Thursday, March 31, 2011
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Members of the city schools finance committee hope that if the district asks voters to approve a property- tax levy when the 9.5-mill measure expires, it will be for lower millage.
The levy, approved in 2008, expires in fiscal year 2013.
“We’re going to do everything in our power to not go back at the full 9.5 mills,” said Anthony Catale, finance committee chairman, at a meeting Wednesday. “That’s my goal. It should be everyone’s.”
Committee members Michael Murphy and Andrea Mahone agreed.
“That’s my goal,” Murphy said.
“It would be nice to see taxes go down a little — especially at a time when everyone needs it,” Mahone said.
Treasurer William Johnson said the district expects to pay off some other obligations in the next few years.
“There will be a couple of opportunities over the next four to five years to, I think, lower taxes and improve services,” he said.
Earlier this week, the district was released from fiscal emergency by the state auditor’s office. It had carried the designation since November 2006 and made millions of dollars in cuts to develop a five-year financial forecast, ending each year with a projected balance.
Catale said the district still has to watch the dollars and get rid of programs that aren’t working.
But the committee is positive about the district’s future.
“I’m certainly quite optimistic,” the committee chairman said. “I’m excited. The tide is turning in the Youngstown city schools. Our finances are strong and we need to be very conservative to keep them that way.”