CITY GOVERNMENT Struthers sounds alarm about cuts

STRUTHERS -- City council warned Wednesday of cuts in virtually every department -- police, fire, streets and parks -- if the state reduces funding to municipalities.
The council's warning comes as the state looks for ways to plug a $4 billion deficit in its two-year budget that takes effect in July.
In a resolution urging the state to leave the funding intact, Struthers leaders said the city's $3.7 million budget can't afford to lose any of the $22,000 in state funding.
Councilman Jerry Shields said state reductions would force the city to "cut clear across the board."
Since Mahoning County libraries depend on state funding for 85 percent of their budgets, libraries would close if Columbus makes cuts, councilmen said.
"The state has some serious budget problems, and we're looking to make sure they don't fix the budget in such a way to cripple us," Mayor Daniel C. Mamula said before the meeting. "We don't have any room to cut."