Struthers seeks situational-distress status

Staff report

struthers

The city has reapplied for situational-distress status with the Ohio Department of Development, Mayor Terry Stocker reported to council Wednesday.

The application does not mean the city has fiscal problems. The city is financially stable with a balanced budget, he said.

Rather, situational-distress status is based on criteria such as unemployment figures, families at or below the poverty level and loss of industry and businesses and tax revenue.

With the status, Stocker said, the city is eligible for more federal dollars.

The city’s unemployment rate is 12.9 percent, he said. Twenty-nine percent of families in the city are at or below the poverty level.

The city lost $48,367 of withholding-tax revenue this year from businesses that have moved, closed or filed for bankruptcy. The loss of the Sparkle Market in the Fifth Street Plaza meant the loss of $12,000.

A 0.5 percent increase in Lowellville’s income tax means lost revenue for Struthers, because Struthers residents who work in Lowellville will now pay more to the village and less to the city, the application says.

The city also has realized a decline of $117,330 in total tax revenue from 2007 to 2009, it says.