Trumbull County commissioners weigh emergency water-rate increase as sanitary fund nears exhaustion

Trumbull County sanitary officials told commissioners on March 26 that the county oes not have enough cash to run its water and sewer operations past May and proposed a temporary rate increase while the county orders a performance audit.

At the meeting, Bob Ireno, controller for the Trumbull County Sanitary Engineers, said the sanitary system lost $418,000 in the first quarter of 2025 and is "forecasting ... to be out of money at May of '25." Gary Newbrow, Trumbull County sanitary engineer, urged prompt action to implement a rate change and to pursue infrastructure steps that would improve the utility's finances.

Commissioners discussed two options presented by staff. One option (A) keeps no homestead discount but raises rates to the consultant-recommended level; an alternate option (B) includes a 20% homestead discount for customers who qualify under local eligibility rules tied to homestead exemptions. Legal guidance from Bill Danso of the prosecutor —ice cautioned that the statute allows a board to establish discounted rates for people 65 and older and to set eligibility criteria that could include the homestead exemption; he said commissioners must be careful about delegation of discretionary rate-setting authority.

Commissioners did not record a final vote. Several commissioners said they were prepared to support an emergency increase to avoid service interruptions; other commissioners urged a short-term step tied to a performance audit and advisory oversight. One commissioner proposed a temporary increase for 90 days; others said 90 days would be too short to complete an audit and proposed a six-month increase while a performance audit and a trustee advisory panel are formed.

Sanitary staff and commissioners discussed mechanics of a homestead discount. The auditor's office can provide a list of parcels with homestead exemptions, but Danso warned that the statute's primary eligibility dimension is age (65 and older) and that homestead status is one permissible eligibility filter. Staff said applying an eligibility process and confirming who qualifies will take time; commissioners asked staff to prepare an application or eligibility procedure concurrent with audit work.

Officials also discussed delegating routine pass-through adjustments (to reflect wholesale supplier increases such as from Niles or Warren). Danso said Ohio law generally reserves discretionary authority on rate-setting to boards of commissioners and does not clearly permit delegating that discretion; he suggested the board could adopt a policy tying local rates to pass-through changes in the wholesaler charge so that the sanitary engineer's office could implement adjustments under a policy framework.

Several trustees and township representatives had attended a prior informational meeting and urged transparency. Commissioners repeatedly framed the proposed increases as cost-recovery rather than revenue-generation, and several said available reserves had already been exhausted after years of operating losses.

Next steps described at the meeting: commissioners asked sanitary staff to return with exact implementation language and cost projections, an eligibility procedure for any discount, and a scope and timeline for a performance audit. No formal rate ordinance or vote was recorded on March 26.

Ending: Commissioners said they would decide promptly to avoid service interruption; staff warned that billing cycles mean any new rate implemented in the next meeting would not produce collections until an April billing, and without action the department could exhaust cash in May.