Village council looks at budget

FORT RECOVERY — Fort Recovery Village Council reviewed its budget for 2018 Monday, the first of three readings before it is submitted to the county.

It also reviewed the options for funding the solid waste management district after the landfill is closed next year.

The village is required to submit an approved budget to Mercer County by July 20, so council will have three meetings to study the anticipated expenditures and income.

For 2018, village fiscal officer Roberta Staugler is anticipating a 3-percent raise in wages, and budgeted a 10-percent increase for employee healthcare. Also included in the budget is $5,000 for building improvements to village hall in case any are necessary.

A potential project for 2018 is updating the village’s computer programs. Whether it is completed next year or later, village administrator Randy Diller said the update needs to happen soon, as several programs will no longer be supported in a few years. There is $30,000 allotted in the budget for the project.

Diller also explained some upcoming projects for the village from the utility, streets and general funds.

These include replacement of the village’s leaf vacuum and brush chipper, both of which are about 10 years old and will need to be replaced soon. More trash cans around the parks will be replaced and a new fence will be installed around Ambassador Pool, pending a grant approval.

One line missing from the budget is for street reconstruction. This was on purpose, Diller told council. While he anticipates some asphalt resurfacing will take place next year, he isn’t planning on any major street construction.

“I think we need to step back, catch our breath a little bit, after the last couple years, the last five years,” Diller said. “We’ve done an awful lot of work in town. Between the sewer separation and getting a lot of the other projects done, we’ve done a lot.”  

Diller also outlined the possibilities for the village’s solid waste district after the landfill closes next year.

The district was funded exclusively by the landfill, which will close in 2018, and must find another source of funding.

One option is for the village to simply provide financial support for the district. For the 1,430 residents of Fort Recovery, the village would be billed $3,504 for the year. Another option would be for each resident to make up the difference on their real estate taxes each year. To cover the cost of the program, each resident would pay $5.11 per year per parcel of land. A third option is to make an agreement with a waste facility, which would collect an extra $4 per ton and submit it to the county commissioners.

No decision has been made yet, Diller said; he just wanted to make council members aware of the options.

In other business, council members Dave Bretz, Dave Garman, Scott Pearson, Cliff Wendel and Erik Fiely, absent Al Post:

•Canceled their July 3 meeting.

•Heard from officer Brandon Wyerick that Fort Recovery Police Department is hosting a free pool party from 5 to 8 p.m. July 16 at Ambassador Pool. All Fort Recovery families are invited to attend the National Night Out Pool Party.

•Heard the courts project specifications were finalized by Choice One Engineering. The project will be sent out for bid this week.  

•Learned that Ohio Department of Transportation has been delayed in putting up new speed limit signs in the newest incorporated part of the village. ODOT had originally planned to put up the signs this month.