Plan is just first step, panel head says

By Denise Dick

Community input will be gathered from various groups.

BOARDMAN — The leader of a business committee advising township trustees believes a recently approved plan for Boardman’s future is a good start, but stresses it’s only the beginning.

Its top goals are re-establishing services, developing a plan to ensure long-term financial stability and stabilizing quality-of-life programming that differentiates the township from other communities.

“I would definitely call it a step in the right direction,” said Jim Rosa, who leads a business advisory committee formed earlier this year. The committee provides input and makes recommendations to trustees regarding finances and services.

Trustee Larry Moliterno developed the plan with help from Trustees Robyn Gallitto and Kathy Miller, the business committee, Administrator Jason Loree, Fiscal Officer William Leicht, department heads and union leaders.

The document approved by trustees this month sets out short- and long-term goals for the township, assigning specific goals to trustees and department heads.

Rosa, a certified public accountant with Hill, Barth and King, said he was in favor of the plan and urged trustees to approve it. He stresses, however, that more work remains.

“The plan is only as good as the actions to implement it,” he said.

Moliterno, who took office in January, began meeting with department heads and union leaders to get their perspectives on the township’s strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities. Information gathered there was part of the plan’s formation.

Other trustees, business committee members, department heads and union leaders also provided input as the plan proceeded, he said.

“It’s a living, working document and we should be constantly making changes to it,” Moliterno said.

Each specific objective is assigned to a trustee or department head who will form committees that will make recommendations to trustees. Moliterno expects community input to be gathered through township officials’ attendance at neighborhood groups, church social action committees and service groups.

“This is the first time in the history of Boardman that we have had a road map for going forward,” Gallitto said. It should serve as the basis for decisions made by the trustees moving forward, she said.

Miller agreed: “I am in support of a strategic plan because it focuses on desirable objectives and can become a road map for the community,” she said. “What remains to be done is the detailed planning and identification of specific goals that will require commitment, effort and compromise.”

The plan, however, shouldn’t detract trustees from short-term issues the township faces and development of a five-year financial plan, Miller said. “I believe this will assist the trustees in providing efficient and effective services to the public and hopefully build the confidence of the citizens in their township government,” she said.

Short term, or goals to be achieved within six months, include: Hiring up to 10 police officers, hiring six firefighters, developing a capital improvement plan, and phasing out the inheritance-tax revenue from the operations budget over a five-year period.

Priorities for six months to a year include: Developing a marketing plan for the township, exploring pros and cons of incorporation and reviewing neighborhood infrastructures.

Longer-term aims include establishment of a community beautification plan and studying the use of traffic or speed cameras.

Rosa said the plan provides a good way to show the community that the board is acting responsibly, in a unified manner and making intelligent decisions, Rosa said.

“It should be a blueprint for the township,” he said. “It should have been done forever ago.”