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VIENNA -- The township's fiscal commission hosted its second meeting Monday, discussing its year to date expenditures, bank balance and potential revenues.
Vice Chairperson Cindy Johnson noted excessive spending habits that began four years ago as a factor contributing to the township's $1.3 million fiscal emergency, which it was placed under July 12 by Ohio Auditor Keith Faber's Office.
"As you go back to 2024, the current appropriations are a little over $2 million, but our estimated revenues are only $1.7 (million). And I think we need to have a balanced budget. So the problem was, if you look back in time we've been overspending since at least 2020," Johnson said. "I didn't go further than that. But if you go back to 2020 and say we're overspending by $240,000 a year, it doesn't take much to add up a million in a four- or five-year budget."
Some questioned where $80,000 under the township police fund's estimated revenues and appropriations came from, despite none of it being received as of yet. Sean Stimac explained the number represents estimated township revenue from its speed cameras, which were put in place in early August on state Routes 11, 82 and 193 as well as Niles-Vienna and Warren-Sharon roads.
Commission members also questioned excessive spending on utilities over the past month, asking Fiscal Officer Corine Hardman and her assistant, Tom Shay, if an 1,800% increase on the utilities was a budgeting error.
Part of the trouble with budgeting for utilities is catching up with "significant expenditures", which Shay said they caught in the first quarter.
"The police (station) had gas, but there hadn't been a bill in three years. (But then the question was) 'who's paying our gas?' Hardman said. "But then (it) just turned out that there was a house in front (of the police station) that had a meter on it. When the house was torn down, the meter was disconnected."
Hardman said that she didn't know what ended up happening with the police station's gas, but when the gas company's representative came to check it out, the township only got charged for one year of gas instead of all three that were missed.
Hardman said they've been trying to cut down on expenditures, going down to 10 to 12 email addresses from 37.
Shay said they need to have a better idea of what their government will look like moving forward before he can say whether they have a better handle on the expenditure side, adding he hopes the trustees will have more conversations to help give it shape.
The fiscal commission plans to have its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28.