MANSFIELD -- Mansfield City Council has until the end of March to approve a final spending plan for 2023, according to state law.
It has scheduled a finance committee meeting Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. to discuss the proposal by Mayor Tim Theaker, which will be the last budget he submits. The mayor is in his the last year of his third and final four-year term of office. He is barred by city charter from seeking another term.
The plan includes general fund expenditures of $34,360,544 -- a 1.8-percent increase over the temporary appropriations plan council approved in December. At that time, the budget called for $33,727,854 in general fund spending. The proposal is scheduled for a vote on March 21.
-- honor assistant finance director Sue Johnson, who is retiring, effective April 3, after 31 years of work in the public sector. Johnson has worked for the City of Mansfield since 2019.
-- vote on a resolution urging Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and state lawmakers to restore the Local Government Fund to pre-recession levels. In 2011, the state's leaders reduced the LGF by 50 percent. The resolution says the reductions have resulted in a net loss of $23,993,573 for the City of Mansfield in the last 12 years.
-- vote on a request to spend $125,970 for the city's share of an Ohio Dept. of Transportation project to replace a culvert under Home Road on Park Avenue West (Ohio 430) within city limits.
-- vote on a requested 10-year lease agreement with Modern Avionics and Maintenance, Inc., for Hanger 532 at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport. The agreement calls for annual payments of $4,950.
-- vote to accept a national Police Athletic League youth mentoring sub-grant in the amount of $28,800. The grant provides a portion of the personnel costs associated with the local PAL director. It also provides funds for community service projects with local youth.
-- vote on a 10-year vending agreement and lease-of-space agreement with Richland Newhope Industries, Inc., for cafeteria operations inside the Municipal Building. The city doesn't charge Newhope rent for the space.
-- discuss during caucus the city's plan for $1.3 million in Community Development Block Grant funds, as well as $747,443 in Home Investment Partnership Program money.
Chuck Hahn, Cleveland Financial Group, invests in this independent reporting through a Newsroom Partnership.
City editor. 30-year plus journalist. Husband. Father of 3 grown sons and also a proud grandpa. Prior military journalist in U.S. Navy, Ohio Air National Guard. -- Favorite quote: "Where were you when the page was blank?"
