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Village of Groveport hopes to avoid more budget cuts
(by Rick Palsgrove, Southeast Editor - April 21, 2009)
The village of Groveport is hoping to avoid making any more budget cuts this year in the face of the tight national economy.
"We're being diligent about our finances," Groveport Finance Director Ken Salak said at Groveport Village Council's April 20 meeting.
The village's income tax revenues for March 2009 were down 40 percent compared to March 2008. Income tax revenue collections this March were $766,762 compared last March's $1.27 million.
For the year, the village's income tax revenue is down $1.073 million, or 27.1 percent, from this time in 2008.
In the face of the economic downturn, council unanimously voted to trim nearly $1.7 million from the 2009 budget on April 13.
"Even if we have a similar month to March, our hope is to not come back (and ask for more cuts)," said Salak. "We think we can."
In the hopes of drumming up more commercial development in the village, Economic Development Director Jeff Green reported he is staying in "frequent contact with industrial developers to monitor activity."
Added Green, "Although there is activity in the region and all the developers and brokers I talk to tell me they are showing their buildings quite a bit, the deals are taking longer to land...Although it is frustrating, this is typical of what all communities in the central Ohio region and nationwide are experiencing. Fortunately, the developers I talk to are not discouraged and are optimistic about filling their buildings soon."
Green is also working on compiling information about the available commercial/industrial buildings in the village.
Kessler Street project
Work on the Kessler Street reconstruction project is expected to begin later this spring. Shelly Company's $557,500 bid for the project came in $200,000 below the engineer's estimate.
"That's a tremendously good price," said EMH&T engineer Steve Farst.
The project will include streetlights, a sidewalk on one side of the street, curb and gutters, storm drains, hydrant adjustments, and new mailboxes.
Work is expected to be completed by Aug. 14.
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