Editor’s Note: This is the first in a five-part series highlighting different villages in Athens County.
Life is tough for Trimble government officials who attempt to run the village on merely $120,000 — roughly the salary of two Ohio University professors.
“Last year we got around $160,000 to do so,” Mayor Douglas Davis said. “This year, with all of the cuts, we’re down to just $120,000, and that isn’t much money to operate a town on.”
The town of about 400 residents is fighting through problems such as abandoned homes, lack of industry and theft in office, but current administrators feel they are finally getting back on track.
“We’re just getting caught up with most of the backed-up bills and things we haven’t had paid,” Davis said. “We have loss of properties due to the flood (in 2004). It’s just been an overwhelming thing for us over the past four years.”
Tearing down or rebuilding abandoned and ruined homes is at the forefront of the Trimble agenda, as Davis said that there are 35 homes currently empty in the village, which causes a lack of tax-revenue to be generated.
“Some of them we get nothing from, (and have) been empty for eight to 10 years,” Davis said. “It’s a tough situation for us.”
Adding to the financial problems, former Treasurer Debbie Berry stole roughly $63,000 from the village three years ago, said Roger Hooper, the village’s fiscal officer.
“We’re still recovering from that,” Hooper said. “We just don’t have enough money coming in to do what we need to do.”
Berry received a five-year prison sentence but was placed on judicial release after one year to pay restitution payments, which she is doing, Hooper said.
“We’ve been getting about $100 a month from her, and we feel lucky just to be getting that,” Hooper said.
The village gets by on grants it receives from the state, including funds to replace roads and fix the water system, Davis said.
“We just don’t have enough income here to do anything,” Davis said. “If we had to pay for everything, this town would start to deteriorate real bad.”
In terms of crime, the village doesn’t have as prevalent of a drug trade as other villages, Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly said.
“Well, we’re just like all of the other small towns in that there are a couple of drug houses, and there doesn’t seem like there is anything we can do to get away from that,” Hooper said.
Davis also said Tri-County Community Housing is going to build a habitat house in Trimble to replace one that was torn down.
“It’s all up to the individuals,” Davis said. “The people that live in your community are what make your community. We can’t force people to do this and that. We need a tax base; it’s the only way we can raise some money.”
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