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STEUBENVILLE -- Jefferson County commissioners have balanced their budget for 2023, though they admit it wasn't easy.
At Thursday's meeting, Chief Deputy Auditor Vickie Winski said the overall county budget this year totals just under $145.1 million, with a general fund budget of $18,811,981.
"This was, out of my 18 years, some of the hardest work to get this together," Commissioner Dave Maple told Winski, emphasizing they didn't want to "use up the federal money that is there, over and above our own revenue."
"I'm happy we got it done," Maple said. "I would have liked to be done earlier but we got it done. It took some hard work in the end, departments didn't get get everything they wanted but we worked with what we thought we could get to them this year."
Commissioner Tony Morelli said they had to use their cash carryover from the 2022 budget to balance the new spending plan.
"We're still being asked by our department heads for more money than what the county brings in," Morelli said. "We used carryover money, which is good, but my concern is someday we're not going to have money to carry over. But I'm happy with it, especially with sheriff's department and legal system -- the cost of justice is steadily increasing."
Commissioner Eric Timmons said it was "an eye-opening experience, being (my) first time."
"I've dealt with it at the city but there are some different nuances here," he said. "There was some good teamwork, I think it's acceptable for everybody."
The budget document, accepted by commissioners, will now be submitted to the state.
Commissioners, meanwhile, said they need another week to think about whether they can commit to cover the $559,000 local match that would be required in the event the county's application for $2.5 million in Appalachian Regional Commission Partnership for Opportunity and Economic Revitalization Initiative grant is successful.
The Broadband Task Force has proposed building 36 miles of last-mile fiber to 265 households and 20 businesses in Ross Township, "the least-served township in the county." Internet speeds in that area are feeble, they said.
Total cost of the extension is projected at $3.55 million. The internet service provider is expected to pony up $490,000, leaving commissioners to come up with the rest.
The project aligns with the county's Broadband Network Plan to "extend last mile service to unserved areas with a population density capable of maintaining long-term financial sustainability, avoiding existing state and federal awards, and not overlap existing ISP territories."
The problem, Timmons pointed out, is they've already got several big ticket projects on their funding wish list.
"It's a late request, comparatively, to some of the others," Maple agreed. "Now we've got to look at what we've committed to and what we were thinking of committing to, looking at it all. Hopefully by next week we'll have an answer."
He figures they have about $1.8 million in federal American Rescue Plan dollars left to spend.
"What we've committed to and (what we've) discussed is what we need to figure out," Maple said. "We voted on some projects, but others we've talked about so much but haven't yet fully voted on and committed to them -- things like the parking lot (at the Tower building), we've been talking about that a long time. And the buildings the land bank (wants to partner with the county to demolish). There are some requests from the community still in there, and also the generators we need for backup."
Maple said they're already "very deep" into the parking lot project -- paving the graveled lot across from the county-owned Tower building to provide additional parking for county employees as well as those doing business at the Tower.
"I, personally, have been counting on finishing that with ARPA money," Maple said.
The Jefferson County Land Bank also wants to partner with commissioners to demolish buildings at 501 and 505 Market St. The owner of the buildings, which are adjacent to the parking lot, has offered to donate them to the land bank.
The land bank, in turn, is willing to contribute $30,000 toward demolition if commissioners would cover the rest plus transfer fees. The land bank would also deed the property to commissioners, who've talked about turning it into a green space.
Demolition estimates are in the $150,000 to $280,000 range, though asbestos removal would add another $5,000 to the bill.
"I think we've got more projects than we've got money," Morelli said. "I agree, I think we need to identify them."
Morelli said he thinks broadband expansion "is a great project, it's something I've been wanting for years."
"And I think it's a good area (to target) … but we're going to have to come up with some money. The said thing is when we got the ARPA money, we didn't know where we'd be at now."
Maple said they need to "narrow it down and make some decisions." "I think we need to meet with auditor, take a final look at all the projects," he said, adding he'd prefer it if "businesses that are going to make revenue off this project have a little more stake in it."
Jefferson County 911 Director Rob Herrington unveiled a new safe schools initiative built around the SaferWatch App, a communications network that links administrators, teachers, students, parents and first responders, as well as a school camera network--about 1,400 of them countywide–that 911 dispatchers could tap into in the event of a school emergency.
Herrington told commissioners with the SaferWatch App, emergency notifications go out to administrators and first responders in seconds. Teachers and staff can use a pendant emergency button, desktop buttons or smartphones to sound the alarm, but the system also will broadcast non-emergencies and tips about school-related activities.
He said participating schools would contract directly with the company, "we're not actively involved in that process other than actively supporting it." The cost per school would be $2,500.
"(It) will make our schools as safe as we can possibly make them," he said. "All notifications are tracked, so there's accountability for everything."
Herrington said the camera system is crucial: In the event of a shooting emergency or other incident, dispatchers would be able to look at the feed to to pinpoint where the problem is and feed that information to first responders.
"We have the technology to do this now, it's just a matter of getting the licensing straightened out," Herrington said, adding dispatchers would only access the cameras "when there is an incident."
Herrington said the licensing fee will be $270 per camera--that's about $400,000 for 1,400 cameras.
"We have to buy one-time software licenses to access the cameras in the schools," he said after the meeting. "We are asking (commissioners) to help in any way they can, and we will be meeting with them to discuss possible funding sources in the near future."
He told commissioners they used Jefferson County Christian Academy as a demo school to test the technology out.
"I think it's great," Morelli said. "What's more important thank keeping our kids safe?"