Next year's Elyria budget uncertain as pandemic takes its toll on income

ELYRIA — Elyria's budget preparation for 2021 is challenging — with the city seeing a $1.6 million drop in tax revenue for May and June. At Monday's City Council Finance Committee meeting, Finance Director Ted Pileski presented the tax budget, which is the start of the city's estimated resources for next year. His preparation does not include any revenue raised from Issue 6 as the levy expires in 2021 and has not been renewed. Pileski said there are too many unknowns to really know what revenues will look like in 2021 given the COVID-19 pandemic. In May and June, Elyria was down in revenue $800,000 each month compared with last year. Pileski estimated next year's budget conservatively, and it shows the city going into the negative, which he said city officials cannot allow to happen. "For this exercise, I'm just showing what could happen if revenue is lower than what it has been and we don't do anything about it as far as cutting down expenses," he said. "So, you end up with a negative balance. ... Let's just hope that income tax revenues start to rebound. We've taken a hit because of COVID." Every year, the city has to begin to prepare the tax budget to be submitted to the Lorain County Budget Commission. It will be changed at the end of this year and amended again next year. When Pileski begins to work on the 2022 tax budget, he'll also have to factor in the loss of the relocating Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, which is estimated to bring an over $1 million loss to the city. With Issue 6 expiring next year, the Finance Committee voted in favor to place it back on the ballot in November. It will have to approved by full City Council in July. Issue 6 is a 0.5 percent income tax voters originally approved in 2016. Councilman Mark Jessie, D-3rd Ward, said Council members are confident that they'll be able to pass the issue even with the pandemic's effect on the economy. How the money will be parceled out among departments will be figured out over the summer and into the fall, he said. The ballot language will remain the same as it was in 2016. Contact Laina Yost at (440) 329-7121 or lyost@chroniclet.com.