Medway approves 2015 budget

The governing board for the Medway Drug Enforcement Agency approved the agency's 2015 budget at its Oct. 15 meeting and will go into effect pending general assembly approval at the November meeting.

Don Hall, Medway director, said for the 2015 operating budget, he proposed a 3 percent cost of living increase for employees, coupled with a 2 percent medical insurance increase.

Hall anticipated a $277,414 carry-over from 2014 into 2015. Coupled with anticipated revenue in 2015 of $793,000 -- between the Wayne County tax levy, city of Brunswick funding, fines/restitution, and grant funding -- Medway would have $1.07 million in revenue compared with $902,886 in expenses next year.

Salaries would make up the largest component ($453,825 in 2015, up $8,170 over 2014), with health and life insurance as the agency's second largest expense, anticipated at $125,279 next year (a $12,970 increase over 2014).

Hall said the agency will need to explore options for its Drug Takeback Day next year though.

The program, which allows residents to drop off unused or expired prescription pills, (held on Sept. 27) garnered roughly 2,500 pounds of pills. The pills have traditionally been collected by the national DEA, but that agency is discontinuing the national program and no longer will cover the costs of incinerating old pills.

Hall said at $1.30 per pound, the local agency will need to decide what to do.

"It's a good program. I don't want to get rid of it," Hall said, but noted he doesn't want to "spend $5,000 to $7,000 just to burn pills."

Orrville Police Chief Dino Carozza said, "it is a popular program," in the few years it has been implemented around Wayne County.

The governing board -- comprised of police chiefs involved with Medway, along with Wayne County Prosecutor Dan Lutz -- approved the budget, which now goes to the Medway general assembly. That body is comprised of elected officials from the communities that support Medway.