MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon City Council members approved nearly $70 million in appropriations for 2024. 2023 appropriations were $61.9 million.

The 2024 general fund accounts for $13.756 million.

“Overall, this is probably the largest amount the city ever had at this point,” City Auditor Terry Scott told Knox Pages on Friday. “The global workforce is working and doing very well in regard to jobs and income coming in from withholding.

“Business profits are doing well, and employees are doing well. I think our employment strength is pretty good,” he added.

Scott noted that regarding the workforce, the question is, do we have more people employed than before, or is it essentially the same number employed, but they are making more income?

“It could be a mix of both,” he said.

Mount Vernon council adopts $56M appropriations bill

by Cheryl SplainFebruary 15, 2024

Highlights of the $13.75M general fund appropriations are capital improvements, roads and bridges, and personnel.

Capital improvement appropriations: $2.93M

Public Buildings & Lands

•$831,297 toward the courthouse/annex/police station

•$392,100 replace roof CA&C Depot

•$447,100 replace roof B&O Depot

•$800,000 salt barn

•$15,000 Memorial Park year-round restroom at Harmony Park (combines with DD and Knox County Foundation donations)

Urban improvement

•$3,927.69 landscaping

Equipment

•$50,000 computer networking system for engineering. “With all of the GIS work that we have been doing and data storing up, we need to update the system,” Scott said.

•$37,500 surveying equipment for engineering

•$25,000 upgrade capital assets software for auditor’s office (current software is 27 years old)

•$35,000 truck for property maintenance officer

•$40,000 security system upgrades throughout city parks

•$150,000 activity center parks (agility workstations)

•$20,000 Shellmar Park improvements

•$146,000 dump truck w/snow plow package for street department

•$57,500 mini excavator and trailer for streets

•$98,000 leaf machine vacuum for streets

•$19,000 walk-behind paint machine for line striping for streets

•$40,000 tractor/mower for streets

•$32,000 grouting/tuck pointing chapel at Mound View Cemetery

•$18,000 mower for cemetery

•$18,000 mower lift for cemetery

•$18,000 video surveillance equipment for cemetery

•$15,000 replace siding on cemetery annex building

•$26,000 interior renovations cemetery chapel/flooring

Roads & Bridges appropriations: $3.584M

Asphalt: $3,049,246

•$250,000 land acquisition for Sandusky Street corridor

•$271,000 land acquisition for Mansfield Avenue project

•$30,000 ODOT bill due for paving Ohio 3 North two years ago

$230,546 splash pad Riverside Park

•$20,000 retaining wall improvements North Main/East Chestnut (possibly offset by money from urban improvement)

•$200,000 CA&C driveway realignment & resurfacing

•$167,700 Clintonville neighborhood Phase 3 street paving

•$25,000 citywide sidewalks

•$619,000 Mansfield Avenue project

•$500,000 paving (list of streets not yet finalized)

•$200,000 paving Mound View Cemetery

•$500,000 sidewalks State Route 586

Brick streets: $285,000

$35,000 2 blocks Catherine Street (combined with CDBG grant & water, wastewater, stormwater funds)

•$250,000 brick street pothole rehabilitation program

Debt service: $215,000

Personnel

2024 appropriations include compensation for nine new positions and filling one vacant position.

New positions: $500,960

•HR generalist $65,000

•Zoning code enforcement officer $75,000

•GIS technician #2 (engineering) $53,000

•2 park technicians, $45,240 each (union)

•Cross-trained employee cemetery/streets $45,240 (union)

•Operations & Maintenance tech streets $45,240 (union)

•Auditor assistant estimate $52,000

Vacant

•Assistant fire chief $75,000

The HR generalist position sparked discussion at council’s Feb. 12 meeting.

Councilwoman Amber Keener offered an amendment to the appropriations bill that removed the position. Her intent was to bring the position back to council at a later time.

Safety-service Director Tanner Salyers noted the HR department was created within the past two years. The city has since combined civil service with HR, trying to provide modern city services and be a competitive employer.

“This is not the way to do that,” he said of removing the generalist position. “We are overburdening HR. … We do not have the resources to make that department efficient.

“By combining those two departments and reducing an employee, and potentially saying all of the work that two individuals were doing now one should do with no help, you run the risk of running off the HR director, who is already underpaid.”

Council adopted the appropriations bill with the HR generalist position intact.

Ordinances for the HR generalist and assistant fire chief positions will come before council members at their Feb. 26 meeting. An ordinance amending the number of employees in the public works and engineering departments reflecting the new positions is also on the agenda.

by Cheryl Splain February 25, 2024