Fostoria finance committee reviews draft five-year recovery plan, $12.8M in capital needs

The Fostoria finance committee reviewed the administration’s draft five-year financial recovery plan and a capital-needs list that totals $12,800,000, with slightly more than $7,000,000 expected from grant funding, a liaison from the Auditor of State said.

Cindy McCafferty, liaison for Local Government Services in the Auditor of State’s office, led the presentation and described the assumptions underpinning the 2026 appropriations column and the four-year forecast. Those assumptions include 4.2 inside mills for general operations, 0.3 mills each for police and fire pensions, a 2% projected annual growth in income tax receipts, planned water and sewer rate increases beginning in 2026, and health-care-cost increases projected at 15% in 2026 and 4% annually from 2027 to 2030. McCafferty told the committee that the city’s pool was demolished in 2025 and pool operations are not expected to resume.

The capital list highlighted a number of prioritized projects: traffic signal upgrades to current ODOT standards at Sandusky & Towne and other intersections; a transition in some locations from loop detectors to camera-based detection; cemetery paving and potential mausoleum restoration; stabilization and repaving work at the Miss Wood building; completion of a splash pad and matching fencing supported by a Hancock County Park grant; a proposed $85,000–$95,000 resurfacing at Foundation Park; parking and office work on a property purchased on Perrysburg Road; and an annual street program with roughly $750,000 planned for general paving next year. Water infrastructure projects noted include a McDougal Street waterline extension and OPWC-funded work on North Street to replace lead lines and separate storm sewer flow from combined sewer overflows.

Finance staff and the auditor’s liaison said the capital list can be funded through a mix of grants (including FAA and other intergovernmental grants), the city’s available fund balances, and state revolving loan funds where appropriate. The administration emphasized creative use of available dollars and noted that some projects shown for 2026 could be carried forward to later years if grant awards or construction schedules require it.

McCafferty also walked the committee through special revenue funds and several new funds that will require council legislation, including a Safe Routes to School fund and a fund tied to a 431 TIG grant for McDougal project elements. The auditor’s office included a required accounting-methods report in the packet and said many prior auditor comments remain “in process.”

The presentation concluded with staff saying the forecast shows a roughly three-month fund carryover by 2030, which meets the auditor’s carryover expectation used as a benchmark for considering termination of fiscal-emergency status. The auditor’s office emphasized that termination requires a formal termination report based on actual year-end numbers and a re-check of previously required conditions.

The committee scheduled first reading of the financial recovery plan and corresponding 2026 permanent appropriations for the council meeting tonight with a second reading planned at the first council meeting in December.