After two hearings and a work session with Geauga County Auditor Charles Walder, the Geauga County Budget Commission unanimously passed Newbury Township’s 2019 budget Tuesday, just days before the state deadline for submissions.
Each August, the county’s three-member budget commission — Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, Treasurer Chris Hitchcock and Walder — hold public hearings with local government entities and decide whether or not to approve their budgets for the following year. If approved, the budgets are submitted to the state, under a deadline of Sept. 1.
At Newbury’s first hearing on Aug. 14, the panel sent township officials back to the drawing board, urging them to meet with Walder to iron out several concerns and re-submit their budget on Aug. 28.
The main issue, according to the panel, was Newbury’s apparent lack of a comprehensive five-year spending plan for all departments, particularly the road department.
“We met on Aug. 17, along with (Geauga County Deputy Engineer Shane Hajjar) and (county Engineer Joe Cattell),” Walder said Tuesday. “We talked about the number of roads you maintain, establishing a system of grading and rating roads. We talked about the important task of producing a five-year plan within just over a week.”
Walder also said they had recommended increasing the township’s road repair budget by $100,000. It had stood at between $250,000 to $270,000.
“You have a significant list of issues, but the main one is establishing a five-year plan on roads,” he said, adding the township should address the other outstanding issues in subsequent years.
Walder thanked Fiscal Officer Marcia Mansfield for her help and cooperation during the process.
Newbury Trustee Greg Tropf presented the commission with thick binders containing what he said was his proposal for a five-year plan.
Walder, complimenting Tropf on what he called a professional looking, thoughtful plan, said he had discussed the main sticking point at the previous hearing — a proposed shared repaving project for Hotchkiss Road.
Newbury Thas set aside $250,000 for its share of the project, which will be funded partially by county-managed Ohio Public Works grant, with matching funds from Burton Township.
The panel had said at the Aug. 14 hearing that Newbury officials blamed Burton, and Burton officials had blamed Newbury, for delays in starting the project, which was planned for 2017.
Walder said Cattell had told him the county is managing the project, which has been delayed because of problems identifying the centerline on the old road, surveyed and built many decades ago.
“It’s a big issue, but the road is so old, there are right of way issues,” Flaiz said. “The delay isn’t anybody’s fault.”
Tropf said he would work more closely with the county, asking its help in rating all the township roads and establishing a more solid five-year road improvement plan.
“I want to establish a cost code system for our employees that is job specific,” Tropf said. “It will be a tracking system to help us track the time spent on each task. We will establish alternate plans. We need to review our existing equipment and decide whether to use it or sell it. We have too much, in my opinion.”
Tropf added he would propose a year’s moratorium on purchases until an inventory and assessment could be completed.
“And then there’s the service building, are we going to do it, ” Tropf asked rhetorically.
Hitchcock praised Tropf for coming up with a plan, as the panel had asked, but criticized Trustees Bill Skomrock and Glen Quigley for not attending the hearing.
“Why are the other two trustees not present?” asked Hitchcock.
“Bill is swamped at work and I don’t know why Glen isn’t here,” Mansfield answered.
“Well, I’m glad there’s one trustee; it’s important for trustees to be here,” Hitchcock said.
Flaiz recommended Tropf push for using the county to help rate the roads and establish a road rating system.
“It’s a free service,” Flaiz pointed out.
He thanked Tropf for his proposal and said Tropf, as the new trustee, is not at fault for the township’s past problems with the budget commission.
“The spending gets pushed off from year to year,” Flaiz said. “It’s just bad fiscal management.”
“The authority has to come from the trustees,” Walder said. “Marcia couldn’t have created this plan.”
“Nor should she,” Hitchcock said.
“You’ve done in a week what the township hasn’t done in four years,” Walder told Tropf. “My hat goes off to you, Greg, for doing this.”
“Your problem is, the trustees are made up of three people, and you’re just one,” Hitchcock told Tropf.
“We’ve gone around and around with Newbury for years, and I never saw a trustee do this much work alone in such a short time,” added Flaiz.
“This is great,” he continued. “You did the right thing and went above and beyond what I’ve ever seen a single trustee do. You’ve changed my mind (about voting to approve the budget).”
Said Walder, “I hope the other trustees don’t let you down.”
The panel unanimously voted to approve Newbury’s budget.
After the vote, Hitchcock said, “That’s the first time I’ve voted for Newbury’s budget in the last four years.”
“My hat goes off to you, Greg,” Walder reiterated. “It’s hard to do this by yourself. This is not controversial. This is common sense.”
Several residents in the audience applauded. Hitchcock reminded them to vote in the next trustee election.
“You’ve got plenty of money, now go spend it,” Hitchcock told Tropf.
