After a year of budget cuts and layoffs, Northwood ended the year with a 3.4-percent increase in revenue compared to last December.

“I think we were fortunate that the economy picked up enough, we made enough cuts that did not severely impact the residents,” said Mayor Mark Stoner, “and we made it through.”

Last year, the city started cutting staff and services after revenue started to slip.

Council, in an effort to reverse the decline, placed a proposed income tax increase from its current 1.5-percent to 1.75-percent for three years on the November ballot, which voters defeated.

Council also considered reducing the tax credit given to residents who work outside the city from 1.5-percent to 1 percent, which would have brought in $400,000 per year, and charging residents $10 per month for refuse collection that would have brought in $220,000. Currently, the city charges a solid waste disposal fee and a host fee to Evergreen Recycling and Disposal Facility for use of a landfill at 2625 East Broadway. The company automatically deducts a monthly charge for unlimited garbage pickup, which is free to Northwood residents.

Neither measure was approved by council.

Council last year had approved an ordinance that amended the city’s taxation code to eliminate the 10 percent income tax disbursement into the capital replacement fund and reallocate it into the general fund. The disbursement into the capital replacement fund each year was approximately $400,000. Since all capital replacement expenditures are frozen, the $1 million remains in the fund to be used only for emergencies.

After July, which saw a 7.2 percent decrease in income tax collections, the financial picture started to brighten with just a 2.2-percent drop in August. For the next four months, revenue increased from the same period the previous year.

In September, income tax collections were 2.6-percent higher than the same period last year, followed by a 2.5- percent increase in October, a 3-percent increase in November, and a 3.4 percent increase in December. The increases left a year end general fund balance of approximately $500,000.

Much of the revenue loss was attributable to reduced output of major automotive suppliers, such as Faurecia, which produces door modules for the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro produced at the nearby Chrysler Toledo assembly plant. Other automotive suppliers in the city include Johnson Control and Oakley Industries.

Stoner, who works at DaimlerChrysler AG, said that when the plant went down, the local suppliers also were hurting, which affected the local economy.

Now that Daimler Chrysler is back on its feet, the suppliers are getting more work, he said.

“Jeep’s back to work, and of course, we have three plants that supply Jeep. So when Jeep is working, people are working at those plants, and that’s income for us,” said Stoner.

Combined with deep cuts in staff and services, the city ended the year with a measure of financial stability.

Stoner cautioned that the city is not out of the woods yet. If there’s a hike this year on gas prices, as some economists are predicting, the city again could find itself struggling financially.

“My biggest fear now is if gas goes to $5 per gallon. Then, of course, Jeep won’t be selling SUVs, and again, if Jeep’s not working, I’ll have three plants in Northwood not working again,” said Stoner.

“Even if gas goes to $4 per gallon, that will affect the city’s budget,” he said. “We still have to run the police cars, run the plows, have to mow grass, and fire trucks still have to roll.”

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