Council
Chambers
February 26,
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. Sanker, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Moore, Mr. Thornbury, Mr. Barlow and Mr. Mumper
E) AMENDMENT OF AGENDA
There were No Amendments to the Agenda
The chair notes that Mr. Gabbard is now in Council Chambers.
F) requests to address council on agenda items
There were no requests to address Council.
G) REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL
1. Finance & Audit RE: 2008 Appropriations
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved to accept the
report. All members present voted YES.
2. Finance & Audit RE: Appointed Position Salaries
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to accept the
report. All members present voted YES.
H) SECOND
A) ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CLERK/TREASURER TO REMOVE A LIEN
IMPOSED ON
On a
motion by Mr. Schneider, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to hear the
second reading of the ordinance. All
members present voted YES.
B) ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SAFETY-SERVICE DIRECTOR TO ENTER
INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE PUBLIC ENTITIES POOL OF
Mr.
Schneider noted there was some discussion on this ordinance at the last Council
Meeting and he asked if the Mayor had any additional information. The Mayor responded that there were a couple
of issues and that we have to have this accomplished by the 1st of
March. The Law Department is now
satisfied with the contract. If you go
back to 2005, we were paying more than $366, 000 per year, went to $374,000in
2006 and jumped to $381,000 in 2007.
This year we have a bid for just over $173,000, so we changed
carriers. This is an unbelievable
savings. In addition, our liability
deductible went down from $25,000 to $2,500.
Another benefit is that we have coverage for a temporary replacement
should one of our emergency vehicles be involved in an automobile accident;
it’s better coverage with a very large savings.
Competition is a good thing and that’s what lowered our costs.
On a motion
by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Sanker, it was moved to suspend the rules and
hear the second and third reading of the ordinance. All members present voted YES.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to pass the
ordinance. All members present voted
YES.
I) INTRODUCTORY
A) ORDINANCE TO CHANGE APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE YEAR 2008, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Mr.
Moore asked for the chair of Finance Committee to explain the attachments.
Mr.
Barlow responded that these funds come from a subsidy. We have to appropriate for the Fenwick Park
Natureworks fund and there is a 75% match, so we will get that money back from
the grant. For recreation to complete
the paperwork, we had to show that we appropriated that fund. The others changes are coming from the
General Fund.
Mr.
Moore asked if anyone knew the timetables for the improvements. Mr. Mumper noted that according to Jenny
Wallace work is starting as soon as the weather breaks.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Barlow, it was moved to suspend the rules
and hear all three readings of the ordinance.
All members present voted YES.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to pass the
ordinance. All members present voted
YES.
B) ORDINANCE PROVIDING RAISES FOR APPOINTED EMPLOYEES, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Mr.
Schneider noted that this includes a 3% raise for appointed employees and a 10%
raise for the Safety Service Director and asked Mr. Barlow, chair of the Finance
Committee, if this was discussed at the Finance Committee Meeting. Mr. Barlow affirmed and added that the raise
is higher for the Safety Service Director because of the responsibility that he
has. The Safety Service Director is the
top appointed position, yet his salary is less than those he supervises. This gets him closer to what a City Manager
should be earning, in fact most City Managers make six figures.
Mr.
Schneider asked Mr. Barlow if a comparison study was discussed in the Finance
Meeting that showed what others were making.
Mr. Schneider agrees that the Safety Service Director has a lot of
responsibility but he would like to know if there was a comp study. Mr. Barlow responded that he has some
comparisons, Mr. Stith provided studies for this position as well as the Deputy
Auditor and the Budget Analyst position.
This raise would bring the Safety Service Director to approximately
$67,000 a year.
Mr.
Schneider asked if that amount included benefits. Mr. Barlow noted that benefits can add
another $10,000 - $18,000 in total compensation, but the base salary is
$67,000.
Mr.
Sanker added that the 10% increase is on the base salary. The Safety Service Director is well down the
line in salary from what the employees that he oversees make. It certainly isn’t that all supervisors
should make more than their subordinates, but in most corporations and
entities, that’s the case.
Mr.
Barlow asked the Mayor if he had any comments in regards to this matter. The Mayor commented that it’s not only a
matter of comparison to his subordinates, but also a matter of job
performance. Mr. Geers has produced in
this position and has saved this City significantly as shown tonight in the
Public Entities ordinance. In addition,
we have received multiple grants through his knowledge and experience. He oversees construction for major projects
in this City and his experience has guided us through. The 10% increase is justified.
Mr.
Moore added that he doesn’t see a reason to have only one reading. Section 1 applies to other appointed
positions who are not covered under Collective Bargaining Units who didn’t get
a raise this year and he would like to see that go into effect as soon as
possible. He doesn’t think anybody here
has an objection to that – these people are doing a heck of a job for this City
and they deserve at least that much. As
far as section 2 when it comes to Mr. Geers, if we just paid him 5% of the
money he saves this City; we’d be paying him twice as much as we are paying him
now. The position is grossly
underpaid. The salary is drastically
below that position’s subordinates compensation and most of those are governed
by contracts that have increased consistently over the past six or seven years,
while the Safety Service Director position has not. He said that he doesn’t have a problem with
moving on and having all three readings of this ordinance and is going to vote
no on this motion.
Mr.
Mumper said he would like to echo what Mr. Moore has said and he will vote no
as well. This should be passed
tonight.
Mr.
Thornbury said he appreciates all the comments heard tonight, but the one thing
that has struck him in all this is the lack of discussion leading up to
it. Mr. Thornbury is in favor of one
reading to allow more discussion. This
seems like a good example of keeping our government transparent and giving the
public a chance to respond.
On a
motion by Mr. Schneider, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to hear the
first reading of the ordinance. The
following members voted YES: Mr. Gabbard, Mr. Schneider and Mr. Thornbury. The following members voted NO: Mr. Sanker,
Mr. Moore, Mr. Barlow and Mr. Mumper.
On a
motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Barlow, it was moved to suspend the rules
and hear all three readings of the ordinance.
The following members voted YES: Mr. Sanker, Mr. Moore, Mr. Barlow and
Mr. Mumper. The following members voted
NO: Mr. Gabbard, Mr. Schneider and Mr. Thornbury.
All
motions failed.
C) ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 171.06 “PROCEDURES FOR FAILURE TO
COMPLY WITH MAYOR’S COURT SENTENCE” TO THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
Mr.
Moore asked if Mr. Kiser could explain the goal of this ordinance. Mr. Kiser responded that we already have a similar
ordinance in place. This will amend the
infraction from a misdemeanor of the 4th degree to a misdemeanor of
the 1st degree. A 4th
degree top penalty is 30 days in jail and a $250 fine. This is essentially our version of contempt
of court. Under Ohio Revised Code this
is a misdemeanor of the 1st degree, and it was made a misdemeanor of
the 4th degree by the City in previous Administrations. We have a jail space crisis downtown; what we
are finding is that some people don’t respect the judgment of our magistrate in
Mayor’s Court and therefore neglect to pay the fine. This ordinance makes it a misdemeanor of the
1st degree and allows us to fine up to $1,000 as an alternative
measure. This would make
On a
motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved to hear the first
reading of the ordinance. All members
present voted YES.
D) ORDINANCE ADOPTING SECTION 541.13 “GRAFFITI PREVENTION AND ABATEMENT”
TO THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
Mr.
Moore asked Mr. Kiser for the purpose of this ordinance. Mr. Kiser answered that this ordinance was
prepared without a specific request from Council. We are trying to be proactive in addressing
graffiti problems and hoping this will encourage property owners to abate
graffiti on their property at a lesser penalty than those committing the
crime. There is no hurry on this; the
Law Department welcomes any comments.
Mr.
Moore said that he notices that this declares graffiti as a public nuisance and
that we are going to give notices of abatement.
He asked if the city can abate and bill the property owners the same way
that we do for high grass. Mr. Kiser
confirmed.
Mr.
Schneider asked if this ordinance would give us the ability to go after the
railroads using the overpass that has graffiti all over it as an example. Mr. Kiser said that he believes it will give
us that authorization as long as we follow the procedure laid out in the
Ordinance which requires that we begin contacting the entity to give them the
opportunity to abate the problem themselves first.
On a
motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved to hear the first
reading of the ordinance. All members present
voted YES.
E) ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 1759.02 “FAILURE TO ABATE
NUISANCE PROHIBITED, REMOVAL OF WEEDS AND OTHER DELETERIOUS PLANT GROWTH BY
OWNER”, 1759.03 “FEES FOR SERVICE AND RETURN” AND 1759.05 “APPEALS” TO THE
CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
On a
motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved to hear the first
reading of the ordinance. All members
present voted YES.
J) INTRODUCTORY
A) A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO OTHER FUNDS ESTABLISHED BY THE CITY, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to suspend the rules
and hear all three readings of the resolution.
All members present voted YES.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to pass the
resolution. All members present voted
YES.
K) ADMINISTRATION
REPORTS
Mayor
Williams was present and announced that the work at the Xavier University East
Campus development has begun.
Preliminary plans were submitted by the building department and will go
to the Planning Commission, and will later be presented to Council. This is an ongoing process that usually
includes changes and adjustments. These
plans will be presented to the Planning Commission on March 5th for
those who are interested in seeing the presentation.
The
Mayor added that a demolition permit was issued for the Kumon property on
When
opened for questions, Mr. Moore asked if there were any updates on
Mr.
Schneider asked for an update on the issue he brought up with
Mr.
Mumper made a comment to the Mayor about a show on cable called “How It Works”
and there was an episode on yesterday in regards to clocks featuring the new
Mr.
Moore asked the Mayor if he has had any contact with Mr. Brundrett regarding
the properties on Courtland. Mayor
Williams answered that there has not been any contact and that he would ask Mr.
Dettmer to follow up. There was initial
concern and plenty of progress and then it just fell off.
Mr.
Stith was in attendance and gave an Auditor’s report. He noted that the Mayor, Mr. Geers and he met
with National Bank who provided the lease paperwork for the phone/data
system. That paperwork has now gone to
the Law Department for review and then Mr. Geers will work with Cincinnati Bell
to get the new systems installed.
Mr.
Stith added that he has been working with the Finance Committee on the
Permanent Appropriations, which is moving along and coming together. The Auditor’s Office he has also been
auditing some of the funds that have had problems in the past.
Mr.
Stith added that the Auditor’s Office has had some computer issues that they
have been dealing with. Keeping up with
data processing is an issue. VIP
software will help solve some of those issues.
Mr.
Mumper asked Mr. Stith if he had a chance to look at the refuse fund. Mr. Stith answered that he has been studying
the refuse fund and is collecting data.
The amount that was initially transferred in was insufficient to cover
the first three months. The amount that
we are collecting is less than the Rumpke bills. In working with the Building and Water
Departments, we found that there was a significant number of multi-units that
have been switched over to single units and on the flip side, there are some
units that were single that are now multi-units. There are also some properties that have been
torn down or are vacant and we are still being billed for these
properties. We are pulling that data
together and working with the Water Department to identify who is not
paying. Taking a look at these numbers
we will see why we are behind on the refuse fund. Mr. Stith hopes to have all the data in by
the next Council Meeting.
Mr.
Moore stated that he realizes there is a lot going on in the Auditor’s office
right now and asked if Mr. Stith has made any progress on the GAP reports for
2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Mr. Stith
answered that the City had an outside State Auditor’s for 2004 and 2005. He is meeting with the head of the audit
committee for the state tomorrow where we will see where we stand as of the end
of 2005. We still need to do reports for
2006 and 2007. Once those GAP reports
are done, we can have those two years audited together which would meet one of
the requirements for getting us out of Fiscal Watch.
Mr.
Thornbury asked Mr. Stith how the addition of a deputy auditor would facilitate
the fore mentioned log jams. Mr. Stith
responded that they currently don’t have a full time payroll position. The previous payroll clerk is now doing the
same job with the school system making $3 more per hour than she made in the
Auditor’s Office. The current deputy
auditor has come in and taken over that position and has really mastered a very
difficult task. Our next step is to hire
a Deputy Auditor with an accounting background and have had 4 resumes thus
far.
Mr.
Kiser was in attendance and gave an administration report, mentioning that he
put packets of draft legislation on everyone’s desk and noted its importance in
getting feedback on these. This includes
the vacant property ordinance in which the Law Department has done all they can
do and awaiting feedback from the Building Commissioner and would also welcome
comments from Council. There is also
talk about us adopting a new building code from the State of
Mr.
Kiser then commented on the salary increase Ordinance and added that Chris
Brown is doing a great job and that he would like to see him get an increase as
well. He added that Ordinance 73-1999 is
the ordinance that set up our brackets for these positions and that those
brackets really do need to be looked at and adjusted.
Mr.
Moore asked what the intent of the scrap metal ordinance was. Mr. Kiser responded that this ordinance is a list
of requirements and details the dealers will have to keep as a record; this
information needs to be provided to the Police Chief on a weekly basis. Another option is to have this information
gathered by the Safety Service Director or the Police Captain – these are items
that we need to work through.
Mr.
Moore asked if copies of this ordinance have gone out to the Police Department,
Safety Service Director. Mr. Kiser
responded that the ordinance has only been given to Council at this point.
L) OTHER REQUESTS TO
ADDRESS COUNCIL
There
were no requests to address Council.
M) UNFINISHED BUSINESS
N) NEW BUSINESS
Mr.
Barlow announced there will be a
Mr.
Schneider announced there will be a Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting
tomorrow night at 7:00 PM at the Community Center. On the Agenda are Community Theatre,
Mr.
Thornbury said that the Drake Planetarium is having a presentation called
“Following the Drinking Gourd” this Thursday night at 7:00 PM as part of its
Black History Month program.
Mr.
Barlow asked that a letter be sent to the Law Department requesting an
ordinance for the
Mr.
Schneider added that Holy Trinity is hosting their Fish Fry every Friday, and
that the annual
Mr.
Thornbury wanted to personally thank Mr. Geers for helping out with a
constituent that involved a question on a water bill. When he brought this matter to Mr. Geer’s
attention, he jumped on it and the people involved were extremely pleased with
the results and the cooperation on the part of the City and the manner in which
it was resolved.
Mr.
Moore mentioned that the last Committee of the Whole Meeting included that the
issue of vacant properties was on the Agenda and after the meeting some
residents came forward to ask how they could get involved in this matter; there
was some great conversation. People will
be getting together this Saturday at 10:00 AM for a mini type Ward Meeting at
the Community Center. Anyone is
welcome. He also mentioned that there
will be a larger Ward Meeting on Thursday, March 13th at 7:30 PM at
the Community Center. Liz Blume from Xavier
will be present to give a presentation on the East Campus Project.
O) COMMUNICATIONS
1. Letter from
John Hanrahan RE: January 2008 Tax Report
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved that the letter be received and filed and to thank Mr. Hanrahan for his hard work. All members present voted YES.
2. Letter from
Board of Elections RE: Proposed Local Option Question
Mr. Mumper commented that this was for the Kroger Store in the Second Ward, precinct 2A only.
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.
P) EXCUSE ABSENT MEMBERS
All
members were present.
Q) ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to adjourn. All members present voted YES.
______________________________ ______________________________
J. Brian Mumper Jane
M. Grote
Clerk of Council President
of Council