2018 budget discussed

Painesville City Council is preparing to vote on next year’s budget after careful review and discussion.

Through multiple presentations, Finance Director Andrew Unetic thoroughly explained the $78.5 million budget for fiscal year 2018.

The budget amount represents a 7.4 percent increase from the 2017 original budget, according to City Manager Monica Irelan’s most recent legislative report.

The main reason for the increase is because the city is looking to spend more on capital projects in 2018 than in 2017, Unetic said during the Dec. 4 council meeting.

“The 2018 increased budget is due to the city requesting $19.8 million for capital projects,

which is $5.1 million more than the 2017 capital project requests,” Irelan’s report states. “The large capital projects the city is requesting in 2018 are: $8.4 million for the continued construction of the water intake; $4.5 million for AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) metering project and spending $2.2 million on paving roads. Out of the major funds, the General, Sewer, and Electric Funds have a balanced budget.”

While this ordinance to adopt the 2018 budget and approve the expenses and expenditures met little opposition,

it did raise a few questions.

Resident Ray Sternot asked why money from the general fund needs to be moved to the cemetery fund.

“I know we have to maintain the cemeteries, that’s not an issue, but shouldn’t the cemetery fund be selfsustained?” he asked. “How we communicate it to the residents, I think is important.”

Residents will question why money is coming out of the general fund that could be used for roads, etc., will support the cemetery fund, Sternot added.

Unetic said the money covers general operations including employee salaries and property maintenance.

In 2017, $250,000 was transferred from the general fund to the cemetery fund and in 2018, $205,000 will be transferred.

The city has explored other options in the past, including selling the cemeteries, said Councilwoman Katie Jenkins. However, selling those properties was not a fiscally sound decision at that time, she said.

Irelan said she has researched and compiled data that looks at other cemeteries in Lake County and will present her findings at the next meeting on Dec. 18.

Also at that meeting, Council will make a decision about next year’s budget as they hear the third and final reading of the legislation.