On raccoons and poor budgeting

I have a Columbus address, but I associate myself with the little burg of Groveport, just Southeast of the city. I do most of my grocery shopping there. I do my banking there. That is where my dentist and eye doctor have their offices. I recently found a little tavern on the edge of town where I might start hanging out once in a while.

I noticed the following story in the little area paper put out each week:

Raccoons in municipal building

Raccoons made a home as well as a mess in the Groveport Municipal Building.

"There are raccoons in the attic," said Groveport Economic Development Director Jeff Green at a recent Groveport City Council meeting. "We trapped four or five of them recently. It looks like they've been there for awhile because the insulation is matted down with raccoon waste. It could pose a serious health problem."

Green said it will cost an estimated $14,000 to clean up and repair the attic.

Additionally, Green said there are other structural issues at the municipal building, 665 Blacklist St., that have not been addressed since the building opened in 1995.

"They need to be taken care of before conditions worsen," said Green.

He said the municipal building roof is in "dire need of replacement" and that a new roof could cost an estimated $47,000. He said gutters, downspouts and worn carpeting need replaced and that repainting also should be done.

Green said $120,000, which had been budgeted in 2012 to fund heating and air conditioning debt payments, is available to use for the repairs because it was discovered that the debt was already paid off in 2011.

"The money is there," said Green.

"Let's do it right," said Councilman Shawn Cleary. "There's a lot of history in this building."

Green also suggested that city officials create a budget line item to fund future facility maintenance for city properties.

"It costs more to go back and fix things than to maintain them as we go along." said Green. "We need to preserve our investment in our buildings."

I should note that the building discussed above was purchased by the municipality back in 1994, and remodeled in 1995. It was built back in the mid-1800s.

My first reaction to this story was concern over the village's budgeting. They didn't realize they had paid off the $120,000 per year debt last year? Really? It seems like a significant cost for a tiny little village. I wonder what other stuff can be found in the village's budget. Still budgeting payments for that 1981 Ford LTD police cruiser? Still budgeting salaries for people dead twenty years? Nice.

My second reaction was about the village's debts. It is a tiny town, but they somehow incurred debt for "heating and air conditioning" that required payment of $120,000 per year. They only have a few buildings at most, and they are small buildings. That must be some super efficient heating and cooling equipment.

Third, I am concerned about the village's maintenance procedures. How did this raccoon problem get to be so dire? I know the village has a maintenance department. I see them tool around town patching the streets and whatnot. It seems that they should perform at least annual inspections of their buildings / properties.

Ah, well. I suppose this is the type of thing one encounters in small town life. Raccoons in the attic and folks not taking care of business. Good stuff.