Trustees, other officials discuss financial future of township

By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF Writer
BOARDMAN -- The township will likely ask voters for a tax levy in 2008.
At a strategic planning session Tuesday with trustees, department heads and other township personnel, Clerk William Leicht said the township expenditures for 2006 exceed revenue by about $2 million.
For the last several years, the township has relied on its reserve fund to cover shortfalls between revenues and expenditures rather than asking voters to approve a new tax. That fund was the result of estate and real estate taxes and other proceeds.
Going in to 2006, that fund is about $6 million, but by the end of 2007, it will drop to about $1.2 million.
Leicht said the last time the township sought a new property tax levy was in 1995. At that time, the money generated by the levy was projected to sustain the township for 10 years.
Zoning
Trustee Kathy Miller also talked about the need for more focus on zoning so issues like the overall appearance of the township can be addressed.
But Police Chief Jeffrey Patterson said that there's isn't a legal mechanism in place for a township to do that. That authority falls to county entities.
The township can declare a property a nuisance, but that declaration doesn't have any teeth, he added.
Jim Hoover, the president of Local 1176 of the International Association of Firefighters, said that officials need to look toward the township's future.
"I hope we don't lose sight of the growing needs in the township for fire service," he said.
Fire officials cited a need for more personnel and a fire station in the township's southern end.
Leicht said that may best be accomplished through a separate levy specifically for fire protection. He suggested it be sought next year or in 2007.
Curt Seditz, township administrator, said the department's main fire station should be addressed first.
In March, MS Consultants of Youngstown recommended that the U.S. Route 224 fire station be replaced and estimated the cost at $4.1 million.
That report said that even with renovations, the station, which was built in 1926, won't meet the department's needs for the next 20 years.
Trustees have agreed that the station should be replaced, but bristled at the cost. They've been looking into other sites for the main station to determine if it may be done cheaper.
Leicht said that he'll present a plan for financing a main station at the trustees' next meeting on Dec. 27.