MANSFIELD — Tony Vero isn’t ready to claim success, but the Richland County commissioner is optimistic about the county’s finances one-sixth of the way through 2022.
“Knock on wood, but the first two months look good,” he said during a recent meeting.
Revenues from the county’s top eight revenue sources, including sales tax, were up 14 percent for January/February of 2022 from the same period in 2021.
“I anticipated we would be doing better because of unprecedented inflation,” Vero said. “From a budgeting perspective, I said let’s hope we’re 8 percent better, at least.
“Looking specifically at the sales tax numbers, we are nearly 15 percent better (than a year ago),” he said. “That’s outstanding news, even taking into account inflation.”
The county also spent less in the first two months of the year as compared to 2021, Vero said.
“Through February of 2022, we have spent 15.3 percent of our appropriations. At the end of February in 2021, we had spent 18.4 percent of the appropriations,” Vero said.
“I think the departments and elected officials are doing a good job. I think that comes with five years of working with a pretty consistent (board of commissioners) and knowing there are expectations when it comes to budgets,” he said.
“I think people truly are budgeting and spending for what they need. We’re working with a balanced budget and will continue to do that,” Vero said.
Commissioner Darrell Banks said the increased revenues are signs “you’ve got more people coming out of the basement now then they were a year ago (due to the COVID-19 pandemic).”
He cautioned that revenue stream may slow if inflation continues to rise and people curtail spending.
Banks also cautioned Ohio lawmakers to not follow through on plans to perhaps eliminate or reduce the state gas tax in response to rising prices at the pump.
“Our roads are going to need repairs. I don’t care if you’re driving an electric car or a gas car, you’re gonna need it. Let’s face it … what’s caused a lot (of higher gas prices) is we’re not drilling for oil and we closed down our pipelines. That’s a large reason that we’re having (higher gas prices) right now,” Banks said.
“And if you don’t want to face that reality, we’re going to be hurting even more in the future.”
