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Residents and council members press city on budget, road repairs and personnel costs
Summary
Public commenters and several council members urged scrutiny of the city's budget, cited high personnel costs and poor road conditions; the treasurer and finance chair outlined revenue and expense figures and said the appropriation will return for further review.
Residents and council members called for sharper budget oversight at the Lorain City Council meeting, citing high personnel costs, rising benefit expenses and deteriorating roadways.
Catherine Kennedy, CPA (inactive), submitted written guidance on the city's budget that was read into the record. Kennedy's correspondence cited the auditor of state's 2018 audit and later reports and said personnel costs were about 78% of general fund expenditures for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022. Kennedy wrote that lowering personnel costs to 70% would free roughly $3,100,000 for other services and that a reduction to 50% would free about $10,700,000 annually; the correspondence was entered into the record by motion.
During public comment, residents raised related concerns. Aaron Knapp, a Sixth Ward resident, asked how the council would rectify alleged prior votes by a now-resigned council member and urged attention to road conditions on Fairless Road. Jane Morales, a resident at 1494 West 33rd Street, said residents were frustrated by higher property taxes and municipal salaries and demanded clear answers about how the council would address road repairs and quality-of-life services.
Council members and staff addressed the same themes. Councilman DeMatteo said retaining and recruiting employees'including police officers'has been a policy priority and acknowledged the budget pressures created by higher personnel costs. Finance-related remarks from meeting participants included the following figures, presented to council during budget discussion: the temporary budget presented earlier listed expenses of $46,053,543 and projected revenue of $38,513,180; a revised version presented in the meeting listed expenses of $45,299,403 and revenue of $41,953,747, narrowing the gap by roughly $3,000,000.
Treasurer Soto told council the 2025 draft budget includes no new positions; Soto said she reviewed the document and asserted it contains only present employees. Council chairpersons and staff said the budget is a living document and will return for further review at second reading; the finance committee will hold quarterly updates on the budget on April 14, July 14 and Oct. 13.
On roads, council members acknowledged long-standing needs. Council discussed having city crews use newly purchased equipment to perform repairs in-house to save costs; members also noted dependence on federal and state funding routed through Northeast Ohio area planning agencies for larger projects. Council members warned that some federal funding streams could be reduced, which might affect planned work.
Ending: Council moved the annual appropriation ordinance to a second reading for detailed review; members asked administration and the auditor to provide additional line-item detail and continue monthly/quarterly updates as the city finalizes the 2025 budget.
