Council adds airport, Main St. VW funding

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council added funding for both the Van Wert County Regional Airport and for the Main Street Van Wert program to permanent budget legislation read for the first time on Monday.

Before making the decision, members of Council’s Finance Committee heard presentations from County Commissioner Clair Dudgeon, representing the airport, and Van Wert Main Street Program Manager Adam Ries.

Council unanimously voted to prepare permanent budget legislation that would include $10,000 for the airport and $25,000 for Main Street Van Wert. The funds will come from hotel-motel tax revenues, which increased approximately $50,000 this past year over 2010 levels.

Darlene Myers of the Van Wert County Economic Development Office, had some concerns with the decision, since $30,000 of the additional funding would come from her office’s contingency fund. City Auditor Martha Balyeat noted, though, that there remained $48,000 in unappropriated hotel-motel tax revenues that could be used for contingencies in the development office.

Funding for the airport and Main Street Van Wert have taken a hit the last few years, largely due to the economic downturn that began in 2008.

Although both organizations have received some funding from the city, both have also had to cut back on programs and activities, while lack of funding also forced Main Street Van Wert to relegate Ries’ position to part-time status.

Use of hotel-motel tax revenues, which are earmarked for economic development purposes and currently go to the Economic Development Office and the Van Wert Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, was deemed appropriate for both organizations because of their impact on local economic development.

Ries talked about grants and other funding received by the Main Street organization in the past 10 years — a total of $2.2 million in grant money and money reinvested in the community — and noted that Main Street dollars generated a return to the community of $9 for every $1 the organization took in.

Main Street is also seeking a Tier 1 planning grant this year.

Finance Committee Chair Joi Mergy supported funding for both programs, with Mayor Don Farmer supportive, but also adamant the money should not come from the city’s General Fund because of the tight city budget this year. The mayor said the budget includes approximately $157,000 in unappropriated funds, which is not a lot of money if unexpected emergencies arise.

Balyeat punctuated that sentiment with some unwelcome financial information, noting that General Fund revenue for the month of January was down approximately $4,500 from last year’s January revenue totals.

As in 2011, tight budgeting has kept the city budget in the black, with the auditor stating that expenditures in January were $20,000 under revenues for the month.

During its regular session on Monday, City Council honored former mayor Louis Ehmer for his contributions to city government. Councilman At-Large Stan Agler stated Monday, as he has in the past, that, as far as he knows, Ehmer is the only person to have served as a ward council member, at-large member, council president and mayor.

“I think we are all indebted to you, Mr. Ehmer, for the time you have served our community,” said Council President Gary Corcoran, noting that, because of Ehmer’s participation in a number of community agencies and groups, the former mayor’s years of service “in no way reflect the amount of time Louis devoted to the welfare of our city.”

Ehmer thanked City Council for the honor, adding that he enjoyed working with Council during nearly two decades of city government service.

Also Monday, City Council discussed the junk car problem in the city, with Law Director John Hatcher currently working on a legal description of what actually constitutes a junk vehicle for legislative purposes.

Councilman At-Large Brent Crone also provided some sobering statistics on city utility bills, noting that, of the 4,500 water and sewer bills sent out, 800 were delinquent and 190 utility customers had been sent shut-off notices because their bills remained unpaid.

Mayor Farmer again noted that city residents should take no action related to electrical aggregation until they receive letters from FirstEnergy in March concerning that program. The mayor said AEP Retail had recently sent letters to local power customers about an energy savings program, but urged local residents to take no action now that could lock them into a program that would likely provide lower cost savings than the aggregation program, which will save local customers 18 percent on their energy generation bills.