The City of Marietta is considering possible staff cuts as a way to keep the city afloat following the dire prediction by a performance audit that the city’s general fund could be depleted by 2025.

Among the proposals is reducing the number of police officers and merging the Marietta/Belpre Health Department with the county’s.

City Council members spoke with department heads Monday night about the possible staff cuts during a joint meeting of the City Council Finance and Employee Relations Committees.

“We’re facing some major decisions and not very pleasant decisions,” said Councilman Michael Scales, chairman of the Finance Committee. “We have to stem the flow, because if you look at the (state) auditor’s website, if we have to go into a fiscal emergency, we lose all control.”

At-Large Councilwoman Cassidi Shoaf said the goal is to save $1.2 million this year and the amount for next year will have to be even larger. She pointed out that “staffing is our biggest opportunity” when talking about ways to save that money.

Shoaf said during the meeting council is proposing cutting one police captain, one police sergeant and either three patrol officers and one school resource officer (SRO) or four patrol officers and a parking violation administration position. She said that in most school districts, the county or district contribute some funds for the school resource officer and council can’t keep the position unless the schools contribute.

Shoaf said the audit shows the Marietta Police handle 460 calls per officer per month while the peer police departments listed in the audit average 582 calls per officer a month. Police Chief Katherine Warden responded that the number of officers that go out on calls that are listed in the audit is incorrect and she only has 23 officers that respond to calls.

Shoaf said they talked to the peer police departments to confirm their actual makeup and adjusted the number after to the peer average being 580 and the Marietta Police department averaging 446 calls per officer per month. She said that is equivalent to being overstaffed by almost seven full-time equivalent employees.

Warden said an officer resigned on Friday and Shoaf confirmed the possible cuts would include that officer.

“I just want to make sure I have it on record that this City Council is planning on defunding these positions,” Warden said about the proposed cuts.

Shoaf responded that the council is looking at resizing all city departments.

Shoaf said they are considering possibly cutting one firefighter and another position could be eliminated after a retirement in the next year.

Fire Chief C.W. Durham pointed out that the comparable cities used in the audit only provide fire service whereas the city provides fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous material response, fire inspection and permit issuance, code enforcement, fire prevention education, confined space entry.

The investigation and river fire and rescue. He also mentioned the third party billing the fire department brings in for rescue contributes $625,000 to the general fund.

Durham said that if the positions are cut the fire department would have to look at removing an ambulance from service in downtown Marietta.

Council also discussed with Marietta/Belpre Health Department Administrator Barbara Bradley the merger of it with the Washington County Health Department.

Bradley said she started meeting with the county in January and has talked to her counterparts in Coshocton about when they merged with their county health department. It will take two to three years to combine the departments correctly and could be done some time in 2025 or 2026.

Bradley said she was told by the county that not all services the Marietta/Belpre Health Department offers would be continued after the merger because the county can’t afford it. When they merge, they will lose funds for services they offer under the Ohio Department of Health’s Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Project, the Sexually Transmitted Infection Grant-funded sexual health program and the funds from a workforce development grant that pays for part of their director of nursing’s salary, she said. They also would lose their Children with Mental Handicaps program and their community health worker.

Marietta/Belpre Health Department Public Health Nurse Becky Jones said they will have to dissolve both health departments and create a new organization. That will lead to them losing their Medicare approval, which will take six months to a year to get back.

She also said they would lose their Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments pharmacy approval to dispense medicine and it would take three to six months to get it back after the merger.

Council also spoke with Marietta Public Works Superintendent Christopher B. Hess and Utility Administrator Kimberly Nohe. Shoaf told them that they are proposing getting rid of the recreation program officer manager, the foreman I position upon that person’s retirement, the foreman II position, one utility billing clerk and they are looking at removing the city engineer position and contracting out for those kinds of services.

She said the city is also checking to see if the assistant engineer position is still active since it is not listed on the organizational table anymore.

Utility administrator Kimberly Nohe said there are four people in utility billing serving 6,800 customers. She said if she loses an employee it would mean services have to change.

“That would mean potentially closing the office when we’re understaffed,” she said.

Hess said there are other ways to cut costs besides staff cuts, mentioning that his department has used less salt the last two winters so they should have a stockpile of salt and tree funds could be spent more carefully to save the city about $60,000.

“I hate to say this but I don’t see a big impact on services … but I value everybody that is there,” Hess said.

Engineering project manager Amanda Rinehart said the engineer’s office is busy and if after staff cuts they don’t have enough staff to meet Environmental Protection Agency, they could be fined $60,000 a day.

Shoaf informed those at the meeting that the city needs to have $1.2 million in savings in place by June 28. Staffing cuts may not wait that long.

Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@

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