Agencies make budget requests

The child support agency seeks 300,000 in case a federal cut becomes reality.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners heard requests Monday for additional workers for the county board of elections, new facilities for the Emergency Management Agency and dog pound, and 300,000 to offset loss of federal money for the Child Support Enforcement Agency
Commissioner-elect Frank Fuda sat in on the board's first day of budget hearings.
Commissioners and Auditor Adrian Biviano first heard a request from Kelly S. Pallante, elections board director, for two additional full-time employees to assist the office with the increased workload associated with the new no-fault absentee voting law.
Pallante said it takes more manpower to send absentee ballots to the voters through the mail and to assist voters who vote absentee in the board of elections office.
Absentees totaled 10,482 in the last election, which was an increase of 221 percent over the 2002 election, the last one of about the same type and size.
Rokey Suleman, deputy director, said news accounts indicate that the number of voters using absentee ballots is expected to continue to rise over the next two years.
Pallante noted that the board has to increase election workers in pairs in order to hire one who represents the Democratic Party and one who represents the Republican Party.
CSEA request
Bill Cummings, fiscal administrator for the county's Department of Job and Family Services and Child Support Enforcement Agency, explained that the CSEA request is higher than last year by 300,000. That's because of changes made in the funding formula for the agency that changes the way certain federal funding is allowed to be used.
The agency receives incentive money for meeting child support collection goals, and the federal government used to provide a funding match of 66 percent. But Congress eliminated that match. The loss of that match source will go into effect in October 2007 unless Congress reconsiders, Cummings said.
Until that funding issue is more clear, the CSEA is asking the county to provide the 300,000 that could go away, he said. Tom Mahoney, director of JFS and CSEA, said the funding change could cost the agency 800,000 in 2008 if Congress doesn't restore the funding.
Emergency operation
Linda Beil, director of the EMA, told commissioners her agency needs new office space for its emergency operations center, which is now housed at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
Her capital expenditure request was for 150,000 from the county, which would be added to a 300,000 state emergency operation center grant for construction of a new facility. The present offices are not up to standards, Beil said.
During his budget hearing, Robert Campana, chief dog warden, once again raised the issue of replacing the county dog kennel on Anderson Avenue in Howland. Commissioner Dan Polivka said the dog kennel has been on the county's short list of buildings needing to be repaired or replaced.
runyan@vindy.com