ELYRIA — Living paycheck to paycheck is no longer reserved for just ordinary folks.

The city of Elyria will have to do it, too, until the end of the year, as it will have little to no cash on hand after October, said city Auditor Ted Pileski.

While the city’s finances have been bad all year, October reached an all-time low, Pileski said.

Income tax distribution dropped 19 percent from what was received in October 2008. It is the largest single monthly drop of the year.

“Basically, we will be living from income tax distribution to income tax distribution,” he said. “It’s not good when you are at a point where you have no money to make payroll without getting additional money in, but that’s where we are at right now.”

Mayor Bill Grace said it is possible that additional cuts will have to be made before the end of the year because of the city’s dire financial picture.

“The budget calls for us to be right at the edge of (being in the red),” he said. “We have budgeted to spend just about everything we bring in.”

Pileski said Nov. 2 — when the city will receive income tax revenue — can’t come soon enough.

“We are going to be closing October with very little money,” Pileski said. “Of the cash we have remaining in the general fund, we will have enough to cover payroll and bills.”

Payroll is a big expense for the city, but each month the city must also put money into the health insurance fund, pension account, pay the utilities for all city buildings and buy gasoline and office supplies.

With that in mind, Pileski said he will likely lower his revenue estimates yet again for the year and will ask City Council to adjust the general fund budget again to balance the books for the year. Now that the jail is closed and eight more firefighters have been laid off in the Fire Department, their budgets can be adjusted to reflect the need for less money.

“I’ve never seen the city like this before,” Pileski said. “This is not a good situation.”

Grace said the line item adjustments could save the budget for the year, but he doesn’t know.

“We can’t predict what the revenue is going to be,” he said. “We predicted this year would be bad, and it has been worse. Most of our revenue is based on employment in the city. If that continues to drop, so will our revenue.”

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

PITTSBURGH — The Browns’ 2009 winning streak is over at one game.

Pittsburgh’s dominance of Cleveland is alive and well, and in no apparent danger of ending anytime soon.

The Steelers (4-2) committed four turnovers, which allowed the Browns (1-5) to hang around into the fourth quarter, but they were never in jeopardy of losing the lead or the game. The Steelers’ 12th straight win in the rivalry came 27-14 Sunday at Heinz Field.

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“It’s always hard to swallow this one,” fullback Lawrence Vickers said. “People in Cleveland would love to beat Pittsburgh.”

The latest defeat was different than many of the others in Pittsburgh’s 18-1 run against Cleveland.

The Steelers didn’t pound the ball on the ground for record yardage, like Willie Parker did in 2006. They didn’t shut out the Browns, like they had in 2005 and ’07. They didn’t use a Ben Roethlisberger comeback in the fourth quarter, like they did in 2006 and ’07.

This beatdown was all about breakdowns.

The Browns lost coverage on Pittsburgh’s best receivers on numerous occasions, allowing Roethlisberger to throw for 417 yards — second most in his career. He went 23-for-35 with two touchdowns, an interception and a 113.6 rating, as he improved to 10-0 against Cleveland.

“He’s in total command of the offense,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “It’s fun to watch at times.”

“He frustrates a lot of defenses,” coach Eric Mangini said. “That’s who this quarterback is.”

When the Browns would blitz, Roethlisberger would quickly find a receiver running wide open. When the Browns would drop eight in coverage, he’d wait awhile for a receiver or tight end to break free. With linebacker Kamerion Wimbley out with the flu, he had even more time than usual.

The Steelers had 10 plays of 20 yards or more — nine passes and a reverse — for 297 yards. They also had two 19-yarders. Receiver Hines Ward had eight catches for 159 yards.

“When I caught it there was nobody around,” he said of his 52-yard touchdown.

That also applied to Santonio Holmes (five catches, 104 yards) and tight end Heath Miller (five catches, 80 yards, touchdown).

“I don’t think our zone integrity was too good today,” cornerback Eric Wright said. “They found the big holes and we gave up big plays.”

And once again, the Cleveland offense didn’t make nearly enough big plays or prevent the devastating ones.

A heavy dose of Joshua Cribbs at quarterback in the Wildcat formation — 13 of 51 plays — provided a spark in each half, but Cribbs threw a first-quarter interception in the red zone that led to the first Steeler touchdown. The offense managed just seven points, and Cribbs scored on a 98-yard kickoff return.

In six games, the Browns have scored four offensive touchdowns. They had four turnovers Sunday.

“Two things we can’t do, and we talked about it a lot, are turnovers and big plays,” Mangini said.

Cribbs’ interception from the 14 deprived the Browns of the chance to take an early lead and establish some momentum. On his second straight pass attempt — second of the season — he was pressured by LaMarr Woodley and picked off by safety Troy Polamalu, who undercut Chansi Stuckey.

Derek Anderson’s interception from the Pittsburgh 31-yard line with 4:21 left in the fourth quarter eliminated the possibility of an improbable comeback. He scrambled left, but instead of turning upfield he threw across his body for Mohamed Massaquoi. The pass was well underthrown.

“Looking back on it, stupid play,” said Anderson, who lost two fumbles on sacks as running back Jerome Harrison didn’t pick up the blitz. “There’s no excuse for it, it can’t happen.”

Anderson went 9-for-24 for 122 yards, an interception, a touchdown and a 51.0 rating. In the last two games, he’s 11-for-41 for 145 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He’s been the victim of 15 drops. His season rating is 41.6, worst in the league.

“I’m not looking to make a move, no,” Mangini said when asked about changing quarterbacks. “I think we had a lot of opportunities today. We’ve got to be able to keep moving forward to where we’re capitalizing, pushing those opportunities.”

The Browns cut the lead to 17-14 after three passes to Massaquoi gained 60 yards and Vickers caught a 1-yard touchdown. The Steelers answered immediately to go up 24-14, then the game got ugly despite perfect conditions.

After a Browns punt, Brodney Pool intercepted a Roethlisberger overthrow. The next four possessions ended with fumbles — two by Anderson and one each by Parker and fellow running back Rashard Mendenhall. The Steelers re-established normalcy with a six-minute drive and 39-yard field goal with 5:42 left.

The Browns’ lone win under Mangini was a hard-to-watch 6-3 triumph last week over Buffalo. Despite being outgained 543 to 197 Sunday, he insists his team is growing.

“I see progress each week,” he said. “It’s a process, it takes time. That being said, if a few things would’ve been done differently, it’s a different outcome.

“What I like is the guys keep playing. There’s never a sense of ‘Here we go again.’ It’s not like that in the locker room, not like that on the sideline, not like that during the week.”

The fans probably have a different reaction. They haven’t watched a win over Pittsburgh since Oct. 5, 2003.
Call it the Dirty Dozen.

“It’s not the same,” left guard Eric Steinbach said. “I don’t care if it was 30 in a row, we’re starting fresh this year.”
With a stale result.

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

ELYRIA — The two founders of Stand Up Elyria, the group hoping to unseat Mayor Bill Grace with a recall election, took the first step toward achieving their goal Tuesday by hand-delivering dozens of petitions to the Clerk of Council’s office.

The petitions contained the signatures of 2,630 people gathered in the last year and were hand delivered by co-founders Craig Bevan and Kim Ach.

Grace

Clerk of Council Assistant Nell Fife accepted the petitions and went through the task of time-stamping and copying each sheet.

From there, Fife took the petitions to deputy auditor John Farrell, who hand-counted each name to verify the total number of signatures. Bevan and Ach originally told city officials they collected 2,640 signatures. Farrell later counted 2,630.

The group, made up of vocal residents who are not afraid to share their displeasure with the mayor’s performance, needed 2,267 signatures, which represents 25 percent of the electorate that voted in the last general election.

The city will forward the petitions to the Lorain County Board of Elections, which will certify each to ensure all the names are of registered voters. If the petitions are deemed valid, they will be returned to City Council, which will by law tell Grace he has five days to resign or a special election will be held to determine whether he should be recalled.

City Auditor Ted Pileski said the city will have to pay the $50,000 bill for a special election if it is needed. The money will come from the city’s 2010 property tax distribution received from the county. Any money owed to the Board of Elections will be withheld from the roughly $1 million the city receives each year.

Bevan said the group went for more signatures than needed to show Grace they were serious.

“This is about Elyria,” he said. “We love Elyria and care about it. That’s why we are doing this.”

Grace walked into City Hall on Tuesday moments after Bevan and Ach arrived. He said he was surprised to learn his critics were in the building.

When asked if he would resign, Grace said he has no plans to do so. He characterized the efforts of Bevan and Ach as more personal than political.

“It comes down to personality between us, and they don’t care for me,” he said. “So they have found this piece of law that calls for a recall. But you are going to have 40 to 45 percent of people that don’t agree with their elected leaders even in good times.”

Bevan and Ach, however, said their efforts to oust Grace aren’t personal. Instead, they say the mayor has mismanaged the Fire and Police departments and spent excessively in a time of financial uncertainty.

Grace is not the only Ohio mayor to face the threat of recall.

The Richland County Board of Elections just stopped the recall efforts of a Mansfield woman who gathered signatures in an effort to oust Mansfield Mayor Don Culliver in November. Backed by a local Mansfield lawyer, the recall issue was pulled from the ballot after it was determined the petitions were not valid under state law.

Also, a legal snafu with petitions in Toledo stopped the recall election of Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.

Akron residents were successful in their bid for a recall election of longtime Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic.

However, Plusquellic survived the vote in June with an overwhelming majority in his favor.

Grace said he believes he, too, would emerge victorious if the recall effort reaches an election.

“Mayor Plusquellic and the citizens of Akron show it’s one thing to place such a measure on a ballot, but it’s another thing to overturn an election that has happened two years ago,” he said. “I think if asked, I will be able to prove in the 10 years I’ve been mayor, I have put the city’s interest above mine every time.”

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — When good teams meet, the one with the ball at the end usually prevails.

When terrible teams meet, it’s the one who makes the latest biggest mistake that loses.

Exhibit A: Browns 6, Bills 3 on Sunday afternoon at a gusty Ralph Wilson Stadium.

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The beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder victory snapped a 10-game losing streak for the Browns (1-4). Fans finally had a reason to celebrate. Players could take a breath. And Eric Mangini could turn that frown upside down after notching his first win as Cleveland’s coach.

“The way it turned out, I thought it was beautiful,” said Mangini, who got a hug on his way off the field from quarterback Derek Anderson, who completed just two passes.

“Coach got a game ball,” left tackle Joe Thomas said. “I think it was really special for everybody, and I know it was special for him.”

The first win since November — again against the Lake Erie neighbor — wouldn’t have been possible without Roscoe Parrish muffing a punt with 2:59 remaining in a 3-3 game. The last of Dave Zastudil’s nine punts landed between up man Fred Jackson (on the field because the wind was so tricky) and deep man Roscoe Parrish. After it rolled for a few yards, Parrish tried to pick it up and booted it. Blake “Psycho” Costanzo recovered on the 16-yard line.

“I just wanted that ball,” said Costanzo, who has three special teams fumble recoveries this year. “I went after it with all I got.”

Six Jamal Lewis runs and an 18-yard Billy Cundiff field goal through uprights shaking in the wind won the game with 23 seconds left.

The Bills fell to 1-4, and coach Dick Jauron might want to start making plans for some unanticipated free time. The hot seat turned scorching after Buffalo was penalized 13 times, including nine false starts they blamed on trying to go with quick snap counts.

“If they would’ve been doing laps during training camp, that wouldn’t have happened,” Browns guard Eric Steinbach said, referencing Mangini’s punishment policy for committing a penalty in practice.

“I can’t stand to see it get any worse,” Bills receiver Lee Evans said.

The Browns were saying the same thing two weeks ago, but they made progress in an overtime loss to Cincinnati (4-1), then gritted out the win Sunday.

“The best team won today,” receiver Joshua Cribbs said. “We were due.”

The “best team’s” quarterback went 2-for-17 for 23 yards, an interception and a 15.1 rating. The yards and completions were the second lowest in team history (15 and one vs. Detroit on Dec. 19, 1954), and the one passing first down equaled the third fewest in team history. Anderson’s rating was the second lowest of his career (12.3 vs. Tampa Bay on Dec. 24, 2006).

“I love my teammates for helping me out because I didn’t do a lot today to get us this,” Anderson said. “Our defense and special teams won us the game.”

Anderson didn’t get much help from his receiving corps. Mohamed Massaquoi (two), Jerome Harrison (two), Robert Royal (two), newcomer Chansi Stuckey and Cribbs all dropped passes.

“I really think Derek played a real good game,” Massaquoi said. “He put it where it needed to be. The wind picked it up sometimes, but we have to go out there and make plays.”

Royal’s second drop was the worst, as he couldn’t handle a perfect deep ball on the 23-yard line that may have gone for a touchdown.

“I don’t care if it moves left or right, up or down,” he said. “I still got to have it. I’m a lot better than that.”

The two completions — a comeback to Massaquoi and a hook to Steve Heiden — in a win are the fewest since Cincinnati beat Denver 31-21 on Oct. 22, 2000. Corey Dillon rushed for a then-league-record 278 yards and the Bengals totaled 407 rushing yards. Akili Smith was 2-for-9 passing for 34 yards, and Scott Mitchell was 0-for-5.

The Browns’ game plan all week was to run the ball, and that only intensified when they showed up at the stadium to find the wind howling. Brian Daboll called 41 running plays that picked up 171 yards. Jamal Lewis, who’d missed the last two weeks with a sore hamstring, totaled 117 on 31 carries.

“They put eight guys in the box and we got tough yards,” Anderson said. “I’ve got to credit the O-line, Jamal and (Harrison) for getting the yards. It was tough sledding in there.”

The teams combined for 16 punts and 22 first downs. The Browns led 3-0 at halftime, and Buffalo tied it early in the third quarter.

“It’s good Midwestern football right there,” Thomas said.

Special teams played a huge role. Zastudil netted 42.1 yards on nine punts, including balls that were downed at the 1-, 1- and 4-yard line. Costanzo recovered the critical fumble and Cundiff improved to 5-for-5 in three games with the Browns.

“Eighteen yards is as easy as you get,” he said of the winner. “It’s shorter than an extra point. I just got to kick the ball straight.”

Cundiff almost turned goat after booting the final kickoff out of bounds. It gave the Bills a chance, and the ball at the 40-yard line with 23 seconds left.

“I know I gave the special teams coach a heart attack,” he said. “I just got too aggressive. It’s just like in golf. I tried to hit it too hard.”

Mangini yelled at Cundiff when he walked by on the sideline.

“Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?” Mangini said of his thoughts. “That ball should not be out of bounds — wind, rain, sleet, act of God, it stays inbounds.”

The anger was temporary, as the Bills’ desperation lateral play ended in a fumble.

One final mistake in a game that won’t be shown on ESPN Classic, but will forever be remembered by Mangini.

A bad day for D.A.

The Browns got their first win of the year Sunday despite some anemic numbers from QB Derek Anderson …

• 2: Total completions, the fewest by a winning team since the Bengals beat the Broncos in 2000 and second fewest in Browns history.
• 23: Total passing yards, the second fewest in team history.
• 15.1: Quarterback passer rating.
• 8: Dropped passes, which added to Anderson’s ugly day.

Read more

• Browns 6, Bills 3: Ugly game OK with Browns
• Browns analysis: Forget looks, Browns just love first win
• Browns/Bills breakdown
• Browns defense backs coordinator’s big talk
• Browns notes: Bad day perfect for Lewis

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.