43
2016 Boardman budget includes raise for township administrator
BOARDMAN
Spending appropriations for Boardman this year, recently approved by township trustees, are mostly in line with spending over the past several years.
The $22,268,905 appropriations budget for 2016, which represents about $16.5 million in spending and $5.7 million in transfers between funds, is almost identical to actual spending in 2015, which totaled $22,242,025.
Some features of this year’s budget, however, are different from last year’s.
One change is a nearly 16 percent raise for township Administrator Jason Loree, whose salary this year will be bumped from $69,000 to $80,000.
William Leicht, township fiscal officer, said the decision to give so large a raise is part of an effort on township officials’ part to bring department heads’ salaries closer in line with state averages for those positions, as determined by research they conducted through the Ohio Township Association. Other townships comparable to Boardman, which ranks among the largest townships in the state, pay their administrators, for example, between $90,000 and $115,000 annually, Leicht said.
“Jason’s [salary] was off-the-charts low,” he said. Now, “it’s still below the norm, but it’s significantly higher.”
He noted Loree’s 10-year career with the township and what township officials characterize as excellent job performance.
“He’s been a main catalyst in the ABC Water District. He is the main cog in the Council of Governments that we just created with the county and Austintown – and that is saving the township in excess of $250,000,” said Leicht. “Those kinds of initiatives that he’s bringing to Boardman put him in a position where he’s earning that raise.”
Leicht said that although he and township trustees keep a close eye on spending and try to be frugal, they believe it’s important, and in some ways more efficient, to adjust salaries. The goal, he said, is to compensate employees fairly and ensure that valued workers have an incentive to stay in this area.
“We don’t want to get into bidding wars for our employees. We want them to be happy. We want them to be well-paid for what they do,” he said. “I think we’re finally putting our salaries where they should be.”
This year’s budget also features some increased spending on vehicles and equipment for the road and police departments. A comparison to last year’s spending indicates that the township is projected to spend $55,000 more on road department vehicles, $23,198 more on road department equipment, $99,638 more on police department vehicles and $93,407 more on police department equipment this year.
Those appropriations for the police department are in large part due to a plan to purchase body and dashboard cameras, which the department does not now have, Leicht said. Some of those purchases likely would be paid for out of the department’s law-enforcement trust, which is funded by assets seized from criminals.
Some of the road department’s expenses are due to the need to replace aging equipment, Leicht said. The department also plans to purchase an additional street sweeper and new stainless-steel bodies for its trucks.
Leicht identified aging equipment as one of the top financial challenges facing the township.
“The challenge, as always, is the age of our equipment and how we deal with that. The paving, the catch basins – those are items that really define your community,” he said.
Those needs could lead the township to ask residents for additional levy money, he said.
“I think just operating without new money has been our biggest challenge and our greatest success. I really believe that at some point in time, within the near future, we’re going to have to come to the township and ask them for help with our capital equipment. ... We’ve got two brand-new firetrucks, but we’ve got a third one that’s now 20 years old. That’s a $700,000 expenditure. We’ve got equipment over in the road department that we’re still using that’s got a 20-25-year life on it. We’ve got to have help on that. It’s something for discussion.”
Overall, Leicht said, “it’s going to be a tight budget, but it’s going to be a doable budget. It’s fair for every department. We continue to ask every department to buy and spend only what they need. There’s absolutely no frills in it.”