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STEUBENVILLE -- City Council is about two weeks away from voting on a preliminary budget for 2024.
At Tuesday's meeting, Fifth Ward Councilman Willie Paul reminded council there'll be a finance committee meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday "to discuss the 2024 budget." Paul, the current finance committee chair, has just two more meetings before his term in office ends.
"Remember, it can be amended as the year goes on, we've done that before," Paul said, adding that they should have the most up-to-date year end account close-out numbers.
City Manager Jim Mavromatis said department heads helped them find items to strike from the proposed budget, which must be balanced so it can be submitted to the state.
"What we cut back, in an emergency, we can get the funds to cover, but right now we have a balanced budget," he said, pointing out the 2023 budget "is done, basically" and 2024 spending plan will be presented at the Dec. 5 meeting.
Paul’s term will end at the end of the year. Also leaving council are Councilwoman at large Kimberly Hahn, also leaving because of term limits, and First Ward Councilwoman Asantewa Anyabwile, the first-term incumbent who lost her bid for re-election.
Sixth Ward Councilman Mike Hernon asked Mavromatis to invite the three councilmembers-elect -- Dave Arbaugh for the First Ward, Ted Gorman in the Fifth Ward and Joel Walker in the at large position -- to be present for the Dec. 5 budget discussion.
Mavromatis, meanwhile, said copies of the proposed 2024 spending plan will be presented to council Dec. 5, and council will be asked to pass it as emergency legislation the following week.
Hahn, meanwhile, reported the construction bids for Beatty Park Bridge work are due Dec. 12, with City Engineer Mike Dolak expected to report back in January. She said the Army Corp of Engineers permit is expected, "then council will have an opportunity to give its OK for construction."
Hahn said they also expect to find out soon if the grant submitted for the Johnson Road repairs will be funded, telling council if the grant is approved the work would begin in July, "otherwise (it will start) in April."
She also encouraged council to plug Steubenville Nutcracker Village and Christmas at the Fort on social media, whenever possible, reminding council that the Christmas festival "actually has a tremendous impact on our city."
Anyabwile lamented city officials had designated certain properties as "wooded lots" in their property maintenance reports, questioning who has the authority to designate a property to be that.
She also sunshined legislation related to the so-called wooded lots.
Fourth Ward Councilman Royal Mayo said the "wooded lot" designation leaves no incentive for property owners to keep weeds cut once a house is torn down.
"If I ignore it long enough that weeds grow and trees seed ... now I don't have to (maintain it) because it's a wooded lot," he complained.
Mayo and Paul agreed, though not necessarily for the same reasons, that city funds ought not be used to demolish privately owned properties.
Anyabwile also wants council to define what happens when the city demolishes a property. Currently she said "it just sits."
"There has to be some kind of resource, otherwise it becomes some sort of wooded lot," she said. "It becomes a weeded lot then a trash lot, then a wooded lot. I'd like to see the city take care of the lots that they demo."
Mayo said the city shouldn't be in the demolition business.
"I really want a solution," he said. "If we spend $20,000 to demo a property, nobody is going to pay the $20,000 for a lot at the South End of Steubenville, so then we're going to have weeds (and eventually woods). I'd rather keep the money and not tear them down."
Paul pointed out the thousands they're spending on demolitions is needed in other areas.
"The fire chief needs a secretary and he's not going to get one," he said. "But it's whatever you guys want to do, I'll be gone."
Mavromatis told council he's looking at the feasibility of retaining a firm that tracks public participation at civic events, such as Lights Up the Night and the Nutcracker Village.
While it's not cheap, he said it can help communities get grants.
"I'm looking to see (would we) get a bang for the bucks," he said. "I'm going to do some more work to figure out how this impacts the work we do here."
Hahn also suggested council keep a close eye on House Bill 296, currently working its way through committee, which would increase municipal contributions to police and fire pension funds from 19 percent to 24.5 percent during a five year period.
"I'm concerned about that because we know how strapped we are," she said. "The Ohio Municipal League has already gone to the committee to voice its opposition; I'd like to ask that we also send a letter (to them)."
She said OML believes the change "would be burdensome for many communities, not just ours."
She said the increase "should not be passed on to the municipalities."
"It's not a question of whether or not they have pension," she told Mayo. "It's a question of whether the state should pay or the municipality should pay."
Second Ward Councilman Tracy McManamon said he'd "like to see the numbers."
At McManamon's urging, Council canceled its Jan. 2 meeting.
"Some of us are already not going to be in town," he said, adding he'd spoken with two of the three incoming council members who indicated "they would prefer the whole team be together" for the first meeting of the New Year, which now will be Jan. 9.
Paul sunshined legislation honoring McCauslen's Florist for being a mainstay of the downtown business community. The business closed its doors a week ago.
At Hernon's request, council agreed to send a letter of support to the Ohio Department of Development for the Heart of Appalachia Appalachian Community Grant application. Funding for a downtown streetscape, the marina and the demolition/preservation of a North Fourth Street building is included in the grant application, which incorporates projects in 23 Appalachian counties.