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STEUBENVILLE -- Jefferson County government is feeling the same pressure from rising inflation, fuel prices and health care costs as the general public is grappling with.
After Thursday's meeting, commissioners said the budget for the 2027 fiscal year is, in a word, going to be "tight."
"All we're doing right now is listening to how much they need, what they want and what we are going to be able to give them," Commissioner Jake Kleineke said.
The current budget forecast shows what could be a $6 million gap between estimated 2027 revenues and departmental requests, but Auditor E.J. Conn said the forecast doesn't take into account any carryover funds from the 2026 budget year. While they traditionally have a carryover, how big it will be this year remains to be seen.
"We do expect a carryover from 2026," Conn said. "However, it will not be as (big) as it has been in years past. Inflation is a big part of the problem, both in terms of employee costs and costs of goods and services. Unfortunately, revenues are not keeping up with (the) increased costs."
Commissioner Jake Kleineke chalks much of the fiscal consternation up to health care costs: While the county's health coverage is self-funded, Conn said Jefferson Health Plan recommended they look at increasing funding for it by 23 percent or tweak their coverage options.
"Inflation is (crushing) our budget," Kleineke said, pointing out, "We have a lot of departments...that haven't replaced people that have left."
"It's hard to look for places to cut. We do know what real costs are for year-to-year and how close we are to the appropriate amount from last year, so we're close and thus far our department (heads) are working with us."
Conn said they've been meeting with department heads, "making them aware of the county's financial situation heading into 2027 and advising them to plan and adjust accordingly."
"The health insurance committee is meeting Oct. 27 to discuss potential funding level adjustments and/or plan design adjustments," Conn said. "We are part of a self-funded plan so those decisions are essentially up to the county and has yet to be discussed amongst the health insurance committee members so (no recommendation) has been made. That recommendation will occur sometime after the meeting on the 27th."
Meanwhile, an executive session–a late addition to the meeting agenda–yielded a long-awaited agreement to hire outside counsel, Mike Simon of Frankovitch, Anetakis, Simon, Decapio & Pearl LLP--to advise them how to proceed with regard to a waterline relocation completed six months ago by a contractor with no commission vote, no contract and no work order to make it official. Conn said since proper procedures weren't followed, he cannot pay any of the nearly $265,000 in invoices submitted for the project--all but about $20,000 of it owed to the general contractor, Border Patrol--without a directive from the court.
Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese in August had given commissioners the go-ahead to secure legal advice from outside counsel since the prosecutor's office must advise the water department and thus cannot also counsel commissioners.
The independent counsel will have “full authority" to investigate and evaluate the circumstances and chain of events "leading to, related to, connected to and/or subsequent to a disputed expenditure that the Board of Commissioners…has determined was not properly authorized," Assistant Prosecutor Shawn Blake said.
In other matters:
*Commissioner Eric Timmons was reappointed as the county's designee for the 2027 Ohio Public Works Commission program, giving him the authority to sign all documents for OPWC-funded projects in the new year
They also signed off on a cooperative agreement with Wayne, Island Creek and Wells township trustees for a joint 2027 OPWC grant application for road repairs and resurfacing, Engineer Eric Hilty said
*Signed an OPWC Capital Improvement Program application for funding for Phase 1 of the Amsterdam water system replacement project and the Hammondsville Tank feed line
*Were notified the tax incentive review council had voted to continue the 100% Made in the USA Bully Tools tax abatement
*Authorized Cattrell Companies to provide labor, material, equipment and supervision for a new coil and compressor for the HVAC system and Jobs & Family Services building on S. 5th Street. The Toronto company quoted a price of $55,700 for the work, the lowest price of the two companies interested in the job.