District determined to improve funding

It might not be fair to give Warren so many free services, the director said.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CORTLAND -- Trumbull County Soil and Water Conservation District board members agree that important pieces of their funding puzzle need improved as they plan for the next three years.
First, the district needs to get financial help from Warren city, which receives about 20 percent of the district's services but doesn't pay for them, said Mike Wilson, executive director of the district.
The district has offices in the Agriculture/Family Education Center in Cortland. Its board met Thursday for a strategy session.
The Community Waters Festival, which the district provides at no cost, ran for two days earlier this month in Packard Park and served fourth-graders from Warren schools, for example. Wilson estimated that half of the educational programming provided by the district goes to Warren pupils.
"In fairness to the county commissioners and everybody who funds us, we need to sit down and have discussions" with Warren officials to see if the city will provide some funding, he said.
Funding sources
In addition to the county, SWCD receives funding from the state and federal governments.
Wilson said the district has given help to the city on many issues and will continue to do so, but it might not be fair to provide so much free help to Warren.
Another funding question has to do with trying to provide more services to townships in the northern part of the county that currently do not help the district with its funding. These areas have important questions about ponds, septic systems and ditches that SWCD could help with, he said.
The townships of Vienna, Bazetta, Brookfield, Champion, Howland, Hubbard, Liberty, Newton, Warren and Weathersfield; cities of Cortland, Hubbard, Girard, Niles and Newton Falls; and village of McDonald entered into a memorandum of understanding with the district last fall, when the county cut the agency's budget by 40 percent. In the agreement, those 16 areas pay the district 28 cents per resident for its services.
Those fees came to $40,000 and were matched by the state, he said.
Services and programs
The district provides educational services, water management such as drainage and flood protection, soil management such as erosion and land use planning, and agricultural programs such as the Forestry Incentive Program.
Wilson, who became the panel's director in June, told its five-member board of supervisors one of his goals is to network with local governments, the local Emergency Management Association and such groups as the Loggers Association and news media.
Wilson was director of the Mahoning Valley Home Builders/Remodelers Association before coming to SWCD this year and had done weekly newspaper columns and participated in a radio program. Board members agreed that a newspaper column would also be beneficial in the area of soil and water conservation.
The committee approved putting people on the ballot for election to two seats on the five-member board at the district's November meeting: Paul Aaron, Richard Harkins and Janet Solomon and incumbents Davis Denman and Susan Montgomery. Other people can still run for office including on the night of the election.
runyan@vindy.com