The village of Amelia is struggling financially, and not just when it comes to funding the police department.

At the June 6 council meeting, after discussing the police department issue, Mayor Leroy Ellington brought up the steadily decreasing amount of money in the general fund, that before long will turn into an increasing deficit.

“Honestly, by 2013 we’ll be operating at a deficit,” Mayor Ellington said.

Part of this deficit comes from the loss of the local government fund provided by the state, part of it comes from the failure of levy attempts, including two in 2010, and part of it comes from the 74 percent growth of the village according to the 2010 census.

The village has responded by making multiple cuts including eliminating $171,000 in annual salaries since 2008.

“That’s a really good start,” Mayor Ellington said. “But when you consider the fact that beginning in July 2011 Amelia Village will begin to lose revenue from the local government fund, if more cuts and more revenue are not realized, Amelia Village will not be sustainable in my opinion.”

Ellington has been warning council members about the budget for some time now, and even had fiscal officer Kevin Pyle put together data to present council members June 6. His data predicted deficits beginning in 2013 and increasing to around $188,000 of debt by 2015.

When the subject resurfaced council members responded with a variety of opinions and suggestions.

“My opinion is we’re going to have to live within our means,” said Councilman Chuck Thacker.

Thacker said he was surprised by the numbers and suggested halting projects and other spending, while finding ways to save money.

“That’s what I see as an avoidance,” Mayor Ellington said about Thacker’s suggestion. “All I ever hear about is ‘At the next meeting we’ll talk about it.’ The data is right in front of you.”

Mayor Ellington encouraged council members to be more proactive and he said, in his opinion, the answer to the problem is going to lie in an increase in revenue. Ellington said increases can come from things like the new Kroger Marketplace coming to Amelia, but that will not be enough.

The other option is tax. Either earnings tax or property tax.

“You either raise taxes or close up shop,” said councilman Todd Hart at the meeting.

Even if they don’t like the idea of tax, the situation has forced council members into investigating it, and they asked the fiscal officer to investigate different taxes and play with numbers to find the minimum amount of tax needed to cover costs.

“It’s going to s**k, absolutely,” said councilwoman Renee Gerber about adding a tax. “But people are moving here because we are a small village. I do not want to lose my government and I don’t want to lose my police department.”

Cutting back because of lack of funding will also affect some major projects the village is looking to complete in the future, including construction work on Church Street, which will improve access to Amelia Elementary School. Easier access to the school will be crucial since the school has had to make transportation cuts to meet its budget.

Ellington said that there has to be an increase in revenue or there will be a severe loss of services in the village.

“I really don’t know where else we can cut, short of turning out the street lights. If council doesn’t start making some proactive choices there will be no sustainability,” Ellington said.

Mayor Ellington said decisions can’t happen fast enough, however, he said right now council has to tackle one issue at a time, beginning with making a decision about the police department, and moving on to the broader issue of the general fund.