T-L Photo/ ROBERT A. DEFRANK Bethesda resident Brenda Russell and others listen to village business Thursday.

BETHESDA — Although COVID-19 has touched nearly every aspect of local residents’ lives, it has had little impact on Bethesda’s village coffers.

Village Council passed the 2021 budget and tax levies and certified them to the county auditor, with a general fund of $34,787.49; a street levy of 1.5 mills, or $16,892.60 annually; a police levy of 3 mills, or $36,989.11 a year; and a fire and EMS levy of 3.5 mills, or $43,278.43.

Finance Director Rick Burkhead, husband of Mayor Samantha Burkhead, said the finances are comparable to those of 2020. He noted the coronavirus pandemic has not had much lasting effect on village finances.

“It was originally substantial. All of our taxes basically went down,” Burkhead said of the early months of 2020, when the illness broke out. “In July they started going back to normal, and I think now they’re at pre-COVID levels.”

He said local government and tax fund levels are similar to their status prior to the pandemic, after they decreased for a three-month period.

Meanwhile the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act provides help for medical care providers, so the fire department received assistance with protective gear for EMS runs and expects more funding soon.

Samantha Burkhead also extended thanks to the volunteers who recently helped to clean and renovate the park.

Also, materials for 200 back-to-school hygiene kits are being obtained for local school children, thanks to a donation from Village Administrator Dirk Davis. Volunteers wishing to help assemble the kits are welcome.

Council held the first reading of a proposed update of an ordinance dealing with dilapidated structures. The ordinance would include clearer language about how a house can be defined as a nuisance, including factors such as loose bricks and rotting staircases. The procedure for notifying the owner, holding a hearing and eventually demolishing the structures and putting a lien on the property to recoup the cost.

Councilman Jay Van Horn and others said further revision may be needed to ensure the qualifications of any inspector.

“I want more information,” Van Horn said. “I want it done right. I want no escape route for anybody that goes through the court system to come back. … It should be cut and dry so we know exactly what it’s going to cost us every time we’ve got somebody that comes out, the proper person doing this.”

Patrolman Pete Busack commented on ordinance violations on properties throughout the village. Any residents with questions about alterations to their property are asked to contact Davis or the ordinance committee at 740-484-1250.

The village is also looking for additional part-time police officers.

Residents also will be asked for feedback on the possibility of setting up speed bumps on Lake Street.

Council observed a moment of silence in honor of Robert Lewis of Belmont, former owner of Belmont Mills, who died Aug. 22.

Dates and times of village committee meetings will be posted on the village website at bethesdaohio.org.