement. The Agreement specifically requires Council approval and contains certain items that must be approved by Council, such as funding sources for various activities, approval of the changes to the Elyria Firefighters collective bargaining agreement and an agreement by the City to place a special tax on the ballot (property, income tax increase or income tax credit reduction) to be dedicated to the EFD.

A copy of the ordinance and the Agreement are available in the documents section of this web page. If you have questions or comments about this issue, plan to attend the Finance Committee tonight at 6 p.m., submit your comments to the Clerk of Council's office (326-1550) or contact a Council member. The Finance Committee consists of:

Forrest Bullocks, Chair: 322-7370, fbullocks@cityofelyria.org
Tom Callahan: 365-8972, tcallahan@cityofelyria.org
Garry Gibbs: 322-6960, ggibbs@cityofelyria.org
Lary Tanner: 322-2521 (no email available)

4th Ward Town Hall Meeting--April 2, 2009

The second 4th Ward Town Hall Meeting will be on April 2, 2009 at the American Legion Post 12 on the corner of Gulf Road and Ohio Street, starting at 7:00 p.m. Already confirmed to attend are Mayor Bill Grace, Police Chief Michael Medders and then-Fire Chief Rich Benton of the Elyria Fire Department. Other public officials will also attend, based upon their availability, to discuss the City's finances, street repairs and Parks and Recreation.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to craig4council@oh.rr.com or call 366-0608 and let us know how many people to expect.

This is a forum in which the residents of the 4th Ward can pose questions directly to City Officials, raise issues, propose solutions and learn about the impacts of the budget that will have been recently passed (submitted to the State of Ohio no later than March 31).

If you have a particular interest, area of concern or a city official you hope to see there, please let me know and I will do my best to get that official or a representative from their department to attend.

Boil Alert Lifted

The boil alert has been lifted.

Tentative Agreement Reached with EFD

A tentative agreement has been reached between the Administration and the Elyria Fire Department by which 10 of the 11 planned layoffs to the EFD can potentially be avoided and the taxpayer action filed by resident Dean Marks would be dismissed.

There will be a special Finance Committee meeting to review a proposed ordinance that will eliminate the minimum manning levels for the EFD and discuss the financial implications of the tentative agreement. This meeting will take place Monday evening at 6 p.m., prior to the regular council meeting.

If you are interested in this discussion, please plan to attend.

Street Repair Time!

It is time to turn in a list of streets for repair during the 2009 construction season. I spent most of the weekend driving the streets of the Ward and noting the condition of each so that I can submit my list to the Engineering Department for further analysis.

The process works like this--first, the ward councilperson analyzes the street conditions in the ward. Second, ward council submits a list of proposed streets for repair to the Engineering Department. Third, the Engineering Department prepares its own rankings for the streets and estimates costs for repairs. Fourth, the Public Utilities, Safety & Environment Committee meets to review the list, the estimates and the amount of money available for repairs and votes on a final list to be repaired in 2009. The final list is submitted to full Council for approval.

I have submitted my list to the Engineering Department. A copy of the list is available under the Documents section on this web site. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to contact me. I will post as comments under this post the dates that are set for the PUSE Committee meeting and when this matter comes before full Council.

No New Wal-Mart at Griswold--Lot for Sale

Despite years of expectation for a new Wal-Mart to go in at the corner of Griswold and West River Rd. N., the property is now up for sale and Wal-Mart notes that it has no plans to put in a new store at that location. The condition of West River Road N. has deteriorated significantly over the years, and the City has told residents in that area that it has put off road construction in that area because it was concerned that the heavy construction trucks for the new Wal-Mart store would tear up the road. This should no longer be an excuse to delay repairs on W. River Road N.

The "For Sale" sign went up at the beginning of March. Tom Molich, long-time resident of W. River Rd. N. and strong advocate for road repairs in that area, learned last week that the property was for sale. He informed Mayor Grace, who was completely unaware. Don Brackenhoff, the City's "economic development director" told reporters that he has not spoken with anyone from Wal Mart yet.

Wal Mart says that it intends to focus on its existing store on Midway Blvd and no longer has plans to bring a new store to Elyria. Residents in the area should continue to keep an eye on the property for vagrants, vandalism and high grass and will report any violations to the City so that the property is maintained.

The story broke yesterday (March 7) in the Lorain Morning Journal and can be found at http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2009/03/07/news/mj714916.txt.

2009 City Budget for Review

Today is the day the administration stated it will be issuing the proposed budget for 2009 to Council members for review and discussion at Monday night's Finance Committee meeting (see Upcoming Events for date and time). This version will include the impacts of the 34 full-time employees who will be laid off (including 7 firefighters), the 20 employees of the EPD who will be lost, the 10% pay reductions for the employees of elected officials and the compression of the Parks and Recreation Department and its programs.

The latest copy of the budget worksheet is now posted in the Documents section of this web page so that it can be downloaded and reviewed. The Finance Committee meeting is open to the public, although the chairman has not stated whether or not he will allow time for the public to comment on the proposed budget. You can also submit comments to the Clerk of Council's office for distribution to all Council members at (440) 326-1550 or by email to nfike@cityofelyria.org or cbillman@cityofelyria.com.

Chronicle-Telegram--Check your facts!

For the second day straight, the Chronicle-Telegram has misquoted me and failed to get its facts straight regarding Monday night's vote on the proposed charter amendment to change the City Charter to 1) Reduce the time to place a new income tax on the ballot from 90 to 60 days; and 2) Change the provision that requires a new income tax to be placed only on the ballot for a regular election and so that Council is allowed to put a new income tax on a special election.

When interviewed by the reporter after Monday night's meeting, I informed him that I voted against the measure because we should be able to plan well enough that we can vote within 90 days, without having to rush things through in 60 days, and that I am against including such measures for special elections because a special election will cost the City between $30K and $50K. When he asked where I got the numbers for the cost of a special election, I noted the Mayor's comments regarding the cost for a special election should he be recalled.

Tuesday's paper incorrectly stated that one of the reasons Krischer or I voted against the proposed charter amendment was due to the cost on the Primary ballot. Completely inaccurate! Today's paper clarifies that there will be no additional cost for the Primary ballot, but falsely attributes to me a statement that it will cost additional money for the Primary ballot. The article was written by a different reporter who did not even bother to contact me to confirm my statements--she never checked her facts.

I cannot begin to guess as to the intention of the CT in making these blatantly false and inaccurate statements, but they certainly didn't check their facts. The first reporter either didn't understand what I told him or he didn't recall it correctly. The second reporter recklessly failed to do any independent follow-up or fact checking. It is clear that the CT's editorial staff does not agree with my position. However, they have a duty to accurately report the news and their failure to do so is inexcusable.

For the record, I am not in favor of modifying the City Charter. I believe that we continue to address symptoms in this City instead of addressing the real problems. The purpose of changing the Charter at this time is so that Council can ask the residents for an income tax increase at a special election, which will probably happen in August. It will cost the City $30-50K to conduct the special election. This City's budget has grown every year for the past nine years that Mayor Grace has been in office. Revenues have not. Population has not. The City has not done a good job keeping its expenditures in line with its needs and now is faced with a major shortfall that will once again impact police and fire forces. Now is the time for cuts throughout the City, including City Hall, so that when the economy recovers, we are spending within our means and will have the ability to protect ourselves from downturns in the economy.