OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Finance, Debt & Budget Oversight Committee Meeting - July 29, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, July 29, 2026
BodyToledo, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, July 29, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 51:12

Transcript — Verbatim
0:59

Good afternoon, everybody.

1:00

Uh welcome to the finance debt and budget oversight uh committee.

1:06

And the clerk will call the roll.

1:08

Soranto here.

1:11

Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Martinez, two present.

1:18

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

1:20

Today we're gonna begin with the Department of Public Utilities and an update on collections.

1:26

Good afternoon, uh Director.

1:28

Good afternoon, Councilman.

1:31

Um I would first like to start uh with some of the items that were touched on the last month meeting.

1:42

Um Chief Operating Officer Robison reported during last month's meeting.

1:49

We have been working on a plan uh with what other municipalities have done and what the city of Toledo is able to do as far as irrigation meters and um our deduct meters um.

2:04

One of the questions that was asked was can we finance through this through an assessment?

2:10

Um as for private plumbing, Ohio's constitution and statutes are clear that enterprise funds cannot be used for private purposes.

2:19

Performing work on or loaning money for private plumbing is not authorized.

2:24

So the approach that we will that we find to be most appropriate is to have two meters.

2:30

Um one meter will be for the irrigation, and our department between utilities administration and the water distribution are working on setting up that program, and we will be contacting people this week and we will work with comms to um uh get that information up on the website.

2:53

And next year we will do a a larger campaign, but since we're starting to dwindle down for the year, we will let people know, but just know that next year we'll have a more robust robust program.

3:08

Um this is a program that we feel that the law department um can get behind and uh we've been working on it um together with you and um councilman Meldon um to come up with a with a plan.

3:22

Um so that is what we've come up with.

3:25

Um if uh we do hear of something that we can do that's more robust, uh of course we'll continue to look at that.

3:36

Could I just ask a quick question, Director?

3:38

Sure.

3:38

In terms of notifying, I know that we've emailed uh you the a number of people who are uh concerned about the elimination of winter sewer averaging and uh hopefully they'll uh be able to take advantage of this program.

3:53

So you're gonna contact them, but is there any way that we can have in the billing statements something to the effect of you know call DPU if you're interested in something like that?

4:04

Yep, and that's what we're working on with comms.

4:07

We also looked at um maybe putting it into the uh the portal for those that are on the portal, um, some messaging on there as well.

4:15

So we're gonna look at uh multiple ways to let people know that we have this program.

4:20

And there w there would be something on the website also that this year.

4:24

Yes.

4:24

Okay, great.

4:25

All right.

4:25

Well, thank you.

4:26

I appreciate your help on that.

4:27

Sure.

4:28

I know um many citizens will appreciate the opportunity to have an alternative uh plan.

4:34

Great.

4:35

Okay.

4:36

Uh you want to cover uh the delinquencies and so forth.

4:40

Yes, I will.

4:40

But there was one more thing.

4:42

There was a a question about um one of our shopping centers, Swain Field, and I did get with Councilman Hobbes and answer those questions.

4:51

They did um pay their outstanding bill.

4:54

Um May uh payment was made May twenty-third, twenty twenty-five twenty twenty-five.

5:01

And they have some outstanding delinquency currently.

5:06

But it's you know from May and June that we'll work with them on that.

5:12

And if I could uh let the record show that uh councilwoman Dr.

5:17

Jones is here, thank you.

5:18

And please proceed directly.

5:20

Okay.

5:23

The installment payment plan has generated significant collections with an increase from the month of June with over $3.8 million collected year to date from residential and commercial customers combined.

5:38

However, the utilities total active delinquent balance remains substantial at approximately at approximately 40.2 million dollars with residential accounts comprising the majority of outstanding debt.

5:52

June recorded 120 service disconnections and 70 reconnections, reflecting ongoing collections and customer replay repayment efforts.

6:08

Reconnected customers, as I mentioned, are about 70.

6:12

So after meeting the requirements for service restoration, uh such as making payments and entering a payment arrangement or otherwise resolving the account issues, we were able to reconnect those customers.

6:40

So looking at the sheet before you, as you can tell, it's a little a little bit different than what we've had in the last few months, and we are focusing on uh the DPU installment and promise pay plans that we have.

6:56

Um residential customers, we have 2,157 new enrollments in June, which is a total of 6,502 enrollments year to date.

7:08

We've collected one point 05 million in June, which is 3.61 million to date year to date, going back to January.

7:20

Uh total scheduled repayment amount is 11 million dollars that we have um scheduled between our our programs with promise and our DPU installments for commercial customers.

7:33

We have 17 new enrollments in June and 84 enrollments year to date.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Utilities Management█████████████████████████████████████████████45%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████████████████████26%
Public Health█████████████13%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Public Transportation█████5%
Procedural████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Finance, Debt & Budget Oversight Committee Meeting - July 29, 2026

The Finance, Debt & Budget Oversight Committee convened on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 4:00 PM in City Council Chambers. The committee reviewed updates from the Department of Public Utilities on collections, the finance department's monthly revenue and expenditure reports, the status of ARPA fund spending, the city auditor's report, and heard public comment regarding TARDA bus stop conditions.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Richard Arnold testified regarding the TARDA hub fence construction project, which runs along Huron Street from Orange Street to Cherry Street. He stated that $280,000 was allocated last November for the fence, and that since construction began, buses have been rerouted to Superior Street. He expressed concern that Superior Street lacks benches, shelters, or shade trees, making it difficult for seniors and disabled individuals to wait for buses, especially in hot summer and upcoming fall weather. He asked the city to provide temporary benches or shelters on Superior Street. Chair Soranto stated he would contact TARDA to follow up.

Discussion Items

  • Department of Public Utilities Collections Update: The DPU director reported progress on a program for irrigation meters and deduct meters. Private plumbing cannot be financed via assessment due to legal restrictions; the city will install a second meter. Notifications will begin this week, with a larger campaign next year. Regarding delinquencies, the director reported that as of June 2026, total active delinquent balances are approximately $40.2 million (residential $34.78M, commercial $4.0M, industrial $1.35M). Over $3.8 million has been collected year-to-date through installment plans. In June, there were 120 service disconnections and 70 reconnections. The total delinquencies have decreased from about $66 million to $40 million, and the remaining includes amounts from the Fresh Start amnesty program (still being analyzed). Chair Soranto requested a breakdown of disconnects by customer type and asked for an update on write-offs via a referral.
  • Finance Director Report (Melanie Campbell):
    • Income Tax Report (Commissioner Zavisha): Year-to-date withholding collections are up 1% ($861,000). Business net profits are down $4.78 million (4.7%), concentrated in two of the city's top six companies. Individual collections are up slightly. Total Toledo tax collections are down 3.6% ($3.87 million) vs. budget. Refunds issued total nearly $2 million. The 2026 projection is $238.5 million.
    • General Fund Revenue: Property taxes in line; license/permit categories at 52%; intergovernmental at 44% (includes casino revenue, quarterly); charges for services at 45% (EMS fees ahead, but cable franchise fees declining over year). A PFAS settlement payment boosted other revenue to 176.8% of budget. The refuse collection fee increase started in June, causing a catch-up versus the budget that assumed a January start.
    • General Fund Expenditures: Overall at 49.3% of budget (positive variance). Labor costs slightly ahead (0.8%) due to contractual items. Police overtime is on track; fire overtime is higher and will be monitored. Chair Soranto stated he will send a referral to the fire chief for analysis.
    • ARPA Update: 96.2% of total ARPA funds have been spent, with $6.9 million remaining to be spent by the end of 2026. Departments have plans to spend remaining balances, and contingency plans (e.g., reallocating within existing projects) are being developed. Specific items discussed:
      • Community & Senior Center Improvements: $6.25M allocated, ~$3.9M spent (62%). Manager Josh Porter stated $2.2M of the remaining $2.3M is under contract, with projects on schedule to complete by the end of the year. Some projects may require supplemental CIP funds (around $50,000 overage).
      • Healthy Food Incentive/Food Systems Hub: $355,297 remains unspent due to the original ECDI project not proceeding (funds used for A&E plans). The administration plans to reallocate these funds to the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department for a second round of the Small Market Grant program to incentivize healthy food in convenience stores. This change will require council approval via ordinance.
      • Medical Debt Forgiveness Program: Unchanged; the vendor expected to finalize a remaining portfolio (working with a physician's group) by the end of July. Chair Soranto noted waiting for the September report to confirm 100% spending.
      • Metro Parks Riverwalk & Facility Buildout: $1.2 million remaining for the Riverwalk portion (invoice expected next month); the Starbase facility is at punch-out stage, with final invoice expected in August.
      • LED Street Lighting & Sidewalk Replacement: LED projects have invoices pending; sidewalk program has ~$190,000 on POs, and $40,000 for sidewalk rescue grants (applications under review; selections expected within two weeks).
      • United Way 211 Services: $70,000 remaining; invoiced monthly at $833; no spending concerns.
      • Administrative Expenses: $245,000 allocated, ~$210,000 remaining due to lower consulting needs. Any unspent balance may be reallocated to other obligated projects, with a recommendation in September.
  • City Auditor's Report (John Ravalsky):
    • Grass cutting audit is progressing; ride-alongs completed; awaiting additional data to finalize report.
    • New special project to audit utility receivables in more depth (quality and characteristics); timeline to be determined after a meeting with Chief Robison, expected completion within a month.
    • Investments review is underway, awaiting data.
    • Chair Soranto requested that the special DPU audit results be shared with all council members once complete.

Key Outcomes

  • DPU Irrigation Meter Program: Approved plan to proceed with two-meter approach; notifications begin this week; website and billing statement messaging to be developed. Referral issued to provide disconnect/reconnect breakdown by customer type and write-off details.
  • Fire Overtime: Referral to be sent to the fire chief for analysis of overtime drivers.
  • ARPA Reallocation: The administration will bring an ordinance to council to reallocate $355,297 from the Healthy Food Incentive program to the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department for a second round of the Small Market Grant program. Other potential reallocations (e.g., administrative surplus) to be recommended in September.
  • TARDA Bus Stop Issue: Chair Soranto will contact TARDA to inquire about providing temporary benches or shelters on Superior Street during the fence construction (expected completion in November, possibly later).
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at 4:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everybody. Uh welcome to the finance debt and budget oversight uh committee. And the clerk will call the roll. Soranto here. Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Martinez, two present. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Today we're gonna begin with the Department of Public Utilities and an update on collections. Good afternoon, uh Director. Good afternoon, Councilman. Um I would first like to start uh with some of the items that were touched on the last month meeting. Um Chief Operating Officer Robison reported during last month's meeting. We have been working on a plan uh with what other municipalities have done and what the city of Toledo is able to do as far as irrigation meters and um our deduct meters um. One of the questions that was asked was can we finance through this through an assessment? Um as for private plumbing, Ohio's constitution and statutes are clear that enterprise funds cannot be used for private purposes. Performing work on or loaning money for private plumbing is not authorized. So the approach that we will that we find to be most appropriate is to have two meters. Um one meter will be for the irrigation, and our department between utilities administration and the water distribution are working on setting up that program, and we will be contacting people this week and we will work with comms to um uh get that information up on the website. And next year we will do a a larger campaign, but since we're starting to dwindle down for the year, we will let people know, but just know that next year we'll have a more robust robust program. Um this is a program that we feel that the law department um can get behind and uh we've been working on it um together with you and um councilman Meldon um to come up with a with a plan. Um so that is what we've come up with. Um if uh we do hear of something that we can do that's more robust, uh of course we'll continue to look at that. Could I just ask a quick question, Director? Sure. In terms of notifying, I know that we've emailed uh you the a number of people who are uh concerned about the elimination of winter sewer averaging and uh hopefully they'll uh be able to take advantage of this program. So you're gonna contact them, but is there any way that we can have in the billing statements something to the effect of you know call DPU if you're interested in something like that? Yep, and that's what we're working on with comms. We also looked at um maybe putting it into the uh the portal for those that are on the portal, um, some messaging on there as well. So we're gonna look at uh multiple ways to let people know that we have this program. And there w there would be something on the website also that this year. Yes. Okay, great. All right. Well, thank you. I appreciate your help on that. Sure. I know um many citizens will appreciate the opportunity to have an alternative uh plan. Great. Okay. Uh you want to cover uh the delinquencies and so forth. Yes, I will. But there was one more thing. There was a a question about um one of our shopping centers, Swain Field, and I did get with Councilman Hobbes and answer those questions. They did um pay their outstanding bill. Um May uh payment was made May twenty-third, twenty twenty-five twenty twenty-five. And they have some outstanding delinquency currently. But it's you know from May and June that we'll work with them on that. And if I could uh let the record show that uh councilwoman Dr. Jones is here, thank you. And please proceed directly. Okay.

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