BUDGET — Members of Mingo Junction Village Council inspected documents during their second budget meeting Thursday. -- Christopher Dacanay

MINGO JUNCTION — Village officials considered some adjustments to keep finances balanced through this year during their second budget meeting Thursday.

Mingo Junction Village Council discussed possible cost-cutting measures in response to an anticipated shortage in income tax revenue. Although no measures were formalized, potential actions included water and sewer rate increases, as well as alterations at the Aracoma Park pool.

Council will meet again at 5:30 p.m. today in the council chambers, focusing on budgets for police and fire. The overall budget, which will run from April 1 to Dec. 31, must be passed by March 25, according to Deputy Clerk Kim Crugnale.

Stemming from the village’s failure to renew its additional 1 percent income tax in 2021, council has to appropriate carefully and keep a tight budget. Although a replacement tax was passed in the Nov. 5 general election, officials are unsure how much revenue the village will have at its disposal this year.

Crugnale had “no concrete numbers” during the first budget meeting Feb. 20 and presented council members with her best estimates, which they’ll use to map out a spending structure for the next nine months. Those estimates are conservative, in order to prevent council from accidentally over-appropriating.

The village’s situation will likely be worse than in 2009, when the town’s steel mill closed, Crugnale said Thursday, adding that income tax revenue continued collecting amid the closure, unlike the recent dilemma.

This time, Crugnale said, certain funds are expected to suffer major revenue dips, particularly those supplied entirely by the income tax, which feeds into 10 total funds.

Suffering a major hit is the recreation fund, Crugnale said, noting that fund had a budget of $198,000 last year but is anticipated to receive around $89,000 in revenue this year.

“I was being cautious on the revenue,” Curgnale said, “so therefore, we can only budget what I anticipated that we would have. And I know if the revenue isn’t coming in, you’re not going to be able to sustain six-hour days every day at the pool. It’s not going to last half the summer at that rate if higher revenue doesn’t come in.”

Council will need to decide how to make up for that shortfall, Crugnale said. That could mean raising pool rates or cutting back on open hours or days.

Council members discussed possible solutions, including a limit on the number of pool employees working at a time. Retaining senior swim and maintaining the cost of senior passes emerged as priorities. Also proposed were methods of generating more revenue, such as night swims, community events or adult swims.

Discussion later turned to the village water department’s budget, which has financial concerns of its own.

Crugnale said the department budgeted $2.5 million last year and ultimately spent about $2.03 million. If estimates are correct, she added, the department will have $1.5 million available this year.

Various upgrades during the past few years have taken a toll on available funds, Crugnale said, and the department still has two loan payments left on its plant. Those payments, wages and the ever-increasing cost of chemicals, are expected to consume the department’s $1.5 million and leave “nothing” for incidentals or equipment.

The village sewer department is facing its own loan payment problem, having seven years to pay off the uptown storm/sewer separation project, according to an amortization plan.

Crugnale said payments come from the department’s sewer equipment replacement fund, which she expects will carry the next payment but not the one after. The sewer fund would be the next logical choice for payments, she said, but even that fund is down $200,000 from last year and won’t be able to maintain the same budget.

As for solutions, Crugnale told council: “I know you don’t want to raise rates, but how are you going to make up the difference to pay this sewer payment every year, not just get it through this year?”

Mayor Judy Ruckman — who’s attempting to receive a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission to cover the storm/sewer separation project’s final, downtown phase — noted that the OPWC’s grant is partially dependent on water rates. The commission would like to see the municipality’s rates at a certain level to prove “you can afford to maintain your system,” so a rate increase in the village may be necessary regardless.

Council also spoke with water department Chief Operator George Stoddart about his thoughts on cost cutting.

One topic was whether the department can slash overtime, something Stoddart said is partially uncontrollable due to emergency issues like water breaks. Overtime also results from employees having to watch the plant at night, as chemicals can’t be fed without supervision. Employees do not currently work on a 24-hour schedule.

Ruckman suggested that Stoddart “pepper in” some 24-hour shifts at the plant, adding that it may be cheaper to hire a part-time employee for nights in the future. Crugnale noted that frequent and consistent night shifts would justify a part-time hire, as opposed to overtime, but night shifts have been erratic recently.

The overtime issue extends to other village departments, and council members intend to raise the topic during the next budget meeting with the police and fire department chiefs.