LOWELLVILLE — The 2020 budget in Lowellville was adopted with the near future in mind.

Village council approved the budget this month. The general fund budget this year is $1.2 million, with the largest expenditure of $668,000 being for administration, which Mayor Jim Iudiciani said includes salaries.

Other budgeted amounts are $282,517 for the police department; $85,075 for the fire department; $88,565 for building and grounds; $109,171 for the street department; and $5,098 for zoning.

Capital improvements are expected to cost $398,301, from repaving roads to organizing a nonprofit to continuing work along the Mahoning River.

Included in the capital improvements is the formation of that nonprofit, Lowellville Forward Corporation.

“This is just preliminary,” Iudiciani said, adding that the group will consist of city officials, residents and “business-minded” representatives.

The goal, Iudiciani said, is to obtain money by donations from other nonprofits to help build the village, much like a revolving loan fund.

Once dredging the river is completed, the dam will be extracted, and a bike and kayak rental space are anticipated to be added.

The canoe livery will be constructed this year, with a 50-50 match from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources through a grant, for a total of $114,000, Iudiciani explained.

In addition to the river updates, village residents can expect to see crews repaving Walnut Street, West Wood Street Extension, North Avenue and Ralph Conti Drive.

While leaders gear up for the revitalization, village employees will be impacted by this year’s budget, said Carol Flora, clerk and treasurer.

Seven full-time employees will see a 3 percent raise, including two employees in the police department, two wastewater treatment plant employees, two street department employees and one employee in village administration.

The village also raised the hourly beginning rate of a part-time police officer by a dollar to $13.50, Flora said.

Income taxes count for the largest source of revenue for the village, generating about $500,000 annually.

afox@tribtoday.com