ThisWeek CW 12/3/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/11/30/canal-winchester-and-groveport-cities-anticipate-more-revenue-and-spending-in-2016-budgets.html

Canal Winchester and Groveport officials are preparing for the new year by approving appropriation budgets for 2016.

Both cities anticipate larger revenue totals for 2016 and have put budgets in place that take advantage of the additional money to invest back into city projects and programs.

Ohio law requires that municipalities maintain a balanced budget with estimated expenditures equaling anticipated revenue.

Canal Winchester

Canal Winchester City Council is considering a hike of about 9 percent in general fund appropriations for 2016, increasing potential spending to $6,872,935 over the 2015 estimate of $6,227,750.

As in previous years, the two largest expenses are for staff salaries and benefits and debt payments, according to Finance Director Amanda Jackson.

She said the city will need to make adjustments because of municipal tax changes associated with House Bill 5. Legislators said the new law would simplify municipal income tax codes, but local officials — including Jackson — said revenue totals will likely decrease as the changes go into effect.

Groveport

Similarly, Groveport City Administrator Marsha Hall said revenue in her city is up by almost 35 percent this year, in large part due to a number of new businesses in the community. However, as with Canal Winchester, Groveport is estimating future revenue conservatively in anticipation of the HB 5-related changes.

The changes to the income tax code take effect next year, which means officials in both Canal Winchester and Groveport expect to see cuts in revenue in 2017.

“In general, yes, revenues are up by about 35 percent this year, although we are estimating 2016 revenue very conservatively,” Hall said.

“While the budget shows our expenses to be higher, they’re actually lower this year, but we are required to have a balanced budget so our contingency line items are larger to make up for that.”

The approved 2016 general fund appropriations for Groveport are $16,051,331, which is about $500,000 more than the approved $15,540,239 general fund appropriations in 2015.

One new addition to the appropriations in Groveport is for transportation services associated with the Groveport Rickenbacker Employee Access Transit system. Total anticipated expenditures for that program in 2016 will be $120,008, according to Groveport’s approved budget.

The GREAT program started operations in September. It is jointly funded by Groveport and Obetz, with support from the Central Ohio Transit Authority and local businesses to provide a public transportation option for people who work in businesses at Rickenbacker-area companies by bridging the gap between existing COTA stops and the industrial warehouse buildings where they work.