Liberty trustees weigh township’s financial future

By Sarah Lehr

slehr@vindy.com

LIBERTY

Faced with a general-fund deficit, township officials are weighing options, including reducing staff and asking voters to approve a new tax.

The township ended January 2017 with a negative $201,296 balance in the general fund and a positive $587,839 balance overall, according to a report prepared by fiscal officer Steve Shelton.

Last month, trustees voted to borrow $400,000 from First National Bank at a 3.1 percent rate of interest. The township will use the money to meet payroll in the police and fire departments before tax revenue rolls in this spring.

“I had a discussion with First National Bank regarding the loan, and they indicated that our financials do not look well,” Shelton said. “I’m concerned that ... there could be an issue with whether or not we get a loan next year. We are really close to being insolvent and starting to see our paychecks bounce.”

Shelton suggested trustees could ask voters to approve an operating levy, which would be a new tax to meet existing expenses. The fiscal officer noted that other townships and municipalities have pursued operating levies due to cuts in state funding to local governments under the administration of Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Trustee Stanley Nudell said trustees would be better able to make financial decisions later this year after receiving tax collections and completing union negotiations.

“We don’t want to raise taxes – we’ve been pretty steadfast about that,” Trustee Jodi Stoyak said. “But, we either do that or, when contract negotiations are done, we look at whether we can afford all the employees that we have.”

The township is now posting financial information to ohiocheckbook.com, a website spearheaded by Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel.

In other business, Stoyak proposed creating an advisory committee of citizens to discuss road paving in the township. Stoyak said the committee would foster transparency and offer residents a better understanding of how trustees choose which roads to pave using limited funds.

Nudell said he believed such a committee would be superfluous, adding that residents already have the opportunity to speak about roads during regular township meetings.