Hiram – Despite a projected 10 percent shortfall in revenues from last year, Mayor Lou Bertrand gave a confident State of Hiram Village 2010 address during the 104th meeting of Hiram Village Council after the turn of the year.
“I again report that Hiram Village government is in stable financial condition, operating in an efficient manner and providing good service to the public, our citizens, businesses, students, staff, administration and faculty of Hiram College,” he stated in his introduction. However, due to the anticipated 10 percent budget reduction this year, Village department heads will not receive pay raises in 2010. The wage freeze is just one cost-control measure Hiram must implement in order to offset revenue reductions from state and federal governments, as well as dramatic decreases in construction-related income.
Other cost-control measures under consideration include forming a joint water and sewer district, led collectively by municipal governments in Portage County, as well as county government. Mayor Bertrand said, “It makes no sense that an area that has almost 20 percent of the world’s fresh water reserves has some of the highest water and sewer rates... even compared to arid regions like Arizona.” He called together a meeting among mayors from Garrettsville, Windham and Mantua earlier this week to discuss the proposal. Meanwhile, the fire department and emergency medical services contract for Hiram Township expired on December 30, 2009. As a new option, Bertrand proposed forming a joint fire and EMS district with either Hiram Township or “with a suitable nearby existing district” in which both entities share burdens and resources to provide reliable, economically-efficient services.
In a related matter, the old Hiram firehouse has returned to Village possession. Mayor Bertrand suggested that Hiram government and citizens should determine the property’s best use during forthcoming council meetings (which occur every second Tuesday of the month, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Rosser Municipal Building).
The Village is currently taking bids for a $145,000 (plus an additional 15 percent) East Hill storm sewer project, through the auspices of the Akron Metropolitan Transit System (AMATS). Costs to the Village will be less than $6,000.
Hiram will apply for an additional $300,000 AMATS grant for sidewalk repair, extension and improvement throughout the Village along state routes in order to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The proposed $82,000 Community Block Grant for EPA studies regarding removal of asbestos from the old Hiram school and the building’s eventual demolition has been increased to $113,000, thanks to additional available funds. The asbestos studies are starting this month.
In cooperation with Hiram College, the Village had applied for federal and state infrastructure funds to complete roadway construction from Winrock Road to Hinsdale Road. However, the grant request “was excised from the budget in the House-Senate Conference Committee and not signed into law,” Bertrand reported. Consequently, the Village and college are now pursuing grant money for the project from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
Despite the recession, the undergraduate enrollment at Hiram College has increased by 50 percent over the past five years, with a current student body of 1,100 – the largest student body since the 1970s.
The college’s swollen enrollment allowed for the construction of new townhouses for student housing and a 19,000-square-foot dining hall, both dedicated last August. Earlier last summer, the $1.1 million Garfield Institute for Public Leadership building was dedicated on the Hiram College campus, celebrating the relocation, renovation and restoration of the historic Congregational Church from Mecca.
Unfortunately, now that these construction projects are completed, the Village is no longer enjoying the corresponding construction-related revenues.
In a phone interview earlier this week, Mayor Bertrand summed up his view on the Village’s budget constraints: “We need to use some imagination in order to get our economy going again. We cannot rely on government to do it. The government does not create jobs. Small business and creative thinking are our best bet. We can’t just rest on our laurels and expect good things to happen.”
