LORDSTOWN - As Lordstown's general operating fund dwindles, one councilman is raising concerns the village may not be able to finish the year without going deep into debt - especially if the village does not go on a severe spending diet.
Councilman Stanley Zoldan is predicting the village will need to raise taxes, lay off employees or pare down spending significantly in order to finish the year in the black.
But two fellow council members say that assessment may be a bit premature.
After the bills are paid this week, officials said the village will be left with about $679,000 in its general fund budget for operating expenses for the remainder of 2010. According to Zoldan, that's cutting it too close.
''If we have any kind of emergency - more problems with the eastside sewer project or have to do a repair on a fire truck - we could be facing a serious problem,'' Zoldan said.
Zoldan was the lone councilman voting last week against the purchase of a new $19,860 police car because he says he is worried the purchase will drain the village's already depleted capital improvement budget. That account has about $24,000 in it.
''If that would have passed, we would have had less than $5,000 left in the capital improvement budget,'' he said.
Zoldan took over his seat this year on council, but he's not new to the job. He served as a village councilman from 1988 to 1996.
It's that experience that has led Zoldan to raise questions about payroll and other spending.
''An example is we are paying a swimming instructor when the pool is not open,'' Zoldan said. ''We don't need to pay someone $11 per hour to baby sit kids.''
Lordstown council's finance chairwoman Mary Jane Wilson shares Zoldan's concern about watching spending, but she believes the village will end the year financially solvent without taking drastic measures.
She says $679,000 in the general fund should be enough for the village to operate for the remainder of the year.
''We are spending only for the necessities,'' she said. ''We are putting all extras on the back burner.''
Both agree the village cannot base spending decisions on income expected from the recent announcement that the General Motors Lordstown Complex will add a third shift.
''We don't know how well the (Chevrolet) Cruze is going to sell,'' Wilson said. "We are not going to budget for money we do not have. When the increase tax money from General Motors third shift begins to come in, we seriously will have to take into consideration a debt reduction fund."
The Cruze is slated to begin production this summer. The third shift is expected to add about 1,200 jobs to the complex, 900 of which are new.
Wilson said council was looking at the tight budget when it decided not to provide raises earlier this year.
The village, meanwhile, is already in debt by about $10.5 million for a troubled east side sewer project, which had originally been estimated at $8.5 million. And now, although sewer construction is complete, an estimated 9,700 feet of the new line is not working.
''It could cost us up to $200,000 to get it running,'' Wilson said.
Councilman Arno Hill says budget concerns may be premature, pointing out the village will not have a firm grip on finances until it learns the final sewer project cost.
''Once we learn the final costs, we will know how much we will have to spend a year to repay the debt,'' Hill said. That debt repayment could reach $600,000 or $700,000 a year, Hill estimated.
But with no unexpected expenses, Hill agrees with Wilson that the village's finances for the remainder of the year should be fine.
''We are being frugal,'' he said. ''We are being very conservative with our spending.''