Solon State Of The City Address: Kasich's Proposed Budget Hurts City, Schools

SOLON, OH - Mayor Susan Drucker delivered her State of the City address on March 7 at an event sponsored by the Solon Chamber of Commerce. During her speech, Drucker touted a "culture change within the city and city government."

During her opening remarks she said that she wants to build a culture of confidence in who the city is and what the city can be. She described 2016 as another successful year for Solon.

"We are a progressive city that puts an emphasis on business, education, and families," Drucker said. "We are all in this together."

Troubled Sites

Drucker then begins her speech proper by discussing some troubled sites throughout the city, including the Sear's and K-Mart site, Paco's Tacos, Tavern 91, and the former McDonald's site. She said she wanted to address those issues because they were the lone rough spots in the city.

"These sites do not define the work and success we've had in Solon this past year," she said.

She notes at the top of the discussion that the City of Solon does not own or control the various sites listed.

"If we did, I assure you they would not look the way they do, nor would they be vacant," she said.

Paco's Tacos, she said, was recently listed under a broker, which means the site is taking a step towards occupancy. The Tavern on 91 is a more troublesome site because it is zoned for a narrow range of uses and its high lease rates leave little room for profit. She says the owner of the property and the city have been discussing changing the zoning of the site.

The Sears/K-Mart site is one of Solon's primary redevelopment targets. However, K-Mart refuses to vacate its lease of the building and is continuing to pay monthly rent on the location. Drucker called the situation a "unique challenge."

She said that developers have made substantial offers for the Sear/K-Mart site but K-Mart has not budged. As long as K-Mart is paying its monthly rent, it retains the option of renewing its lease in 5-year options. The company can also refuse offers to redevelop the site. Drucker said she remains optimistic that a positive outcome will be achieved.

She added that the city has developed the Growth Revitalization Incentive Program (GRIP) to promote redevelopment, beautification, and growth. She said that many tired, old buildings have seen revisions under the program.

The Budget

The city's budget, approved by city council, is $43 million and designated $16 million for traffic and sewer improvements. The new budget comes after the city spent $36.5 million in 2016, down 7.5 percent from the projected $39.4 million.

Part of the reason for steep difference between projected expenditures and actual expenditures was the 2015 budget report. The city anticipated a 10 percent increase in expenditures between 2015 and 2016. The actual difference came in at 1.9 percent.

The city's general fund ended with a balance of $16 million, or 37.3 percent of expenditures. The city has also accumulated a separate $6.2 million in a budget stabilization fund. Drucker said she projects pushing that fund's savings to $6.7 million in 2017.

"We submitted a balanced budget that funds the city's priorities and preserves existing service levels," Drucker said. She added that the biggest change for this year's budget was implementation of a calendar-based budget, under the direction of the finance director.

She also took aim at Governor John Kasich's proposed state budget, saying it was "clear" that state provisions would impact municipalities. She specifically mentioned the loss of local government fund revenue, state takeover of local business income tax collection, elimination of the "throwback" rule provision, and a state level shift from income tax to sales tax.

"This takeover by the state could deprive Solon of administrative control of income tax collection and negatively impact the cash flow associated with business income tax receipts," she said.

She concludes by saying that impact assessments from the state indicate that Solon could lose $70,000 per year in local government funding from the state. She also says the proposed budget could damage Solon Schools.

The district's annual budget could be cut 13 percent because of the loss of the Tangible Personal Property (TPP) tax. Solon School District Treasurer Tim Pickana recently testified in front of a subcommittee in the Ohio House about the loss of funding and how it could devastate the district.

You can watch Drucer's full address below.

Photo from YouTube Screen Capture