By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
After the rollercoaster ride in revenue brought on by the COVID pandemic, the City of Bowling Green is charting a less turbulent route for 2022 with the mantra “steady forward.”
The city’s budget for next year will be approximately $146 million.
“This is a weighty responsibility and the allocation of – and accounting for- these dollars is taken very seriously by all of us,” Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter said last week.
Among the priorities of next year’s budget are the maintenance of city services and retention of dedicated staff.
“Presenting this budget is important to me because it provides an opportunity to communicate priorities,” Mayor Mike Aspacher said. “I believe that this budget demonstrates our understanding of our most basic responsibilities as civic leaders and provides measured funding for our strategic vision for the city.”
“A primary focus of this budget is funding the day-to-day services of our police, fire and ambulance, public works, utilities, parks and recreation, and all other departments that keep our citizens safe, keep traffic moving, streets clean, deliver dependable electric service and safe drinking water, and provide us with a safe and enjoyable place to raise our families and call home,” Aspacher said.
The budget also provides a path toward achieving shared priorities, the mayor said.
“We continue to look forward with an eye towards continued growth and community improvement by also investing in infrastructure and neighborhoods,” he said.
The 2022 budget reflects the city’s continual effort to operate within a modest budget while providing quality services to the community, Tretter said.
The city’s finances have exceeded the projections made in the 2021 budget. While that is good news, Tretter reminded council of the dire possibilities facing the city when the 2021 budget was created.
“As we entered the 2021 budget, our status was that we were below our 2020 income tax revenue projections,” Tretter said. “There was continuing uncertainty related to the pandemic and economy, the impact of CARES funding and Bureau of Worker’s Compensation Relief were still being realized, and when all put together, it was frankly a very difficult environment in which to make financial projections.”
While the ups and downs have been steep, an overview of the last three years shows an average of a 3% annual revenue increase for the city – which is typical for Bowling Green, Tretter explained.
“It certainly took a bit of a roller coaster ride over those years, but in sum, as we close out 2021, we can conclude that we did better than anticipated financially in 2021,” she said.
Tretter presented the following budget assumptions for 2022:
- Continued uncertainty from the state.
- No new fees or additional taxes included in the budget.
- A 2% income tax increase is projected.
Major financial influences predicted for next year:
- Rising inflation.
- Federal funding opportunities through the American Rescue Plan, the federal infrastructure bill, and partnerships with other groups such as BG Economic Development, Chamber of Commerce, Visit BG, Downtown BG, Welcome BG, BGSU, TMACOG and ODOT.
Pressures from deferred maintenance on facilities and infrastructure:
- Construction of the new city administration building will begin after the first of the new year.
- The city owns several buildings in the community and has deferred maintenance for too long, Tretter said. A recent structural study of the Court Street Fire Station and an energy analysis of the Police Station have shown significant concerns about those buildings.
“Competition for funding allocation is robust. Maintenance, unfortunately, sometimes gets pushed down the list,” Tretter said. “We need to develop a strategy to plan for, fund, and execute needed maintenance on city facilities and infrastructure.”
Increasing cost of technology:
- Cybersecurity attacks are of great concern to the city, so bolstering systems is a pressing priority.
- There are numerous increases in technology costs, including the storage of data from police body cameras, and the downtown security cameras.
The budget calls for the creation of one new position in the city planning department. Retirements are expected to be a significant budget factor in the 2022 budget. And hiring new employees will be a challenge – as it is currently for all employers.
The city’s priorities in the budget are:
- Zoning code update.
- Complete Streets, BGSU bicycle treatment survey. The city is also applying for an ODOT grant to help with a multi-use path connecting the BG Middle and High Schools with the Community Center and Cogan’s Crossing subdivision.
- Rental registration and inspection.
- Neighborhood revitalization.
- Micro-grant funding.
- Economic development.
Bowling Green is in line to receive $7.3 million from the American Rescue Act. Following are some of the uses planned for the funding:
- Residential street paving. The plan calls for $3 million to be spent over three years on neighborhood streets.
- Housing grants above HUD threshold. The proposal is to use $100,000 each year over the next three years for neighborhood improvements.
- MARCS radios for public safety. An estimated $350,000 will be used to buy equipment and facilitate a transition to MARCS radios system. The existing radio system is not sufficient. The MARCS radio tower will provide for adequate communication throughout the community and allow for coordination with neighboring agencies if needed.
- City Park paving, walking path, lighting and security improvements. An estimated $250,000 will be spent to add a pedestrian path around the park loop, improve lighting and install cameras in key areas.
- Carter Park inclusive playground. The city plans to put $100,000 toward a project by Wood County Plays to install an inclusive playground site made for children of all abilities.
The city is also planning investments in street and sidewalk infrastructure. Tretter suggested that the emergence of orange construction barrels be seen, not as an annoyance, but as an investment in the community.
Over the next three years, some upcoming paving projects include:
- East Wooster Street from Campbell Hill Road to the CSX tracks in 2022.
- West Wooster Street from Church Street to Haskins Road in 2023.
- Haskins Road from West Wooster Street to Wren Road in 2023.
- Campbell Hill/East Wooster Street roundabout in 2023.
- South Main Street from Ordway Avenue to the city limit in 2024.
- West Newton Road from Brim Road to North Main Street in 2024.
The budget for 2022 also includes investment in capital items such as:
- Downtown surveillance cameras.
- Ongoing leases of hybrid vehicles for police division.
- BG Transit van.
- Dump truck for the park department.
- Sideload trash and recycling truck.
Tretter also listed projects that are not in the 2022 budget, but are “on the horizon” for the city, such as:
- Zoning code and map implementation.
- Climate action plan.
- Bicycle treatment map.
- Public discussion about ARP funds.
- Court Street corridor study.
- Downtown right-of-way discussion.
- Public safety discussion.
