Canfield council reviews proposed $14.1 million 2025 budget, hears capital requests for police, IT and public works

The Canfield City Council held a budget work session in which department heads presented a proposed total budget of $14,091,883 for fiscal year 2025 and outlined $1,382,447 in capital requests, city manager Mr. Daffolito said.

The proposal breaks down major funds as presented: the general fund (about 45% of the total), special revenue funds (parks, recreation, cemetery, police levy, streets and grants) at roughly 20% and enterprise funds for water, sanitary sewer and stormwater. Mr. Daffolito said the proposed general fund figures were being refined and that the police department remains the largest general-fund expense.

Why it matters: the work session assembled department-level requests that will feed the council's upcoming formal readings and votes on appropriation and transfers. The capital requests identify equipment and projects that would affect operations and maintenance costs for multiple departments if approved.

City manager and finance director overview

Mr. Daffolito opened the overview and summarized the totals and fund categories. Finance Director Kristen Clayton told council she had recently completed an Ohio Municipal League survey on wages and was continuing work on the 2025 budget.

Major departmental capital requests

Police: Chief (identified in the discussion as the police chief) outlined a $211,726 capital request largely for two patrol cruisers (approximately $107,000 for two vehicles under current state pricing), upfitting ($55,600), computer gear for patrol vehicles ($15,000), replacement rifles ($13,500), cruiser graphics ($7,500), breaching tools and two replacement radar units. The chief described the vehicles as "each officer's office 3 hours a day" and emphasized in‑car printing and reporting capabilities.

Information Technology: The IT department requested $164,530 to replace aging Cisco switches, support public Wi‑Fi at two parks, add cameras and relocate remaining server equipment into the main server room. The city indicated the existing switches are approaching end-of-life and the IT work would support online payments and other software upgrades already underway with Tyler Technologies.

Public works: Public Works Superintendent Mr. Rapp and Joel (public works staff) presented a $703,226 public-works capital request that included a replacement F-450 utility truck, a valve-operator exerciser (the city noted Ohio EPA guidance to exercise mainline valves on a multiyear schedule), meter replacements to enable monthly reads, a compact wheel loader (Bobcat L95) to replace aging equipment, zero-turn mowers and repairs to salt/leak boxes and garage doors. Mr. Rapp said the system contains over 1,000 main-line valves and roughly 450 fire hydrants; the valve exerciser would allow the city to exercise hundreds of valves per year to meet multiyear schedules.

Parks, cemetery and infrastructure

Parks and recreation requested $132,965 for items including pickleball court repairs at Creasel Park ($40,000), LED light conversions, event budgets for concerts and Memorial Day and vendor costs for fireworks and parade support. Cemetery capital on the agenda included a columbarium replacement order (the council was told existing niches are nearly full and new units take at least a year to arrive) with a request listed at $65,965.

Infrastructure requests include $500,000 for Old Street work and a street-resurfacing total near $650,000; Mr. Daffolito reported roughly $150,000 expected from the Ohio Public Works Commission toward resurfacing.

Budget math and clarifications

Mr. Daffolito and Ms. Clayton corrected and clarified several line items during the presentation: the police department general-fund allocation was stated as $4,229,705, plus $854,004.26 in the police levy fund. The presenters acknowledged some figures on screen were incorrect and adjusted numbers verbally.

Next steps and timeline

Council treated several ordinances on the agenda as first readings and discussed dispensing with full readings by charter provision to allow title-only readings. Department heads said they would respond to follow-up questions and provide additional line-item detail before the council holds formal appropriation votes.

Ending

Council members thanked staff for the overview and invited additional questions before the next scheduled meeting where the appropriation ordinance and related measures will proceed through the statutory reading and adoption process.