Boardman trustees get cover to take strong budget action

If there’s one word elected officials have trouble saying, especially when it comes public employees, it’s no. That’s because the next election always looms large.

Saying no means having to say you’re sorry when it’s ballot time.

Hence, the apparent sigh of relief in Boardman from officeholders when the 11-member business advisory committee presented its initial report on the township’s financial condition.

One of the key recommendations from the panel, led by James Rosa, a certified public accountant who works for Hill, Barth and King, is that trustees say no to the labor unions in upcoming contract talks.

Others include government weaning itself off inheritance tax receipts for general operations, and the development of a capital improvement spending plan.

Little wonder that all three trustees, Kathy Miller, Robyn Gallitto and Larry Moliterno, wasted no time in embracing the report. They went so far as to urge Rosa and his group to continue their evaluation of the township’s operation.

The word no is so much easier to say when a group of business and community leaders is providing you with political cover.

Boardman Township’s budget crisis has triggered the furlough of 30 full-time and 12 part-time employees; it also has prompted the firefighters and street department unions to approve contracts with zero raises.

But the advisory committee’s recommendation on wages goes further.

“Upcoming labor contracts should have the goal of providing no cost increases over the next several years,” it says. Key words: Several years.

Bitter pill

The report is a bitter pill to swallow for a community that has historically been financially stable. And the committee acknowledge that some of the recommendations can’t be implemented overnight.

That should provide trustees with some comfort, seeing as how they are the ones who must develop an economic recovery plan.

Spending cuts alone will not return township government to fiscal stability. A tax increase is on the table, but trustees have yet to decide when to seek voter approval.

“I think there needs to be some urgency,” Rosa said in reference to the levy. However, his committee still has not made a recommendation about the type or the amount.

In March, when Rosa addressed a meeting of the trustees after performing a cursory evaluation of the township’s budget, he offered this observation: Government will not succeed in winning public support for a levy simply by arguing that Boardman has not passed a new tax in 12 years.

Last November, residents rejected a 4.1-mill operating levy. What might sway the taxpayers is the willingness of the trustees to adopt most, if not all, the recommendations of the business advisory committee.