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Council OKs 2020 temporary budget



FAIRLAWN — During its final regular meeting of the year Dec. 16, Fairlawn City Council unanimously approved a temporary budget for 2020 and a reconciliation budget for 2019.
Assistant Finance Director Jacob Kaufman said the city has put together a $33 million temporary budget for next year.
“Overall, the 2020 temporary budget is $6.9 million higher than the 2019 permanent budget, and much of that has to do with the [South] Cleveland-Massillon Road widening,” he said. “We are budgeting for the full project — the construction portion of the project in 2020 — but we have about $7.7 million in federal funding. That will help contribute 90 percent of the cost, so it’s a huge deal for the city. We also have wage increases of 2.5 percent and a health insurance increase of 7.9 percent for next year.”
According to Kaufman, a temporary budget must be passed by Jan. 1 each year.
“It’s technically good through the end of March, and then Council will approve a permanent appropriation, which will be considered for the entire year,” he said. “Our temporary budget is big enough to cover the entire year, but we kind of take the time between January and March to firm up our numbers a little bit.”
Mayor William Roth said the 2020 temporary budget is “pretty standard.”
“We’ve tried to do things as conservatively as possible,” he stated. “We’re fortunate that we have very good department heads and good cooperation with Council. And we watch our pennies very closely. I’m happy with the way the budgeting process has gone. I think it’s a good budget and it’s very conservative.”
For the 2019 reconciliation budget, Kaufman said the city was able to decrease the projected amount by “roughly $47,000.”
“Overall, it came out 33 percent higher than the 2018 actual expenditures plus encumbrances,” he said. “Much of that, again, was due to [South] Cleveland-Massillon Road. We had right-of-way acquisitions taking place this year and that accounted for $3.5 million. And then we also had the emergency storm sewer repairs over in the Ghent and Smith Road area, which added another $1.8 million to the budget.”
Also during the meeting, resolutions confirming the following reappointments were unanimously approved by Council:
√ Jeffrey Dawson to the Civil Service Commission for a six-year term from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025;
√ Raymond Strickland to the Environmental Services Commission for a five-year term from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024;
√ Timothy Sisler to the Planning Commission for a five-year term from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024;
√ Gregg Cramer to the Real Property Maintenance Board for a five-year term from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024;
√ Kathleen Baum to the Residential Housing Assistance Board for a three-year term from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2022;
√ Thomas Craig as an alternate member of the Parks and Recreation Board for a five-year term from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024; and
√ Judith Gerdes to the Parks and Recreation Board for a five-year term from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024.
Council also confirmed the appointment of Dru Siley to Fairlawn’s Residential Housing Assistance Board for an unexpired term beginning Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2021.
“For all of these individuals, we thank them for their willingness to step forward and volunteer their time,” the mayor said. “[They] contribute greatly to the quality of life in our city and we appreciate what they do.”
In addition, a resolution confirming the appointment of Dan Konvolinka to the Charter Review Commission received unanimous approval.
“It’s hard to believe three years have gone by already [since the last] charter review,” Roth said. “I thank Dan for being willing to serve again. I anticipate the other resolutions [for members] will be in later in January. The Charter Review Commission does not need to meet until later on in the year.”
In other business, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to accept a Clean Water Act grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for a Smith Ditch floodplain restoration project was unanimously approved.
According to Roth, Fairlawn is planning to add new oxbows for water purification and storm water prevention with a total estimated cost of $300,000. The grant would cover $177,000 of that figure.
Council also approved an ordinance amending Fairlawn’s part-time/seasonal wage schedule.
“There are bargaining and nonbargaining units in the City of Fairlawn,” Roth said. “The wage schedule covers jobs like department heads, secretarial staff … anyone not involved in the unions. What we try to do is mirror the raises that are being given in the union negotiations with the nonbargaining units. Basically, we’re just adjusting it by 2.5 percent based on the labor agreements.”
The next Fairlawn City Council meeting is set for Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in Fairlawn City Hall, 3487 S. Smith Road.