Council OKs appropriations for 2006 budget

Firefighters said their operations budget has been around $530,000.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CAMPBELL -- Appropriations of an $8.3 million city budget for 2006 include $1.4 million of a $2.4 million general fund for police and fire protection.
Council passed the appropriations Wednesday with few comments.
The appropriation of $390,630 for the fire department is significantly less than the 2005 actual appropriation of $692,763.
Campbell, facing financial problems, is trying to sell its water treatment and distribution system to Aqua Ohio to get out from under substantial debt in that department.
As another cost-saving measure, Mayor John Dill and council members have been exploring contracting with other fire departments or fire districts for fire services rather than the city staffing its own full-time fire department.
Levy revenue not included
After Wednesday's meeting, finance Director John Leskovyansky clarified the $1,036,544 appropriated for police and $390,630 for the fire department does not include revenue from the city's 3-mill safety forces levy.
He said each department receives about $100,000 from the levy, which will generate revenue through 2008.
He also said an average of fire department expenditures for 2004 and 2005 is around $697,000. That includes staffing of eight full-time firefighters for part of those years and payment for some firefighters' pensions that were behind.
He said the $390,000 appropriation reflects expected expenditures for the current staffing of Hrelec and four other full-time firefighters, and does not include the $100,000 anticipated from the safety forces levy.
Fire Chief Nick Hrelec said he thinks the department's actual operating budgets the past two years, not including pension payments was closer to $530,000.
The department's actual expenditures listed for 2004 was $531,849.
Another firefighter said they can operate a fire department at previous staffing levels of seven full-time firefighters, including the chief, for about $500,000.
Hrelec said the department had 12 full-time firefighters when he became chief two years ago. Firefighters who resigned or retired were not replaced.
Then three more were laid off because of the city's financial emergency.
Residents spoke out
At a meeting last week, residents told lawmakers they want to keep their fire department staffed by local firefighters.
Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams has proposed to Campbell officials that the Youngstown Fire Department provide fire protection to Campbell.
Councilman Bryan Tedesco said the mayor and council should figure out how much is needed to fully staff the fire department and then put a fire levy on the ballot. At last week's meeting, he pulled out his latest property tax bill to show he pays around 53 cents per day for police and fire protection.
Tedesco said Wednesday that people need to understand the additional money needed to keep the local fire department would not cost residents much. He said, for example, he pays more than $1 per day for cable television service.
Tedesco said he will explore whether events such as a spaghetti dinner or auction could be used to raise money to put a fire levy on the ballot.
He would like to put it on a special election ballot, rather than wait until November. The deadline for filing for the May primary ballot has past.