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Budget cuts, sewer project pose challenge
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - December 30, 2009)
Budget cuts, sewer project pose challenge
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Burton Village Council continued discussions Monday on slashing the village budget, although no definite plans were made.
Village Fiscal Officer Christopher Paquette said council discussed virtually every possible expense in looking to trim the village's approximately $2 million annual budget.
Among the items discussed are a 7 percent reduction in the street department budget, eliminating some flower baskets and whether the village should go forward with plans for flashing school lights on North Cheshire Street, the location of Berkshire High School.
Mr. Paquette said most of the final decisions on where to cut will have to come in January, when the village sets its budget.
Mayor Thomas Blair Sr. said the most contentious discussions revolved around cuts in personnel and where they should be made. "Everybody has their own ideas on which departments should be cut," he said.
An even more daunting challenge for the village, he said, is finding the money for the estimated $6 million to $7 million cost for upgrading the village's sewer system and treatment plant.
A joint meeting of council and the village's board of public affairs, which oversees the water and sewer systems, earlier this month revolved around whether to concentrate on fixing leaks in the system or expanding the treatment plant to handle the infiltration.
At that meeting, consultant Said Abouabdallah, director of water resources for Arcadis, of Cleveland, said much of the system was built in the 1960s.
He said the difference between repairing leaks and expanding the treatment plant are comparable in cost, within a 10 percent difference.
Mr. Blair said the village is looking at obtaining grants to possibly offset the costs of the project, which otherwise would have to be borne by residents and businesses.
Mr. Blair said, because most council members are unfamiliar with the grant-writing process, and applying for grants requires a certain amount of expertise, council is considering whether to bring on a more experienced grant writer. "It's a real process just to be considered for funding," he said.
Part of the problem, Mr. Blair said, is that little attention has been given up to this point to securing the funds that will be needed. "It's too bad no forethought was given to this until now," he said.
Mr. Blair said his hope is that the village may be able to repair some of the worst leaks in the system and avoid the cost of a plant expansion.
He said studies have looked at the three main lines serving the village and identified the worst.
One line goes to the east, while a second heads west and north, serving apartments and the Geauga County Fairgrounds. But the worst appears to be one that serves the southern part of the village, where studies showed 65 percent of the infiltration is occurring.
That line, along South Cheshire, he said, may be able to be replaced or repaired and eliminate much of the infiltration.
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