The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
City not predicting ‘doom and gloom,’ according to mayor
The city of Amherst, hoping to close out the fiscal year with a healthy amount of financial cushion, is looking to stay financially strong through 2020 and 2021. Mayor Mark Costilow said since this year’s tax collection is reliant on last year’s wages, the real question is how severely income tax for the 2021 collection year will be impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. “There’s no prediction that it’s doom and gloom for Amherst,” he said. A considerable concern for the city, however, lies in a backup in utility payments, which could be as large as half a million dollars come next year, according to Costilow. “That’s where our biggest challenge is, is in utilities,” he said.
How city business changed
Costilow said as novel coronavirus precautions rose in March, the first changes to come to Amherst were to make sure city hall employees were transitioned into working from home as much as possible. “We can’t be out of the office all of the time, but we split it up so there’s only one of us in at a time,” he said. For the city’s labor employees, a smaller staff is working with limited contact to other crew members and the public, while others are on call, responding to emergencies and projects as they arise. “It’s been a challenge at times, but it’s working very well,” Costilow said. “The level of service hasn’t changed. We’re just trying to not enter as many houses as possible.” That includes working on water and electric meters, he said. A normal work schedule for city hall employees could resume this month, with the building still not open to the public for the time being, according to Costilow.
Finances
With the city’s bigger expenditures, like police cruisers and electric and street trucks, already purchased, Costilow said the city is looking strong and is capable of pulling from different funds to make up for any losses. Since these expenditures have already been made, the city will be avoiding any other ones for now. “One big change is that we’re trying to cut back on big expenses,” Costilow said. That includes water line replacement projects, which are able to wait a few years. Costilow said since the city has a balance of box stores, industry and residential population, Amherst hasn’t felt the full effects of COVID-19 on business quite yet. “I would consider us pretty similar to a 401(k) account or a stock market, or a mutual fund account,” Costilow said. “We have resources in a lot of different places ... We’ve got a little bit of everything, so it’s helping our revenue stream.” Having those resources will help the city prepare for a shortfall in utility revenue, he said. Since utility bills largely pay for the salary of Amherst’s utility crew, he said having additional funds elsewhere will help with those expenditures. “I think we’ve got a healthy balance in the tax collection fund that would be transferred to the general fund,” Costilow said. “I don’t see a lot changing, as far as service goes or how the city is running.” While other surrounding communities are seeing decreases in utility usage, Costilow said Amherst is only down about 1 percent, a number he hopes stays consistent. He said finances may get tight come 2022, but estimating that far out is difficult.
Road projects
Costilow said the annual road rehabilitation program will continue for this year, with the city also securing funds from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Ohio Public Works Commission for other projects. He said for this year’s road program, around $830,000 will be used to rehabilitate four streets including Beverly Drive and West Street. Costilow said the city already has those funds in its street rehabilitation fund. For the Public Works Commission project, he said it will include North and South Main streets. The city has received about $400,000 in grants and loans for the million dollar project. The road project, however, will be a project for next year. “This gives us the opportunity to put off until next year and give more time for engineering and bidding,” Costilow said. “We can bid it at a better time of the year.”