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Canfield residents gather to hear about financial fate of city
CANFIELD
Canfield City Council members hosted an open-forum town-hall meeting at Mahoning County Career and Technical Center on Wednesday evening instead of a regular council meeting in the administrative building.
More than 200 city residents gathered in the Joyce Brooks room on Palmyra Road to hear what members had to say about the financial fate of the city.
Council members informed residents about the deficit the city is facing from the loss all cities and townships are experiencing from the cuts in state funding.
“We want to hear from you – tell us what to do,” Mayor Bernie Kosar Sr. said.
The mayor has been a strong advocate of public input on plans for the city’s future since the failure of an income tax levy last March.
Many council members and residents agreed the reason for the failure was a lack of information available about it.
In other business, council members were able to provide information about a hot-button issue – cutting leaf-pickup services.
In March, council cut $800,000 from 2016’s $11.3 million budget. The cuts came from nonmandated funds such as leaf and brush pickup.
The cuts enable the city to stay in the black and continue to operate as it always has, said Joe Warino, city manager.
Councilman John Morvay said without additional revenue, more cuts would have to be made.
He questioned whether residents even wanted Canfield to continue operating as it always has. Residents had mixed opinions.
“We resent being threatened for not allowing you to reach into our pockets again,” said resident Steve Planey.
Morvay said council is not threatening anyone, and he doesn’t know why residents are coming to that conclusion.
Other residents said it’s residents’ jobs to step up to help their city move forward.
Councilman Joe Locicero said, once again, safety is something residents hold most dear, and a survey of a focus group by recent Canfield graduates David Hofsess and Jacob Esarco confirmed that.
“It’s clear residents feel safe here,” and most likely would be willing to approve a police levy.
He was referring to a proposal to place a five-year, 3.9-mill police levy on for the November ballot. The levy would generate $750,000 annually.