Fulton County Ohio Media

At last Monday’s Swanton Village Council meeting, Mayor Neil Toeppe read the following statement, challenging the Council to focus on “Fiscal Responsibility” and provided the members with an expanded definition of the term as it relates to the Village and the obligations of their position.  Mayor Toeppe’s full statement is below:

Fiscal Responsibility: More Than Cutting Costs

This Council has rightly focused on the importance of operating the Village within our means.  At the same time, we have a responsibility to continue providing the services our residents expect and, in some cases, to meet unfunded mandates that place additional pressure on our reserves.  Fortunately, many of those major unfunded obligations have now been addressed.  We are in a position to begin rebuilding our reserves while continuing to provide essential services. We have accomplished this without borrowing, issuing bonds, or increasing taxes.

But fiscal responsibility is about more than controlling expenditures.  It is also about growing the economic base that supports the services our residents expect.  Over the past several years, the Village has taken important steps in that direction.

After a three-year process, we have finalized the annexation of the remaining 30-plus acres of developable land into the Village. Combined with land already available, we now have more than 200 acres with potential for industrial and economic development.  We have also established a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) to make Swanton more competitive in attracting industrial and residential investment.  These actions are not simply about development. They are about the long-term fiscal health of the Village.

There are essentially two sides to fiscal responsibility:  1. Live within our means.  Control expenditures, prioritize services, manage debt responsibly, and protect our reserves.  2. Grow our means.  Expand the tax base, attract investment, encourage development, and create opportunities for future economic growth.  We cannot successfully focus on only one side of that equation.

This brings me to a challenge for Council:  What is your collective vision for the economic future of Swanton?  It is not enough to say that we need to reduce spending. Council also needs to identify where it wants the Village to go and what policies it is prepared to support to get us there.  There is an old saying: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”

Council sets the direction of the Village through its legislative actions. The administration is responsible for implementing that direction.  That becomes difficult when the administration knows what Council wants to avoid but does not know what Council collectively wants to accomplish.

To date, we have heard a great deal about operating within our means. That is important and necessary. But we have not yet seen a clearly articulated, collective vision for growing the economic base of the Village.  And Council should recognize that it already has a powerful role in shaping that future: Council approves the budget under which the administration operates.

So, the question is not whether Swanton should be fiscally responsible. We all agree that it should.  The question is whether fiscal responsibility will be defined solely as spending less—or whether it will also include creating the conditions that allow Swanton to generate more.  I challenge this Council to develop and articulate a collective vision for economic growth.

A Possible Council Vision Statement.  I think Council could ultimately work toward something as simple as:

“Our vision is to make Swanton a financially strong, economically vibrant, safe, attractive, and connected community—one that responsibly invests in its infrastructure, supports its residents and businesses, protects its quality of life, and creates opportunities for the next generation.”

The bigger question for Council.  I would challenge Council to move the conversation from:  “What can we afford to do?” to: “What do we want Swanton to become, and what will it take to get there?”  Then the financial question becomes:  “How do we responsibly fund that vision?”  That distinction is important. A budget tells you what you can do this year. A vision tells you what you are trying to accomplish over the next 10–15 years.

Tell the administration—and more importantly, tell the residents of Swanton—where you want this Village to be five, ten, and twenty years from now.  We have worked hard to put the tools in place: developable land, expanded corporate limits, a CRA, responsible financial management, and a strong foundation of municipal services.

Now we need the vision to put those tools to work.  The future of Swanton should not be defined simply by what we can cut.  It should also be defined by what we can build.

Photo: Mayor Toeppe reads his statement to Council