Mayor Bell announces city of Toledo's $5M surplus

Toledo Mayor Mike Bell

The city of Toledo came out ahead $5 million at the end of 2012, Mayor Mike Bell announced today.

“We have come a long way from where we started when I took office in 2010,” Mr. Bell said in a statement. “This city faced a $48 million budget deficit and that required us to make a lot of difficult and unpopular decisions over the last four years. If we had done nothing, we would be in the same position as Detroit of Cincinnati.”

The $5 million “positive general fund balance” came from 2012 spending running $6 million below expectations; revenues running $3 million over budget, and taking $4 million less out of the city's capital improvements budget than expected.

The city had intended to use $13 million from the CIP budget but only had to take $9 million, said City Finance Director Patrick McLean said. “That is how we come to $5 million,” he said.

The revenues were up chiefly from greater-than-expected income tax collections last year, Mr. McLean said.

The city last year took in $158.52 million from the 2.25 percent income tax, up from $153.58 in 2011 and $144.58 in 2010.