Notes From The Treasurer

With state cuts coming this year, and next year, as stewards to our city's funds we need to all look closely at how to continue to balance our budget during these tough economic times. Last year my office started looking at debt currently held to see what ways we can possibly save money for the residents of Parma.

We found an outstanding debt from 1995 that had an interest rate of 5.75 percent, so we decided to look at the possibility of banks to carry our debt at a lesser interest rate. We were able to get Huntington Bank to refinance our bond at 2.1 percent, which with the two years remaining on the debt will save the city a little over $60,000.

We will continue to look at outstanding debt in the future to see where we can possibly save our citizens money. I will also be looking at other avenues to see if we can get some savings in the future to continue to fight through these tough economic times that Parma, and every other city in the state, is facing.