Cleary proposes 3-year spending plan

 

With the days to a state –mandated budget deadline passing by, the Ironton City Council agreed to meet in special session at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in hopes of developing a 2012 budget.

Ahead of the meeting, Mayor Rich Blankenship suggested the city leaders take the budget and comb it “line by line” to come up with a workable plan that makes the necessary cuts to balance the budget.

“Let’s talk about each department,” Blankenship said.

Council member Aaron Bollinger said he hoped all sides could find a reasonable middle ground in order to end weeks of lengthy meetings that have not produced a spending plan.

“I think there needs to be compromise from all parties,” Bollinger said.

“I’m confident we can get this done,” Council Chairman Mike Lutz said.

Council member Bob Cleary shared a three-year spending plan he said he hoped council will consider Saturday. Cleary said he spent several hours Thursday morning with Finance Director Kristen Martin developing his plan that would save some jobs that had been debated for elimination, incrementally raise the amount employees pay for benefits and raise the municipal fee.

Cleary’s plan covers three years, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

His proposal would keep the benefits specialist position but reduce the salary of the economic development director to $15,000. Police dispatcher jobs would only be funded through the end of June 2012 and would not be funded after that.

In the fiscal year 2012, employees would begin paying 7.5 percent of their retirement pickup but continue paying only 5 percent of their health insurance premium, as is the case now.

There would be no wage increase for employees.

The city solicitors would become contractural but salaries would remain the same as stated in the 2012 salary resolution. The budget would include a $14 municipal fee; the city would end the year with a $121,687 carryover.

In the 2013 budget, employees would pay an additional 2.5 percent of their retirement pick up (10 percent total) and health insurance costs for employees would increase to 7.5 percent.

His 2013 budget factors in a 5 percent increase in the overall cost of health care spending. The budget includes a 6 percent wage increase for all employees. The budget calls for a $14 municipal fee only until April 2013 when it would be reduced to $11. Cleary’s proposal would have a $471,741 carryover at the end of 2013.

The 2014 budget would have the city paying only its share of each employee’s retirement pickup (14 percent) with each worker paying 10 percent. Employees would begin paying 10 percent of the cost of their health insurance premiums. Employees would get a 3 percent wage hike. It factors in a 3 percent increase in the total health insurance bill. The municipal fee would remain at $11. The year would end with a $408,936 carryover.

“I think it’s a good middle road,” Cleary said.

“I don’t like taxing citizens but I’m going to have to bend on the municipal fee,” fellow council member Beth Rist said.

Blankenship said, without a working budget in place, he is required by contract to hand out potential layoff notices to police officers and firefighters today.

Martin said she has gotten a letter from several local business leaders, including Ohio River Bank President Jodi Rowe-Collins, businessman Rob Slagel and citizen Charlotte Rowley, asking that the benefit specialist job and the economic development office not be eliminated. There had been suggestions earlier in the budget discussions about those positions.

In other matters, council suspended the rules and approved several ordinances.

One is to purchase one MARCS radio for the police department.

The MARCS is an inter-agency statewide emergency radio system that would allow the police to communicate with other emergency agencies in the event of a large-scale event, such as a severe storm or hazardous chemical leak. Another authorizes a contract with Fields Excavating for construction of the North Ironton Sanitary Separation Project Phase 1: A third is a contract with E.L. Robinson engineering to design the North Ironton project.

Two other ordinances would allow for the re-funding or refinancing of two bonds, a move that could save the city money.

The city council also approved resolutions for a contract with the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization and to purchase necessary chemicals for the city.

Other resolutions were approved to support Ironton In Bloom and to establish a revolving loan fund for Ohio Department of Development monies.