Council zeroing in on budget

Members vote to accept amendments, move draft to third and final reading

Lorain City Council moved a step closer to approving the city’s 2019 budget.

Council met for four minutes in a special call Dec. 21 for the second of three readings of the city’s 2019 spending plan.

There were two votes: one to accept amendments to the budget and another to move it to the third reading.

That will happen in a special call to begin no earlier than 9 a.m. Dec. 22 at Lorain City Hall.

In the Dec. 21 special call meeting, there was little discussion, although Councilman-at-Large Joe Koziura noted there were changes within budget for the Department of Building, Housing and Planning and for the Lorain Police Department Auxiliary.

Funding was eliminated for a number of unfilled positions for the Building, Housing and Planning Department, said Mayor Chase Ritenauer.

Some duties will be reassigned to another position overseeing housing inspectors next

year, Ritenauer said.

The latest budget also cuts $25,000 from the Lorain Police Department Auxiliary.

That cut was based on a directive from Council this week and aims to reduce police auxiliary officers who provide security on the second-floor entrance to Lorain Municipal Court.

On Dec. 19, Council had a Finance and Claims Committee meeting with extensive discussion on spending for the Department of Building, Housing and Planning, which receives federal funds, including Community Development Block Grants, to pay for various programs in the city.

In committee, Koziura and Ward 6 Councilman Angel Arroyo Jr. also advocated for reducing the amount of money the city spends on auxiliary officers for the second-floor checkpoint.

Lorain City Hall has a security checkpoint, with a walk-through metal detector and a baggage scanner, at its main entrance.

With that in place, the councilmen argued the court security is redundant and the money could be better spent paying for police officers to patrol Lorain.

Arroyo thanked the mayor and Auditor Karen Shawver for adjusting the budget based on Council’s direction.

Also present for the Dec. 21 special call were Council members Mary Springowski, Dennis Flores, Pamela Carter, Greg Argenti and JoAnne Moon.

There were not enough Council members present to vote for suspending the legal three-reading rule for the budget.

The draft budget lists general fund revenues projected to be about $29.68 million.

Income tax expected to be more than $20 million is the city’s single largest source of revenue, according to the draft budget.

General fund expenses are projected to be about $29.62 million, leaving a carryover of $65,849, according to the draft budget.

With all funds, including the Utilities Department, federal funding for Building, Housing and Planning, police and fire levies and other sources, the total spending plan tallies more than $118.84 million, according to the city records.