Uniontown doesn’t adopt 2018 budget, doesn’t plan to until next year
UNIONTOWN — A special meeting marked by confusion and heated disagreements resulted in city council declining to adopt a 2018 budget and subsequently declining to adopt tax levies and salaries for city employees, with plans instead to work off of the city’s 2017 budget until it adopts a 2018 budget in the new year.
The proposed budget, which outgoing Councilman Jared Billy said was “lean,” would have held the line on taxes at 12.235 mills, or $122.35 for each $10,000 in assessed value for properties in the city.
But a resolution on council’s agenda to adopt the budget failed to pass in a 2-2 vote, with Billy and council member Blair Jones voting for adoption and Mayor Bernie Kasievich and council member Ron Metros voting against it.
Kasievich said he had looked at the budget “more carefully” in the past several days and was “not 100 percent satisfied” with it, advocating for including more items in the budget for capital improvements.
Kasievich said he had reached out to learn more about the city’s financial status from the accounting firm McClure & Wolf, saying that the city’s fund balance had increased over a 10-year period while its debt had decreased.
“There’s a little bit of meat on the bone,” Kasievich said, noting equipment and labor problems that city public works director Phil Mahoney had brought to council’s attention. “There’s some things we can look at here to help the infrastructure in the city … We need to take a careful, better look at this budget.”
“My concern is where are we going here? Where is some money in here for our comprehensive plan?” Kasievich asked.
The city’s comprehensive plan was last updated in 2003, and council in June authorized advertising for bids to update the plan.
“There’s no budget for (the plan),” Metros said. “There needs (to be) some tweaking on the budget.”
Billy blasted council members for opposing adoption of the budget after having introduced it last month.
“Where were you guys at?” said Billy, the city’s director of accounts and finance. “Why are you waiting till the very last meeting when we have already advertised (the budget)? You know what you guys have just shown? You voted on something and you didn’t read it … You guys are incompetent.”
“Late is better than never,” Kasievich replied. He said he noticed changes he wanted to see made in the budget earlier this month.
Kasievich said that the 2018 budget excluded a “money-making” line item for a city employee that he wasn’t notified about. Billy said that employee was a management consultant who empties parking meters for $22.50 an hour.
“You tell me how that’s cost-effective,” Billy said, adding after the meeting that he had eliminated line items for a “consultant” and “management consultant.”
He said council should be consulting solicitors instead.
Solicitor J.W. Eddy told council they couldn’t amend the budget during the meeting.
“You have to amend it, then introduce it as amended and then vote on it seven days later at least,” Eddy said.
If “substantial” amendments are made in the proposed ordinance, council must re-advertise in one newspaper of general circulation a brief summary of amendments within 10 days before voting upon the enactment, according to the third-class city code.
Without adopting a budget, Eddy advised council against adopting a real estate tax rate or city employee salaries.
Billy told Kasievich and Metros it seemed neither knew the contents of the budget.
“You guys are an embarrassment,” Billy said, saying he was glad that former mayor Ed Fike and city redevelopment authority board member Martin Gatti are joining council next month.
Billy and Metros are slated to leave council at the end of the year.