It sounds draconic, but we've got to stop spending money and save every penny. Ferguson
“It’s ugly,” Parkman Town-ship Trustee Jon Ferguson announced last week as he described the township’s rapidly dwindling general fund.
According to Ferguson, the new board of trustees, all of them partway through their first year in office, have inherited a general fund predicted to have only a $38,000 carryover by the end of the fiscal year.
“It’s not enough to pay the bills the first three months of next year, since we get no tax money coming in until March,” Ferguson said. “(Former Fiscal Officer) Nancy Wheelock always said you need at least $200,000 carryover. We’ve got to find $200,000 somewhere or face going into debt.”
He added, “I’m opposed to any kind of debt whatsoever, because debt is only a good deal for the banks and that’s all. The bottom line is we’ve been overspending for five years and taking it out of the kitty, but the kitty is now dry.”
He told the other two trustees they would need to cut at least $200,000 from the budget immediately or face a financial crisis by the end of the year.
“I understand what we’ve got to do or we’ll end up with dirt roads instead of gravel,” Trustee Dennis Ikeler said, supported by Trustee Roger Anderson.
“So we need to spend less or get more money from somewhere,” Fire Chief Wayne Komandt said.
Although the road and fire departments receive most of their operating money from separate levies, trustees over the years have supplemented their revenue, as needed, from the township’s general fund, which is used to operate the township government.
Road Superintendent Tom Evers warned trustees that trying to save money by neglecting needed road repairs will only cost the township more in the long run.
“The roads that we’ve crowned will all get flat, and we need crowns or the roads will hold water and the horse ruts will get deeper,” Evers said, adding if roads are allowed to deteriorate, repairs will get more expensive.
Komandt said the township needs at least three more mills in operating funds as soon as possible.
“It’s too late for this year,” Ferguson said. “And because of the way taxes are collected, we’re not going to get through the next two years even if we can pass another levy.”
Ferguson said, as far as he could tell, the overspending can be traced back to 2010 and a previous board that included his wife Nancy, who had frequently questioned the township’s spending.
“We are just taxed out,” Nancy Ferguson said, adding decisions were made that “didn’t have to be made and that’s what got us here.”
“All the townships are going through the same thing,” said Chardon Township Fiscal Officer Joan Windnagel, who is temporarily helping new Parkman Township Fiscal Officer Kathy Clossin learn the finer points of her new position.
“Chardon Township is applying for a $275,000 loan to pave two roads; Chester has a $300,000 deficit; the state has been cutting our funding to all the local governments. Road salt is going up because there’s no salt available, so they’ve doubled their prices,” Windnagel said.
Ferguson added, “It’s ironic that we’re sitting on one of the biggest salt deposits in the world, but because of the bad winter and the demand on the supply, there’s no salt.”
In addition, the State of Ohio has discontinued collecting estate taxes, which had been a windfall for many townships; and leasing income from a cell tower on township land has decreased dramatically, he said.
“Anybody got any ideas?” he asked the audience, which was primarily a combination of public officials and Amish.
“You get to the point where you say we’re not going to spend any money,” a visibly frustrated Ferguson said. “It sounds draconic, but we’ve got to stop spending money and save every penny. I would propose we don’t spend any more money for the rest of the year unless it’s an emergency. Every penny spent will need our approval.”
Ikeler added, “Everything’s gonna be put on hold unless we already have the material.”
Ferguson said every dollar the township spends will take away a dollar it needs to save.
“Don’t take it personally,” Komandt told trustees, adding the problem has been there “a number of years,” but no one did anything about it.
“My job as trustee is to do what’s right for the community even if it makes people unhappy, because this will make people unhappy,” Ferguson said. “We need to get the word to everyone not to spend anything unless it’s a crisis.”
Amish Bishop Jonas Yoder added, “You can’t keep on spending like the (federal and state) governments do. I think we need to sympathize because they’re taking money away from everybody.”
