Dec. 11—GENEVA — A lengthy budget process concluded Monday evening as city council voted to approve the 2025 budget.
The process began with city administrators meeting department heads, followed by November hearings.
The budget was passed by emergency Monday evening, so there would be time for the measure to go into affect by the first of the year.
Three council members — Robert Rosebrugh, William Baker and John Travis — expressed concern about running budget deficit, and said they would likely not vote for a similar budget for 2026.
Geneva City Manager Joseph Varckette said the city works hard to keep expenditures under control, and needs to continue working on increasing revenues. He said increasing joint economic development district agreements and employment are keys to making that happen.
Varckette said the budget has built-in contingencies in case unforeseen situations arise throughout the year.
He said for the last several years, the city has ended the year with a balanced budget.
“The only thing is, we are spending more than we are bringing in,” Rosebrugh said. “This has to stop.”
Travis added, “Next year I won’t vote for the [deficit] budget.”
Councilman Jeff Griffiths asked Rosebrugh if he had any ideas to control the budget.
“If I had the answers, I’d be setting in Joe’s seat,” Rosebrugh said.
A resolution regarding an amendment to a water usage agreement with Ashtabula County was tabled Monday evening, as city officials found some wording in the agreement that concerned them. Another issue slipped through the cracks and wasn’t discussed, City Solicitor Gary Pasqualone said.
Pasqualone said percentages of cost to be paid for by Geneva for water projects have been agreed upon, and the city hopes to approve the final agreement soon.
Negotiations have been ongoing for several years, after a 2006 contract was interpreted in a way that the city would have paid a large portion of the cost of a water tower being constructed in Harpersfield Township.
Council approved a sub-grant recipient agreement with Eastgate Regional Council of Governments to get the downtown streetscape program rolling. The projects are to be paid through the Appalachian Community Grant Program.
“Executing the agreement will enable us to move forward with our planner, CT Consultants, for surveying, engineering and landscape architecture,” Varckette said.
Varckette said the West Main Street infrastructure project has seen significant progress over the last several weeks, slowed only slightly by the recent snowstorm. He said the base asphalt work on the north side of West Main, from Lockwood to Eagle streets, could start as early as today.
Varckette thanked city workers for their cooperative effort in handling the snow emergency Thanksgiving weekend. He thanked the Ohio Department of Transportation for providing three or four trucks for several days to open main arteries in the city.
Council approved a resolution opting not to have a public hearing on the liquor license exchange from Luisia Mexican Grill to Pueblo Real.