MAHONING COUNTY Board approves joint budget work

A budget director probably will be hired eventually, but there is no hurry, an official said.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The first budget developed cooperatively by the Mahoning County commissioners' and auditor's offices is complete.
Commissioners approved the spending plan without discussion Thursday.
The total budget is $54.3 million, with $29.7 million of that in the general fund, said county administrator Gary Kubic.
That's in addition to $18 million commissioners had appropriated for the first quarter of this year until the full budget was completed.
All together, this year's general fund appropriation is about $18,000 more than last year.
The budgeting process became a partnership between the commissioners' and auditor's offices last year. Commissioners had said they would hire a budget director to do the job, but stopped short of hiring one and opted for the joint venture instead.
Hasn't had director: The county has not had a budget director since Tom Stanko resigned in January 1998. He was not immediately replaced because the county was strapped financially without sales tax revenue. A 0.5 percent sales tax has since been passed.
Kubic did the budgeting work, assisted by employees in the Office of Management and Budget, in the meantime.
He expects the county to eventually hire another budget director, but said the process was smooth this time and there's no rush to fill the job. The goal is to implement a performance-based budgeting system.
The budget includes a $5.9 million carryover from last year, Kubic said. He expects that figure to be lower next year because commissioners will spend some of the cash reserve this year for one-time projects like fixing up the South Side Annex on Market Street and the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center on East Scott Street.
Money for backlog: This year's budget includes $415,000 to hire Ohio Industries for the Handicapped, a Columbus-based company, whose job will be to help the county microfilm department catch up on a 12-year backlog of documents that need to be filmed.
OIH is a statewide program created by the governor's office to provide vocational training and job opportunities for people with severe disabilities. Microfilming is among the services it provides.
Kubic said the company also will be asked to microfilm records for the county job and Family Services department.
Some of the paper documents, like payroll records, must be retained indefinitely, Kubic said. But others can be destroyed after they are microfilmed, which will free up valuable storage space in the courthouse.
Kubic said the budget also includes a $60,000 increase over what was spent last year for postage. The increase, which covers all offices, is because of a 1-cent postage increase implemented last year by the U.S. Postal Service.