Boardman trustee to argue against budget language

BOARDMAN — Local representatives are trying to convince Ohio to hold the township harmless as state officials prepare to pass a two-year budget that could impact local governments’ budgets.

Township Trustee Larry Moliterno today will testify before the Ohio Senate Ways and Means Committee to argue against language in the proposed budget. It would reinstate the phasing out state reimbursements to local governments and school districts for revenue lost due to changes to the tangible personal property and public utility tangible property taxes.

“You may think that with such a large budget, we should just be able to absorb this additional cut in revenue,” reads Moliterno’s prepared testimony, referring to the township’s $18 million budget for 2015.

“I am here to tell you that we simply cannot,” it reads, detailing the township’s efforts to manage its budget, such as laying off employees, going to voters for a levy, freezing wages and collaborating with other local governments on projects.

“We’ve been trying to spread out the dollars as thin as we can, but to take another half-a-million-dollar hit – it would really hurt us,” Moliterno said in an interview.

For the complete story, read Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com