Campbell's financial woes should be a warning to all

Austintown Township trustees David Ditzler and Warren "Bo" Pritchard are obviously in need of a reality check when it comes to the region's economy. We would suggest they visit Campbell, which is on the verge of laying off as many as 11 employees.
Campbell is under state-declared fiscal emergency, an indication that it can no longer make ends meet. A projected general fund deficit prompted the state auditor's office to issue the declaration, which has resulted in a special commission being appointed to develop an economic recovery plan.
What should be of interest to the Austintown trustees is that Campbell's financial woes occurred even after voters last year approved a 3-mill levy so laid off workers in the police, fire, street and park departments could be brought back, and renewed the city's 2.5 percent income tax. This week, voters rejected a new 5-mill, five-year operating levy.
A balanced budget must be submitted to the commission by Nov. 20. Hence, the layoff notices that will be going out next week.
Why should Ditzler and Pritchard care about what's happening in Campbell? Because layoffs in Austintown are a very real possibility.
Township Clerk Michael Kurish has said that the general fund next year could be in the red if additional revenue isn't found. This, despite an anticipated carry-over at the end of the year.
With such uncertainties, you would think the trustees would err on the side of caution when it comes to approving a labor contract with the park department. You would be wrong -- as far as Ditzler and Pritchard are concerned.
Only Trustee Lisa Oles has refused to sign on the dotted line.
Wage increases
On Monday, Oles did not join her colleagues in granting raises and other benefits to the four park department employees. They will receive annual wage increases of 3 percent this year and next, and the foreman and laborers will receive 3 percent in 2006. The salary for the general foreman has not been set because the union and trustees agreed to eliminate the position in 2006.
Earlier this year, Oles initially opposed raises for the township's office staff and road department employees because the summer road-resurfacing program was being cut to reduce spending. She subsequently agreed to the labor contract after receiving assurances that roads in the township would be paved.
Trustees and the union representing secretaries are to meet with a fact finder Nov. 18 to discuss a new contract. The old one expired last December.
In opposing the pact with park department employees, Oles said she did not agree to the township paying the union shop steward an additional 25 cents an hour, and objected to employees receiving a signing bonus and clothing allowance. She also wondered why government is paying for employees' retirement and questioned the work scheduling provisions.
Have Ditzler and Pritchard lost sense of what is going on in the real world? In the private sector, concessions, not pay raises and lucrative benefit packages, are the order of the day.
Six months ago, we criticized the trustees for not facing economic realities and warned that the labor contract with the office staff and road department employees could result in budget deficits in the coming years. Our criticism fell on deaf ears.
Therefore, if layoffs become necessary next year to dig township government out of a financial hole, the finger of blame will be pointed at them. They should never have agreed to a three-year contract with raises. Instead, they should have asked all the unions to accept a one-year freeze to give the township a chance to restore its economic health.
What is taking place in Campbell should put all local governments on notice: Fiscal emergency could be a pay period away.