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WEIRTON -- While municipal officials aren't anticipating any financial issues for the remainder of the current fiscal year, they acknowledge they will have to be careful when crafting Weirton's budget for 2024-25.
That process is set to officially get under way Wednesday, when council is scheduled to convene in a work session from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the council chambers of the Weirton Municipal Building.
"This is going to be a tough budget, in my eyes," noted Ward 3 Councilman Fred Marsh as part of a separate work session held Thursday. "It's all about making the budget work."
During Thursday's session, Marsh explained there is the potential for the municipality to see a reduction in revenue of between $850,000 and $1 million in future budgets as a result of the recently announced idling plans for the Cleveland-Cliffs tinplate operation in Weirton.
Officials have noted the immediate losses will be derived from Cleveland-Cliffs' Business and Occupation Tax payments -- estimated at between $150,000 and $175,000 per year, as well as the Municipal Service Fee, which assesses $2 per week for each employee.
Cleveland-Cliffs also currently pays a little more than $700,000 in Police and Fire Service Fees each year; however, Finance Director Diana Smoljanovich has noted the company will still be responsible for those fees, even if there are no operations or employees. The service fee is based on the square footage of buildings located on a business' property.
Marsh also cautioned, noting the city currently is set to owe $1.6 million in lease payments per year through 2028.
City Manager Mike Adams said he has two main goals, for planning the budget and overseeing the city's operations moving forward: Keeping their employees for as long as possible and maintaining their services at their current level for as long as possible.
"We're in the service business," Adams said.
In addition to establishing the 2024-25 budget, which will go into effect July 1, the city's Finance Committee will be working with Adams and Smoljanovich to create a multi-tiered monitoring and warning system, which would establish certain measures for officials to take in the event revenue begins to drop by any significant amount.
Smoljanovich explained her department already carries out weekly reviews, as a matter of practice, to make certain there are no surprises.
Council agreed those measures will be important going forward.
"Let's not panic, but let's be careful," Ward 5 Councilwoman Flora Perrone said.