Photo by Emma Delk Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies addresses Belmont County Commissioners regarding the distribution of local government funding for the municipality on Wednesday.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies and council members presented their concerns to Belmont County commissioners Wednesday regarding the distribution of local government funding for the municipality.

Martins Ferry leadership expressed dissatisfaction with the change of methodology by the Belmont County Budget Commission to allocate local government funding to townships, municipalities and park districts.

Belmont County Auditor Cindi Henry, who was present during the meeting, said a change in state law required the budget commission to revise its entire methodology for allocating local government funding. The allocations for cities and villages starting in 2026 would be based on their populations, as opposed to the former methodology that also factored in the needs of a municipality.

A majority of the townships and municipalities across the county have approved resolutions accepting the proposed funding formula. The Belmont County Board of Commissioners, which had veto power, also accepted it. As the largest city in the county, Martins Ferry also had veto power, and city council in May decided to reject the proposal.

Davies outlined his concern to commissioners, saying that although the city would receive an additional $10,374.99 under the proposed formula, its park district would take a cut of $4,860.96. This would result in $5,514.03 for the community as a whole.

Another issue with the methodology for Davies was that other municipalities, including St. Clairsville, benefit from having roads in their business districts maintained by the state due to major highways running through them.

“I’m not saying we’re being punished; I’m saying I feel we’re underfunded because that’s all expenses Martins Ferry has to court,” Davies said. “When you walk out of the door of the courthouse here, that’s the state since they plow your snow and pave your roads. That’s part of my reason why I believe the methodology is not correct.”

Martins Ferry Council President Kristine Davis said the funding change may result in the elimination of the city’s dispatchers, effective January 2026. Davies added that the city also may not have enough money to open its pool next year.

“What am I going to tell the kids who swim in the pool next year when we don’t have enough money to open the pool?” Davies asked the commissioners. “What are you guys going to do when we have to make layoffs in our EMS? What are you going to do when our safety forces fail?”

Commissioner J.P. Dutton responded that while the commissioners voted for the methodology, they did not create it. He added that the methodology needed to be adjusted in accordance with state law.

In response to a question from Davies regarding why they voted to approve the new formula, Dutton said commissioners voted for the methodology because it provided a “fair justification” for the allocation they believed was appropriate for their entity. For Belmont County, Dutton said the 15% allocation, or $323,511.15, the county received “was fair.”

“My understanding was that it was difficult to determine how the prior formula was derived, and Ohio Revised Code mandated that the formula needed updating, to my understanding,” Dutton said. “If it was not updated, to my understanding, the formula would fall to the state formula, which I don’t think any county currently utilizes. The state formula would have drastically impacted the county’s allocation, bringing it close to or at 50%.

“Currently Belmont County’s allocation is just 15%, and I think we felt that was appropriate since we weren’t looking to add to the county shares and wanted to see additional dollars go to townships, villages and even park districts,” Dutton continued.

Belmont County Treasurer Katherine Kelich, who was also present, said that she understood Martins Ferry would be short approximately $25,000 due to pay increases and pool costs. She added that Martins Ferry would still come out $10,000 ahead using the new methodology compared to the old methodology.

“This new methodology is to keep us honest, and that’s what we have to do nowadays to make sure that the money is going to the right entities in the right way, as opposed to helping a friend out,” Kelich said. “I understand that you’re not satisfied with that, but for the majority, it was voted for.”

Despite Martins Ferry’s objections and its veto vote, other political subdivisions across the county have the opportunity to exclude Martins Ferry’s vote from the process. As of Tuesday, seven municipalities and seven townships representing 35,310 residents had voted to exclude Martins Ferry’s veto. With a total county population of 66,497, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, that means a majority of the population has voted to exclude and, as a result, the new formula will take effect in 2026.

In other business, the commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution declaring the necessity of levying a tax in excess of the 10-mill limitation regarding the 1.25-mill renewal levy for mental health and addiction services. Dutton said the levy had been in discussion for the “last month or so,” with the Mental Health & Recovery Board visiting the commissioners in May to discuss its projects and funding.

“We had another discussion in June about the process of adding this levy as a renewal for consideration for the upcoming ballot,” Dutton said. “This is part of the process for it to come before the voters of Belmont County for a decision on whether or not to renew this funding for the mental health and recovery board that covers three counties — Belmont, Harrison and Monroe counties.”

Dutton added that Belmont County is the only one of the three counties to have a levy, with the levy funds staying inside Belmont County.