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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Toledo Finance Committee Meeting - May 27, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, May 27, 2026

BodyToledo, Ohio

SessionCity Council

DateWednesday, May 27, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:04:36

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:01

Then a water service disconnect door tag is left.

0:07

Then um we encourage the customer to either make a payment or to sign up for um payment a pipe payment plan, then the service um if it's if they do not pay or sign up for a payment plan, the service is disconnected.

0:29

If they when they pay, the service is restored within 48 hours of payments.

0:35

So what is your estimate from the time they're notified that they are delinquent and the time if they do not respond to anything?

0:45

Four weeks, six weeks before the water is cut off.

0:50

Um from the point of final notice, um, it would be approximately commissioner, go ahead.

1:00

Okay, yeah.

1:01

From the time they get that notice on the door, it's approximately two weeks before it's cut off.

1:06

But prior to that, they're receiving plenty of notice through on their bill regularly that they're.

1:11

So how long is it before from the time they're mailed a bill that says they're delayed with and the time you put the first door hanger on or how much time is elapsed?

1:22

Do you think?

1:25

For like what makes this difficult is because these are accounts that are significantly delinquent, so they've been receiving notice on the bill.

1:34

Okay.

1:34

Um, but they've gotten several notices.

1:37

Several notices.

1:38

Okay.

1:39

Now, do we reach out to them?

1:40

Do we call them or anything like that, or or is it just strictly the notices through the mail and the door hangers?

1:47

So for the um hundred or so that we discussed during our hearing earlier this month, um, they will be receiving text messages as well as emails.

2:02

For sure.

2:02

Okay, thank you.

2:03

Uh council person jobs.

2:06

Thank you.

2:08

And thank you for your report.

2:10

Um, and maybe this is to jog my memory, but um when we uh since you're taking a phased approach at this, what priority are are we looking at first?

2:24

Is it like the amount due?

2:26

So the highest are gonna be turned off first.

2:29

Is it are we going via neighborhood?

2:31

Are we going the longest not paid?

2:34

Like what is our what is our first priority?

2:37

So the first group will be prior to the moratorium.

2:42

There was about 300 customers that were already shut off.

2:48

They were already turned off, they didn't have water.

2:51

So our first group will be the there's about a hundred remaining of those, um, so that will be the first group, and that is the group that we've already um began to try to reach out to in addition to the shutoff notices that they've received, texting and emailing them, letting them know that we are doing shutoffs, and they can make a a payment arrangement, or you know, they should be contacting us.

3:20

I appreciate that.

3:22

Um I have another question.

3:26

Since this uh as we get deeper and deeper into uh the numbers expand, right?

3:33

So we're gonna have a little bit a hundred at first, but eventually uh there's gonna be a lot.

3:38

Are are there any plans for uh anticipated anticipated events in neighborhoods where there'll be a lot of shutoffs, like um library meetings, because I think what what I I'm anticipating is we're gonna get to the band of of the widest amount of people.

3:58

Maybe that's a for example a thousand, and they're all gonna go and flood, engage, they're gonna flood two and one, they're gonna maybe call the senior center if they've got a home like there's gonna be this flood.

4:11

Have you thought about how to preemptively have events or have places that they can then go that has the information if they waited for the last second or whatever helped them back, like has there been any thought of that?

4:28

Yeah, so we have a number of activities and locations that we will be doing outreach.

4:35

Um one, for example, is last Thursday, there was the um large senior event.

4:41

Um we did have someone attend and answer questions and provide information.

4:46

Um yesterday, um, council passed um additional assistance.

4:51

So with that, we will be doing um additional outreach and making sure that we get that information.

4:57

Um as I mentioned, we're gonna have enhanced communication, which includes texting and email, and we are gonna continue to do additional outreach um to try to to make sure that we're reaching everyone.

5:16

So that includes libraries, um, and any type of event um that we've traditionally attended.

5:23

Okay, we'll try to get that information out.

5:26

I think that's wonderful.

5:27

Is there any way um you could get a list of the planned attended events or plan to be attended events to council?

5:35

So if I get calls or I can let people know, hey, they're they're gonna be here if you need anything.

5:44

Yes, okay.

5:45

I really appreciate that.

5:46

Thank you for all your hard work.

5:48

Thank you, Chair.

5:49

Thank you, Councilperson.

5:51

Um Director, I just want to clarify.

5:54

So when I look at the chart at the bottom half of the page, uh right now we uh fifty-two million three hundred and forty-nine thousand dollars is owed by residential customers.

6:06

That am I reading that right?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Fiscal Sustainability██████████████████████████████████████████42%

Public Engagement███████████████████19%

Homelessness███████████11%

Water And Wastewater Management██████6%

Community Engagement██████6%

Procedural█████5%

Public Safety█████5%

Transportation Safety███3%

Mental Health Awareness███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Toledo Finance Committee Meeting - May 27, 2026

The Toledo City Council Finance Committee met on May 27, 2026, to receive updates from the Department of Public Utilities (DPU), the Finance Department, the City Auditor, and the United Way of Greater Toledo on the 211 system. The committee discussed water shutoff procedures, income tax collections, ARPA spending, and community resource access.

Public Comments & Testimony

John Bibbish (2152 Grantwood) addressed the committee to request a formal referral for the police substation project at Sylvania and Jackman, a $500,000 project included in the budget. He noted that two months had passed since the budget was passed and urged collaborative action. Council Chair Surantu responded that a formal referral regarding the plans for the substation had been made at the previous day's council meeting. Vice Chair Driscoll added that the next Public Safety Committee hearing on June 4, 2026, at 5 p.m. would address the topic.
Richard Arnold (audience member) asked the United Way representatives about funding for the 211 program, specifically referencing a $148,750 county allocation with no renewal option. He inquired about a plan to replace or absorb that funding. United Way CEO Wendy Pistree responded that they continue to fundraise and seek other sources, including contract revenue from expanded services, to patch together the $913,000 annual budget.

Discussion Items

Department of Public Utilities – Water Shutoffs: Director provided an update on delinquent accounts. Process: a door tag is left, customers are encouraged to pay or sign a payment plan; if no response, service is disconnected within approximately two weeks of the final notice. Prior to that, customers receive multiple notices on bills. The first group of shutoffs targets about 100 customers who were already shut off before the moratorium. Total residential delinquent amount is $52.3 million; commercial is approximately $7 million (industrial included in that). Outreach includes text messages, emails, and planned events at libraries and senior centers. A list of planned outreach locations will be provided to council.
Finance Department Reports:
- Income Tax: Commissioner Zavisha reported April withholding up $60,000 but year-to-date down ~$500,000 (1%). The top 75 companies are up $117,000; companies outside that group are down $617,000. Three of the top ten employers show negative withholding. Business net profit up $500,000 (9.8%) year-to-date; individual net profit up $440,000. Overall collections up $360,000 (4.6%) year-over-year, but cautious due to faster payment processing. The Ohio Attorney General program has collected approximately $450,000 this year, with the city receiving 100% of tax, penalties, and interest owed.
- Wage and Hour Theft: Commissioner Morris reported a new staff member onboarded two weeks ago. Efforts are yielding results as contractors increasingly require compliance certificates. A total will be provided next month.
- General Fund Revenues (page 4): Director Campbell reported 33% of the year complete, collections at 27% of budget (compared to 28.5% at same point last year). Property tax at 50%, licenses and permits at 35%. Charges for services at 55% due to a one-time $4.6 million EMS payment from the county. Investment earnings only 10%. Cable franchise fees appear low but are quarterly payments; one small payment received so far, bulk expected in May. Year-over-year decline in franchise fees noted.
- General Fund Expenditures (pages 5-6): Year-to-date expenditures at 33.7% of budget. Labor category at 34.5%, with contractual payments early in the year. Overtime ahead of budget but expected to decrease after a recent firefighter class. Medical costs under budget so far; council requested monthly tracking of medical/prescription costs. Supply and service encumbrances for mowing and contracts drove some categories ahead.
- CIP and ARPA: About 93% of ARPA funds have been expended. The healthy food incentive program is at 29% and requires continued monitoring. Vice Chair Driscoll requested a follow-up in June or July on red flag programs to ensure timely spending. The FY2025 audit is proceeding; basic financial statements to be filed with the state auditor on Monday, with auditors arriving in early June.
- HUD 108 Loans: Vice Chair Driscoll inquired about loans not being repaid; the only one is the Delta Hotel in South Toledo, which is current on payments. Swain Fields loan is finalizing.
City Auditor Report: John Ravalsky provided a quick update on the grass cutting audit, expecting to do observations next month with completion targeted by end of June or possibly July. Councilperson Gaddis suggested creating a landing page on the city website to host completed audits. The auditor will check with the Director of Communication.
United Way 211 Update:
- CEO Wendy Pistree, Jill Bungie, and Erin Tupper presented. Program budget for FY26-27 is $913,000 (up from $764,000). 39% of households in the area are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). 211 receives 80,000–85,000 calls annually, with a peak of 104,000 in 2021. Coordinated Access serves as the entry point for homelessness and housing services, averaging over 6,000 calls/year. In Code Blue this winter, 211 provided 358 rides over 52 nights and 9 days of activation. Partnership with Toledo Police Department: presentations at roll calls resulted in 28 contacts within six weeks; 211 is now part of crisis intervention training. 211-to-You program at the library holds outreach events (48 in 2025). Ride United (Lyft) provided over 3,100 rides since 2023; DoorDash delivered over 3,500 items. A new state contract expands 211 to cover 16 counties for the Department of Children and Youth. The committee expressed strong support for state and federal advocacy to fund 211.

Key Outcomes

Council Chair Surantu confirmed a formal referral for the police substation plans was made at the full council meeting; the Public Safety Committee will discuss on June 4, 2026.
The Finance Committee will schedule a follow-up in June or July to review ARPA red flags and ensure timely expenditure of remaining funds.
City Auditor Ravalsky agreed to work with the Communications Director to create a public web page for completed audit reports.
United Way representatives will continue sending monthly 211 reports to council and provided a link to sign up for advocacy newsletters. Council members offered to assist in advocating for state and federal 211 funding.

Meeting Transcript

Then a water service disconnect door tag is left. Then um we encourage the customer to either make a payment or to sign up for um payment a pipe payment plan, then the service um if it's if they do not pay or sign up for a payment plan, the service is disconnected. If they when they pay, the service is restored within 48 hours of payments. So what is your estimate from the time they're notified that they are delinquent and the time if they do not respond to anything? Four weeks, six weeks before the water is cut off. Um from the point of final notice, um, it would be approximately commissioner, go ahead. Okay, yeah. From the time they get that notice on the door, it's approximately two weeks before it's cut off. But prior to that, they're receiving plenty of notice through on their bill regularly that they're. So how long is it before from the time they're mailed a bill that says they're delayed with and the time you put the first door hanger on or how much time is elapsed? Do you think? For like what makes this difficult is because these are accounts that are significantly delinquent, so they've been receiving notice on the bill. Okay. Um, but they've gotten several notices. Several notices. Okay. Now, do we reach out to them? Do we call them or anything like that, or or is it just strictly the notices through the mail and the door hangers? So for the um hundred or so that we discussed during our hearing earlier this month, um, they will be receiving text messages as well as emails. For sure. Okay, thank you. Uh council person jobs. Thank you. And thank you for your report. Um, and maybe this is to jog my memory, but um when we uh since you're taking a phased approach at this, what priority are are we looking at first? Is it like the amount due? So the highest are gonna be turned off first. Is it are we going via neighborhood? Are we going the longest not paid? Like what is our what is our first priority? So the first group will be prior to the moratorium. There was about 300 customers that were already shut off. They were already turned off, they didn't have water. So our first group will be the there's about a hundred remaining of those, um, so that will be the first group, and that is the group that we've already um began to try to reach out to in addition to the shutoff notices that they've received, texting and emailing them, letting them know that we are doing shutoffs, and they can make a a payment arrangement, or you know, they should be contacting us. I appreciate that. Um I have another question. Since this uh as we get deeper and deeper into uh the numbers expand, right? So we're gonna have a little bit a hundred at first, but eventually uh there's gonna be a lot. Are are there any plans for uh anticipated anticipated events in neighborhoods where there'll be a lot of shutoffs, like um library meetings, because I think what what I I'm anticipating is we're gonna get to the band of of the widest amount of people. Maybe that's a for example a thousand, and they're all gonna go and flood, engage, they're gonna flood two and one, they're gonna maybe call the senior center if they've got a home like there's gonna be this flood. Have you thought about how to preemptively have events or have places that they can then go that has the information if they waited for the last second or whatever helped them back, like has there been any thought of that? Yeah, so we have a number of activities and locations that we will be doing outreach. Um one, for example, is last Thursday, there was the um large senior event. Um we did have someone attend and answer questions and provide information. Um yesterday, um, council passed um additional assistance. So with that, we will be doing um additional outreach and making sure that we get that information. Um as I mentioned, we're gonna have enhanced communication, which includes texting and email, and we are gonna continue to do additional outreach um to try to to make sure that we're reaching everyone. So that includes libraries, um, and any type of event um that we've traditionally attended. Okay, we'll try to get that information out. I think that's wonderful.

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