Fostoria finance committee advances carryover-balance policy after positive revenue report

FOSTORIA — The Fostoria Finance Committee on Tuesday heard a finance director’s report showing stronger-than-expected revenue in several accounts and voted to forward a revised fund carryover balance policy to city council.

Finance Director Steve told the committee the city’s bank balance in September was about $22.7 million, with approximately $17.3 million available after commitments on open purchase orders. He said real-estate property tax receipts came in about $33,000 above forecast and that income-tax collections were at roughly 77% of estimated revenue through nine months, about a 5% increase from the prior year. "Real estate property taxes have all been received and they've come in about $33,000 more than we had forecasted," Steve said.

The report flagged ambulance charges as an area to watch: collections were at about 89% of forecast and up 15.8% from the prior year. Enterprise funds also showed gains. Steve said water revenue was "up significantly," reflecting rate increases in July and again in January; sewer revenue was up about 19% year to date compared with the prior year. Septic and leachate line items were higher, producing roughly $166,000 more than the prior year, which Steve said helps stabilize those funds and reduce pressure for near-term rate increases.

Committee members discussed expense reporting and transfers. Steve said the city’s new BIS financial system contains separate line items for transfers in and out but that the committee’s summary report currently aggregates some entries; he said he would work to isolate transfer and advance lines in reports so transfers that will be returned are clearer.

Capital projects and grants

Steve said several capital projects will roll into next year because final drawings or other work remain outstanding. He identified the Central Avenue project as supported in part by an OPWC grant and loan and said that project will appear in next year’s budget. He also said another major water infrastructure project is planned for next year. On the splash pad project, Steve reported the project was 79% complete through September from a contractual-reimbursement perspective and that the city had filed for grant reimbursements to recover advanced park and airport fund costs.

Utilities savings and contracts

The finance director outlined recent utility-cost management steps: the city hedged electric rates with IGS and extended hedges into 2026 and 2027, and it migrated legacy AT&T POTS phone lines to Bascom digital service. Steve said the POTS-to-Bascom move produced about $65,000 in savings this year and that the city expects roughly another $20,000 in savings next year.

Fund carryover policy

A committee member presented revised wording for the city’s fund carryover balance policy stating, in part, that "the fund carryover balance may be used for purposes deemed appropriate by city council. The balance established in this policy represents a minimum threshold. Maintaining a higher reserve is not inherently negative, especially when large capital projects are anticipated in future years and will require significant cash resources." After brief discussion, the committee voted to move the revised policy to full council for consideration. On the roll call recorded in the meeting, Council Member Cassidy and Council Member Podak voted "yes," and the meeting chair voted "yes," carrying the motion unanimously.

Municipal income-tax compliance and contractors

Committee members discussed municipal income-tax withholding and reporting for contractors working in the city (the transcript referenced pipeline work as an example). Committee members said short-term work under a 30-day threshold generally does not require withholding or remittance to the city, but they emphasized the city can pursue the contractors’ proportionate business income through compliance processes. The committee said it has asked the city’s income-tax agent, RITA, to identify and contact contractors who should be filing city returns. Steve and other staff described RITA’s role in cross-checking federal filings and sending compliance letters when city filings are missing.

Next steps and schedule

The committee did not meet in November and will hold a budget work session with full council; the next finance meeting was announced for Dec. 16, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers. Committee actions at the meeting included approvals of the Sept. 16 digital minutes and a motion to adjourn; both were approved by unanimous roll-call votes recorded in the meeting.