ONTARIO — Ontario’s proposed 2019 budget includes approximately $1.6 million for repaving Lexington-Springmill Road and the funding needed to begin cleanup of the former General Motors property, according to Dan Zeiter, chairman of council’s finance committee.

Zeiter considers those two projects the “standout” ones in this year’s budget of $15,117,353, which Ontario city council will likely vote to approve or ammend at its regular Wednesday, March 20 meeting.

“I think it’s good to go. I don’t see any reason anyone would vote against it,” Zeiter said.

Repaving Lexington-Springmill Road

In the proposed budget, Ontario will allot approximately three times what it has typically directed towards street and road construction and maintenance so that the city’s entire portion of Lexington-Springmill Road can be repaved at once.

In February, service safety director, Jeff Wilson announced the successful bidder was Kokosing Construction Company with a bid of $1.569 million — nearly $400,000 less than early estimates showed.

Zeiter explained that the decision to pave the city’s entire portion of Lexington-Springmill Road, from Buckeye Village Apartments to the intersection of Lexington-Springmill and Park Avenue, was a financial one. Council anticipated a significant savings by doing the project all at once.

“This year, we’ll maybe have to take a little from reserves, but income shows as of now we’ll be fine,” Zeiter said.

If the city pulls from its reserves, he explained, the money will be paid back from the street and road construction and maintenance budget in the next two years. And if the city doesn’t need to go to that extreme, Zeiter anticipates council will contribute some money, but less than usual towards street and road repairs in its 2020 and 2021 budget.

“We’ll cut back over next years to make up for it,” he said.

Cleaning up the former GM property

As of now, Zeiter said, the city has set aside about $100,000 in its 2019 budget for cleanup and engineering needs at the former GM property.

However, on Wednesday, March 13, the economic development committee asked that the amount set aside for maintenance and cleanup of the West Fourth Street property be doubled from $60,000 to $120,000. This will be brought to council as a proposed amendment to the existing budget.

Zeiter anticipates further expenses throughout the year, which aren’t yet listed, and council has discussed these anticipated expenses. 

“We have about $13 million in the bank and between investments. So if an expense comes up, it’s not like we don’t have the money to pay for it,”  Zeiter said.

He added that he “feels good” about where this year’s budget stands and is proud of council’s efforts to manage the budget the past several years.

Last year, he said, council came out with “$1.4 million to the good.”

“The group that we have, especially with Randy (Hutchinson) and Jeff (Wilson), I think even better days are ahead,” Zeiter said.

Funding the substance abuse program at Ontario Local Schools

At council’s most recent meeting, Zeiter did point out some concern with $30,000 that is budgeted for Ontario Local School District’s substance abuse program. The funds supplement the program’s coordinator, allowing her to work full-time, Zeiter said.

“That’s nothing more than a 30,000 donation, so I have a little heartburn about it,” he said.

He emphasized that he has no issue with the program itself and supports its mission, but his concern is that Ontario residents are the “only ones” paying for it. He explained how a portion of Ontario School District is located outside of the city and that a number of other students attend from elsewhere via the district’s open enrollment process.

“The city is the only one contributing. The ones paying for it are the parents living in the city,” Zeiter said.

Ontario City Council first gave the district $30,000 for the position in 2017, Zeiter recalled. However, the $30,000 did not come out of the city’s 2018 budget because of how their fiscal year lined up, he explained. The school could wait until 2019 to receive the funding, so council opted to hold off.

2019 would mark the second time that council will have funded the position.

Keeping the police department’s equipment updated

The proposed budget includes nearly $1.4 million police salaries, $27,000 for equipment and $55,000 for a new cruiser at the Ontario Police Department.  

“We’ve given them everything they’ve asked for to do the best job they can,” Zeiter said. “(Chief Tommy Hill) has been really open and honest with us. They understand our resources. And they don’t take advantage of that. They ask for what they need.”