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Lakemore works its way back to financial health
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: November 1, 2012
Tucked away in the southeastern part of Summit County in the center of Springfield Township, the small village of Lakemore is beginning to bounce back after being hard hit by the downturn and losing one of its major sources of tax revenue at the same time.
“We rely on tax revenue from businesses to survive,” said Mayor Richard Justice, who took office on Jan. 1. “Since the 1920’s one of the main industries in the village was the former Edwin Shaw Hospital. When the hospital closed in late 2009, it had a huge impact since about 40 percent of our revenue came from there.
“The other factor was that our general fund had a $1.3 million deficit,” said Justice.
“During the Edwin Shaw years, cash flow was not a problem, but once we lost the hospital the combination put us over the edge.”
As a result, the mayor said the state of Ohio declared a fiscal emergency in the village, Aug. 31, 2010, requiring officials to come up with a six-year plan that would eliminate the deficit.
Justice said over the last three years, the village has cut more than $650,000 in operational expenses, representing a 40 percent difference from the 2008 general fund.
“We have been holding off on spending period,” said Interim Fiscal Officer Tracy Fast, who has held the spot since Oct. 1. “We have made a few improvements to our infrastructure, and we have reorganized our staff to reduce costs.”
Fast said a financial planning and supervision commission meets monthly to review the village’s expenses and make sure it is on track for recovery as required by the state.
In 2010, the village entered into a contract with Springfield Township to share police services, which the mayor said has saved about $350,000 a year.
Last year, the village leased its boat launch to Lakeside Scoops, which added a new snack bar.
“The company takes care of the park, helping to save us money on maintenance and we receive a small portion of the profits,” said Justice.
In addition, the mayor and council voted to change the tax credit structure, requiring those who work outside the village to contribute one percent more in income tax.
“It used to be that if a resident paid income tax to another city, we would give him or her a 100 percent tax credit, now it has been reduced to a 50 percent tax credit,” said Justice. “A lot of cities have done that. Our goal is to return to a 100 percent tax credit once we get out of fiscal emergency and have a stable cash flow again.”
The fiscal emergency has allowed the village to secure funding for several projects, including a Brownfield grant for approximately $50,000 to cleanup and do asbestos remediation on the former Edwin Shaw property on Flickinger Road.
Akron General Health System had been leasing the former tuberculosis unit from Summit County since 2005. The rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility treated patients recovering from strokes, traumas, joint-replacement surgeries and other problems. In December 2009, the hospital moved its operation to Cuyahoga Falls.
“The grant will help attract an end-user to the facility. We have two interested prospects for the property,” said Justice.
The village also received about $147,000 in non-matching Moving Ohio Forward dollars that it will use to help eliminate abandoned and blighted properties.
“We are taking a close look at our zoning code to help us improve our housing stock,” said Justice. “We want to guard against slumlords who come in and buy properties and do not take care of them, and encourage more families to move in who will take care of their homes.
“When the village was first created it was a vacation resort. It had an amusement park and a lot of well-known bands would perform here,” said Justice.
“A lot of the homes were summer cottages but after the depression we became more of a residential community, and some of those homes became permanent residences. This created a bit of a problem in terms of planning and infrastructure.”
Things are looking up for the village, with several new businesses choosing it to set up their operations.
A large Dollar General will soon open on Canton Road as a result of joint efforts between Lakemore and Springfield Township.
Tractor Supply Co. is renovating a building on Canton Road that it will use for its new operation and Kellbran Candies & Snacks has just opened up in the village’s small industrial park on East Waterloo Road.
“We have created a community reinvestment area (CRA), which allows those who improve their property to receive a tax reduction for the improvements,” said Justice.
Fast, who grew up in Lakemore, said despite the fiscal problems, there has been an influx of new residents as a result of several new housing developments.
“Over the last 10 years,” said Fast “we’ve had three developments go up, which has increased the population a bit,” which now stands at about 3,080.
Lakemore students, who are part of the Springfield Township School District, will soon have a brand new junior/senior high school campus that will replace the existing buildings.
The $42 million construction project got underway last year and is expected to be ready in time for the 2013-2014 school year.
“The school is also going to help a lot with tax revenue since there will be a lot of teachers and other staff employed,” said Justice.
The village is working on a hike-and-bike trail with Springfield Township that will run from the lakefront to the new high school to Waterworks Park.
“Our first goal is to get out of fiscal emergency, but we also want to improve our neighborhoods, infrastructure and recreational facilities so that more people take advantage of our lake and our parks,” said Justice, who grew up in Springfield Township and is now raising his family in Lakemore.
“We want to revitalize and improve our entire village and I think we are on the right track,” said Fast.