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Primarily serving Pataskala and surrounding areas
July 10, 2011
Pataskala
Council approves financial forecast By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers Pataskala City Council approved a five-year financial forecast July 5 that reflected improvements in the 2010 general-fund balance over 2009, but that also projects declining revenues through 2015, due to changes in state funding for local governments. Finance director Jason Carr told the council finance committee that Pataskala is using a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) format, rather than the traditional cash-basis format.
“This is the second year we have done the CAFR,” Carr said. “The CAFR has more information about what we have done in the past and what we are doing in the future, and it has statistical information that can be used to measure yourself against other entities.” General-fund revenues were $1.94 million in 2010, an increase of $186,000 over 2009 revenues, while general-fund expenditures were $1.45 million in 2010, an increase of $159,000 over 2009 expenditures. The general-fund balance increased 40 percent, to a total of $485,000.
Online To read Pataskala’s recently completed financial report, visit www.ThisWeekNews.com.
The total general-fund balance is projected to steadily decline during the period of the forecast, decreasing from $1.19 million in 2012 to $372,000 in 2016. Revenues would fall to $1.58 million in 2015, while expenses would increase to $1.6 million.
The general-fund balance is particularly affected by balloon debt-service payments that are approximately $150,000 annually, but $450,000 in 2014. Carr said the income tax is projected to bring in $3.2 million in 2011, including $1.5 million paid by residents, $1.6 million collected in employer withholdings and $100,000 for business net profits. Carr said mayor’s court fine revenues were an important part of the budget. “If it were not for mayor’s court and the projections we have and the dollars the court has brought in, we would be
in a significantly worse financial position in the general fund than what we are now, based on the cuts to the Local Government Fund, based upon cuts to the estate tax and based on cuts to tangible personal-property reimbursement,” Carr said. In addition to the general fund, other major funds include the street fund, the water fund and the police fund. The police fund reflects expenditures of approximately $1.6 million annually, the street fund is projected at $1.1 million See COUNCIL, page A2
Treasurer HIGH-FIVES wants to be accessible for county residents By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers After more than 25 years of working in the private sector, Licking County treasurer Scott Ryan is settling into his first political role. He was appointed by the Licking County Republican Party to the position in January after former treasurer Mike Smith was elected county auditor in November. “I just want to convey that tone, that I know we are here to serve people, rather than be the heavy hammer of government,” Ryan said. To that end, Ryan is extending treasurer’s office hours in Newark, 20 S. 2nd St., from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each weekday from Thursday, July 14, to Wednesday, July 20, and adding Saturday office hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 16 to accommodate in-person payments for property taxes in the final week Scott Ryan of collections. “I realize just how busy we all are and really want to help in a small way by making our property taxes more convenient to pay,” Ryan said. The Pataskala office hours will remain the same, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Residents also may pay by mail or online at www.lcounty.com/treasurer. The treasurer’s office is relatively administrative in relation to most elected offices, with the primary duties being to collect and pay bills, maintain funds in secure accounts and serve on the board of revisions and the budget commission. Tax rates and valuations are handled in other offices. Despite the limited ability to affect policy and valuation decisions, Ryan said, he hopes to make what changes he can. For online payments to the treasurer’s office, Ryan recently negotiated a third-party credit-card convenience fee reduction from 3 percent of the payment value to 2.75 percent. The office also has added an online electronic-check service for a flat fee of $1.95 per transaction. See TREASURER, page A2
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Lakewood Ours Wrecking coaches Cory Furbee and Chris Middlemus (right) congratulate their players during the 67th annual Licking County Shrine Tournament on July 5. Ours Wrecking defeated North Newark Bloomberg Eye Center 10-9 in the consolation game of the Farm Division, which is for 9- and 10-year-olds. To view a slideshow from the tournament, visit ThisWeekNews.com.
Licking Heights
School board approves bus purchases By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers The Licking Heights school board met July 7 and approved the purchase of two buses at a cost of $78,000 each. The board also moved a guidance counselor position from purchased services to staff. Acting Superintendent Nelson McCray said the used-bus market was expensive relative to the price of new buses. “Used buses that have 50,000 miles on them, they still wanted $60,000 for them,” McCray said. Board member Richard Wand said the district had been paying the same price of $78,000 for several bus purchases.
“I think the last six or eight buses we’ve purchased at this price,” Wand said. Treasurer Jennifer Vanover said the price was reasonable. “Apart from special handicapped bus, which was around $90,000, this is a pretty good price,” she said. Vanover said the buses should be delivered by August. In other business, the board approved a staff position for a guidance counselor whose previous contract was with The Woodlands, a social services agency in Licking County. Vanover said guidance counselor Lavonne King had been serving for the past four years in a guidance function for the district as an employee of
The Woodlands, but her contract with the Woodlands was ending. The board approved King as guidance counselor at West Elementary School for one year at a salary of $37,936. Wand asked the administration to review the guidance counselor job descriptions to ensure that the description matched the expected duties. Also, building and grounds superintendent Allen Rogers reported on summer construction activities. “We’re moving forward with utilities over at West (Elementary),” Rogers said. Bids for construction on the West Elementary expansion are expected to go out July 23, Rogers said. www.ThisWeekNews.com
State report cards
Licking Heights receives encouraging preliminary scores By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers According to preliminary scores released by the Ohio Department of Education, the Licking Heights school district expects good news when final state report cards for 2010-11 are released in August. The ODE has not yet released value-added measures for all districts in the state.
Licking Heights’ preliminary rating was “effective” and it met 24 out of 26 indicators on the report card, according to information from the district. The report card is a complex mixture of state and federal standards that involves both absolute test performance at eight different grade levels in reading, writing, math, science and social studies, and additional requirements for “adequate yearly progress,”
or AYP, under the federal No Child Left Behind law. AYP is measured by various ethnic and economic demographics and special education. The report card is increasingly difficult to satisfy each year, because it assumes that at the end of a 10-year period, 100 percent of students will be proficient in the subjects tested. Jack Fette, curriculum director at
Licking Heights High School, said the preliminary data suggested that the district would meet AYP in special education, which is a difficult task. “The data is definitely up this year at the high school and the middle school,” Fette said. “The eighth-grade science indicator looks like it will be met for the first time ever. There might be a couple areas where we dipped, but I think we improved in maybe 18 of 26
areas, and in the other areas, it was the same performance.” At the 10th-grade level, Licking Heights exceeded 80 percent of students meeting the minimum requirement, with a high of 96.7 percent in writing. The minimum performance level for meeting a state standard in each subject is 75 percent. www.ThisWeekNews.com
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