Council
Chambers
January 22,
2008
A) CALL TO ORDER
The Council for the City of
B) PRAYER
C) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
D) ROLL CALL
On roll call, the following members answered present: Mr. Gabbard, Mr. Sanker, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Moore, Mr. Thornbury, Mr. Barlow and Mr. Mumper.
E) AMENDMENT OF AGENDA
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to amend the agenda by adding Communication N-10) a letter from Joe Geers regarding Cincinnati Waterworks and Metropolitan Sewer District. All members present voted YES.
F) MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
11/13/2007, 11/27/2007, 12/11/2007, 12/27/2007 and 1/1/2008
On a motion by Mr. Thornbury, seconded by Mr. Barlow it was moved to approve the minutes as if read. All members present voted YES.
G) requests to address council on agenda items
There were no requests to address Council.
H) REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL
1. Community Development RE: Standing Meeting Time
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved to accept the
report. All members present voted YES.
I) SECOND
A) ORDINANCE MAINTAINING THE PART-TIME HOURLY TAX CLERK POSITION ESTABLISHED BY ORDINANCE 34-2005 FOR THE REMAINDER OF CALENDAR YEAR 2008, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to amend the
ordinance from $17 an hour to $16.50 and hour.
All members present voted YES.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to suspend the
rules and hear all three readings of the Ordinance as amended. All members present voted YES.
On a
motion by Mr. Thornbury, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved to pass the
ordinance. All members present voted YES.
J) ADMINISTRATION
REPORTS
Mayor
Williams was present and reported that Jerry Stoker, the new building
commissioner started today and that he will be at City Hall on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays. The Mayor is
encouraged by Mr. Stoker’s presence and feels that Mr. Stoker along with Chris
Brown, the Assistant Law Director, has the background that will make a positive
difference here.
The
Mayor mentioned that he was invited to swear in the new members of the Chamber
of Commerce which took place on January 14th.
The
Mayor noted that the City of
The
Mayor stated that an ad was placed in Sunday’s newspaper for a Budget Analyst
and that the Administration has received one resume and one phone call thus
far.
When opened
for questions, Mr. Thornbury inquired on the details in the ad for the Budget
Analyst. Mayor Williams answered that
they referred to Sharonville’s position and we are consistent and looking for
the same in respect to the number of years of education, experience, and
qualifications. This will be an open
process and Council will have input. The
Mayor said that he feels strongly that something has to be done and that now is
the time to do it.
Mr.
Barlow brought up the actions of the Fed cutting the rate by ¾ of a percent,
the stock market situation, and forecasts of possible recessions and asked the
Mayor what type of affect it would have on our city. The Mayor answered that we must watch the
situation carefully and that it will affect each of our businesses
differently. We certainly need to
exercise caution for the next several months.
Mr.
Mumper stated that we are still officially in Fiscal Watch and asked the Mayor
if the State Auditor was still available for assistance. The Mayor responded that there are certain
technical services that they are required to provide while we are in Fiscal
Watch.
Mr.
Thornbury asked the Mayor if the Budget Analyst position that was advertised
for was listed as full or part time.
Mayor Williams responded that it was not specified and that a salary was
not indicated. We want to wait and see
what an individual may bring to the table and how their qualifications may
serve multiple departments of our city before making these determinations.
Mr.
Gabbard asked if the new Building Commissioner resides in the City of
Mr.
Gabbard asked the Mayor if we were actively marketing our City. Mr. Gabbard noted that we should emphasize
our central location and safety services in particular. The Mayor responded that there has been
discussion about advertising, we have had a lot of free advertising recently
with the positive news stories. There
have been many good articles about the City of
Mr.
Mumper asked if there was any update on Rookwood Exchange. The Mayor answered that there was no recent
progress and that the developers were still working with the remaining property
owners.
Mr.
Sanker mentioned in regards to advertising our city, that we already have four
marketing firms that are marketing the City of
Mr.
Moore added as a follow up to Mr. Sanker that at the last Community Development
meeting, Neyer Inc. brought in a new firm to assist in developing attractive
City landmarks as a component of the brand of our community. They have a vested interest to do this and to
do it well.
Mr.
Kiser was in attendance. Mr. Moore asked
if there were any questions for Mr. Kiser and there were none at this
time.
Mr.
Moore introduced Mr. Stith, the new Auditor for the City of
Mr.
Stith said that right now the Auditor’s office is working on a certificate of
resources and expenditures. The
Auditor’s Office is meeting with the State Auditor on Friday to get this report
filed as soon as possible as it’s due on January 31st.
Mr.
Sanker asked if there was any input from the Treasurer, the Finance Committee
or local businesses on what they anticipated for the Certificate of estimated
resources. Mr. Stith added that this
estimate is based on the official certificate that was filed at the end of last
year which was prior to his term as Auditor.
Mr.
Sanker asked if Mr. Stith was using the final number from last year. Mr. Sanker wants to know if any increase from
the Treasurer’s office was figured in.
Last year the Treasurer gave us an estimate on Earnings Tax, and asked
if the Auditor’s office was using that same number this year. Mr. Stith responded that he doesn’t have an
updated number as of the first of the year and that these numbers are based on
what was here last year and what was filed with the County under the previous
Auditor.
Mr.
Mumper added that we don’t want last year’s earning tax receipts as the
guideline to next year. We hope the
numbers are just as good, but that we should take a conservative approach.
Mr. Barlow
asked Mr. Stith for the time of the Friday meeting with the State Auditors
representatives. Mr. Stith said that the
meeting was at 9:00 am. Mr. Barlow
announced that there will be a Finance & Audit Committee Meeting on Friday
at 6:00 pm.
Mr. Sanker
said that he just wants to be sure we are not submitting or certifying numbers
and holding Council responsible for an estimate that Council has no input in
developing.
Mr.
Mumper clarified that Council does not want to use last year’s figures for earnings
tax as the starting estimate of resources.
Last year is what we think might have been an aberration with it being
14% higher than what was expected. We
can revise this at any point in time and with the uncertainty in the economy,
we should be conservative.
Mr.
Sanker added that the problem is that we really don’t know what numbers the
auditor’s are actually working with. Mr.
Sanker added that the average increase is between 2 and 5% with good years of 6
to 7%. He explained that 2007 was a very
good year and we shouldn’t base anything on the final 2007 numbers as the base
for 2008.
K) OTHER REQUESTS TO
ADDRESS COUNCIL
There
were no requests to address Council.
L) UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There
was no Unfinished Business to discuss.
M) NEW BUSINESS
Mr.
Schneider placed
Mr.
Moore placed the topic of promoting and advertising our community into the
Community Development Committee.
Mr.
Schneider announced that the Auditor’s ceremonial swearing in would be this
Sunday at 6:00 pm in Council Chambers followed by a reception.
N) COMMUNICATIONS
1. Letter from
Mayor RE: Mayor’s Court Fines
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved that the letter be received and filed. All members present voted YES.
2. Letter from
John Hanrahan RE: December 2007 and Yearly Tax Report
Mr. Sanker mentioned that he thinks it’s important to
recognize the impact that businesses make on our community. We are very fortunate that we have a good mix
of manufacturing, retail, and office in the City of
Mr. Moore added that analysis of mandatory filing certainly
impacts our certificate of estimated resources.
For example, with the mandatory filing, how much of this increase is due
to individuals who had never filed and had to go back 3 or 4 years? How much of this is a business taking a
particular increase or hit? This was
definitely an outstanding year for the City of
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved that the letter be received and filed. All members present voted YES.
3. Letter from Ted
Kiser RE: Yearly Report
On a motion by Mr. Schneider, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved that the letter be received and filed as if read. All members present voted YES.
4. Letter from
Board of Elections RE: Kroger Petition
Mr. Mumper stated that this was just a sample from
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved that the letter be received and filed. All members present voted YES.
5. Letter from
Chief Schlie RE: Rusty Bucket
6. Letter from
Donna Laake RE: Rusty Bucket
7. Letter from Dan
Bly RE: Rusty Bucket
8. Letter from
Liquor Control RE: Rusty Bucket
Mr. Mumper noted that the Rusty Bucket is going into the former Fuddruckers location. He also noted that the next letter is the Longhorns location.
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved that the letters be received and filed and to file NO objection. All members present voted YES.
9. Letter from Liquor Control RE: Rare Hospitality
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved that the letter
be received and filed and to only object if any objections are received from
the various departments. All members
present voted YES.
As
amended, Council then considered the following item:
10. Letter from Joe
Geers RE:
On a
motion by Mr. Sanker, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved that the letter be
received and filed and that the request be granted. All members present voted YES.
O) EXCUSE ABSENT MEMBERS
All
members were present.
P) ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to adjourn. All members present voted YES.
______________________________ ______________________________
J. Brian Mumper Jane
M. Grote
Clerk of Council President
of Council