Trustee wants strategic plan

By Denise Dick

Trustee wants strategic plan

The community deserves to know how money will be spent, said a man who’s volunteered to help develop a plan.

BOARDMAN — Development of a strategic plan for the township is a first step to righting its budget and restoring services.

Trustee Larry Moliterno said Wednesday night he wants to meet in the coming days with leaders of the township’s unions and with department heads to begin that process.

After those meetings are done and some agreement reached, Moliterno expects the trustees will schedule a series of meetings to gather public input.

He expects all this to occur on a fast track to possibly lay the groundwork for the township to pursue a levy either in August or November.

Last month, trustees laid off 30 full-time and 12 part-time employees in an effort to begin to balance a budget where expenditures have been exceeding revenues for the last few years.

Jim Rosa, a certified public accountant who works at Hill, Barth and King, has volunteered to help with the strategic plan. Rosa says he believes a levy is necessary for the township, but he won’t support it without a plan.

“The community deserves to understand how the money will be spent and we need accountability,” he said.

The CPA pointed to the financial situation that shows decreasing revenues over the last several years and the township’s reliance on inheritance tax to fund operations.

To simply say the last time the township asked for the more money at the ballot was 12 years ago is not enough, Rosa added.

There has to be an examination of how services and the community has changed in those 12 years. “The future of Boardman is in trouble,” he continued.

If the problems aren’t addressed, people will move out of the community, the quality of life will decrease, Rosa said.

He advocates a pact for township officials to make with the community, outlining a series of pledges regarding management of the community and its finances.

Among the items included is a promise of all township government leaders to work together for the betterment of the community and to attract and retain businesses.

It also calls for trustees, department heads and the administration to manage resources prudently and for establishment of a business citizens committee to assist officials in their accountability to the township residents.

It asks that new revenues won’t be used for employee raises but to restore services, and that all avenues to increase township revenues will be explored and reported to the community.

Trustees didn’t vote on the items presented by Rosa, but they didn’t express opposition to them.