Toledo's finances in good shape, members of council are told

Toledo’s finances so far this year are in good shape, according to city officials who appeared before a Toledo City Council committee on Thursday.

Melanie Campbell, interim finance director, and John Zawisza, commissioner of taxation, provided a report to the Finance, Debt & Budget Oversight Committee on the city’s finances through the month of June.

Income tax collections for 2024 through the month of June total approximately $104.1 million for the general fund, compared to $98.8 million through the same period last year.

For the road improvement fund, income tax collections total approximately $11.4 million through June this year, compared to $10.8 million through June, 2023. Total collections through June are about $115.5 million.

“We expected this year that withholding in the individual categories would be up, and business and profits would be down. That’s the pattern being followed,” Mr. Zawisza said. “Last November when we estimated the budget would be at $226.4 million for this year, we now see it is estimated to be a little over $228 million. We’re within 1 percent of where we thought we’d be with the budget.”

Councilman George Sarantou, chairman of the committee, was pleased by the numbers.

“The city is doing good right now,” Mr. Sarantou said.

He expressed concerns, though, about the end of American Rescue Plan Act funds that financed various needs in the city.

In 2022, the federal government allocated millions of dollars to state and local governments across the country in response to the unmet needs of residents impacted by the pandemic. Toledo received a one time payment of $180 million. There is currently a $5 million balance in the fund, which must be used by the end of the year.

“Next year, we won’t have the ARPA money, so we’re going to have to carefully look at our budgets for 2025,” Mr. Sarantou said.

Those vying for the remaining ARPA funds spoke in the second half of the meeting and explained their need for the monies.

Family House, a facility at 669 Indiana Ave. that serves homeless families, is seeking money for a variety of needs, mostly repairs to the 100-year-old building that is leased from the city.

“We need updated plumbing, a new roof, an HVAC system, and more,” said Mary Beth Alberti, executive director of Family House.

The building has 111 beds and serves three meals per day, she said.

Metroparks Toledo is requesting $3 million for a seawall at the Glass City Metropark.

The International Park side of the seawall will cost up to $25 million, said Matt Killam, chief of outreach for the Metroparks.

“We’ve already done $25 million of seawall work on the west side and will do another $25 million on the east side,” said Richard Hylant, chairman of the Metroparks foundation.

Joe Fausnaugh, director of parks, recreation, and youth services for Toledo, wants $1 million to renovate Savage Park, including the installation of a new splash pad. Other improvements include a large open-air shelter, playground improvements, and upgrades to the baseball field. He applied for a $1 million federal grant that requires a local match.

“We don’t know if we’re going to get the grant. We have capital improvement dollars and a CDBG allocation to cover that match right now. But if we don’t get the grant, we don’t want the community to go without a new splash pad. That’s why we’re asking for the ARPA funds to guarantee we can do the splash pad regardless of whether we get the grant,” he said.

Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has recommended $3.25 million in ARPA funding to go toward improvements to various senior and community centers for needed repairs, such as new rooftops, electrical improvements, parking lots, HVAC, plumbing, site foundations, landscaping, painting, furniture, windows and more, said Toledo’s public service director, Megan Robson.

“We did a feasibility study. We hired a company to go in to all our senior and community centers to see what improvements we could do to keep people safe. The administration’s recommendations were based on that feasibility study,” she said.

Other groups seeking ARPA funds include the Area Office on Aging and the East Toledo Family Center.