Council
Chambers
March 11, 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. Barlow, it was moved to amend the agenda by moving Communication P-1 to immediately following the Public Hearing, Communication P-7 to before Ordinance K-E, and to add Resolution L-A. All members present voted YES.
F) PUBLIC HEARINGS
Prior to opening the Public Hearing, Ms. Grote explained the rules governing Public Hearings.
1) Amendments to
The Public Hearing closed when no one came forward to speak for or against the Ordinance.
As amended, Council then considered the following item:
P-1. Letter from
Jennifer Wallace RE: Addressing Council
On a motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Thornbury it was moved that the letter be received and filed, to permit Ms. Wallace to address Council and to grant her as much time as needed. All members present voted YES.
Ms. Wallace spoke regarding the Great American Clean Up which will be held on Saturday, April 26th starting at 9:00 am. In the past they have always focused on the parks and this year in addition to the parks, a special project has been set for Waterworks Pool. The Northern Suburban Swim Championships will be at Waterworks Pool July 21st and 22nd and volunteers are needed at the pool to paint and landscape. Additional volunteers are needed for the City’s other parks. Please call 531-9798 for more information.
Mr. Gabbard asked Ms. Wallace where everyone would be
meeting the morning of the Great American Clean Up day. Ms. Wallace said that each group of
volunteers would meet at either Waterworks or the neighborhood parks. Lunch is provided and all volunteers will
meet at
Mr. Sanker volunteered to lead a team for the clean up of
Ms. Wallace expressed her gratitude and said that there haven’t been a lot of volunteers in the past two years and this was one reason why she wanted to come to the Council Meeting tonight in order to get the word out.
G) requests to address council on agenda items
A request to address Council by Margaret Wehmeyer was heard immediately prior to consideration of ordinance J-B.
H) REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL
1. Community Development RE: Rookwood Design Review on Whole Foods
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to accept the
report. All members present voted YES.
2. Finance & Audit RE: Claims
Mr. Sanker
recommended that a request be made to the Law Department to prepare the
necessary Ordinance/Resolution to make payment possible.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved to accept the
report. All members present voted YES.
I) THIRD
A) ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CLERK/TREASURER TO REMOVE A LIEN
IMPOSED ON
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to hear the 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.
J) SECOND
A) 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
Mr.
Moore noted that this Ordinance will eliminate one of the steps in the process
that the City already follows and asked if Mr. Kiser could explain the
change. Mr. Kiser explained that in the
past “30 days” was the standard time frame; this ordinance will reduce that to
5 days which is in line with area communities.
We have added another step where a notification would be placed in the
newspaper, which would put the property on adequate notice.
Mr.
Moore said that he wanted to be sure that we didn’t need to find the property
owner, wherever they may be, in order to proceed with abatement. Mr. Kiser said that they would attempt
personal service, but with the notices, it would not be necessary in order to
abate the property.
On a
motion by Mr. Thornbury, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to hear the second
reading of the ordinance. All members
present voted YES.
A
request to address Council by Margaret Wehmeyer was heard before consideration
of the following item:
The
following ordinance was replaced with a new amended ordinance.
B) ORDINANCE ADOPTING SECTION 541.13 “GRAFFITI PREVENTION AND
ABATEMENT” TO THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
Mr.
Moore asked Mr. Kiser what was new on this amended ordinance. Mr. Kiser said that paragraph (d-3) was a new
section added to include the language that would allow the City to abate the
problems as they arise.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to hear the first
reading of the amended ordinance. All
members present voted YES.
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 Mr. Kiser to verify that this makes failure to comply with Mayor’s Court
sentences a misdemeanor of the 1st degree. Mr. Kiser confirmed and noted this is
consistent with the State Code. Mr.
Kiser made it clear that this is contempt of court.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved to hear the
second reading of the ordinance. All
members present voted YES.
K) INTRODUCTORY
A) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 1147.02 “PRINCIPAL PERMITTED
USES” AND 1147.04 “CONDITIONAL USES” OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
Mr.
Moore said that the purpose of this ordinance is to amend the kind of uses we
can have in a manufacturing district here in the City of
On a
motion by Mr. Sanker, seconded by Mr. Schneider, it was moved to hear the first
reading of the ordinance. All members
present voted YES.
B) ORDINANCE PROMOTING THE “
On a
motion by Mr. Barlow, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved to suspend the rules
and hear all three readings of the Ordinance, the first in its entirety. All members present voted YES.
On a
motion by Mr. Barlow, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to pass the
ordinance. All members present voted
YES.
C) ORDINANCE APPROVING THE EDITING AND INCLUSION OF CERTAIN
ORDINANCES AS PARTS OF THE VARIOUS COMPONENT CODES OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES
OF
On a motion
by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to hear the first reading of
the ordinance. All members present voted
YES.
D) ORDINANCE TO CHANGE APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE YEAR 2008, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Mr.
Barlow explained that is basic bookkeeping rolling over all the money left in
the special funds, there are no additional appropriations to funds.
On a
motion by Mr. Barlow, seconded by Mr. Mumper, 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. Barlow, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved to pass the
ordinance. All members present voted
YES.
As
amended, Council then considered the following item:
P-7. Letter from Mayor RE: Wage Increase Ordinance.
Mr.
Schneider noted his surprise and noted the Safety Service Director’s position
is so underpaid for what he does and what he brings to the table. Mr. Schneider asked the Mayor for his
perspective. Mayor Williams responded
that, after discussion with Mr. Geers, and with his consent, the letter stands.
Mr.
Schneider said that Mr. Geers is an honorable individual who has the City’s
well being more at heart than any other Safety Service Director in years. His question to the Mayor is if he feels in
his heart that Mr. Geers along with other appointed positions only deserve this
3% amount, or is it just not worth the fight.
Mayor Williams said that after discussions with Mr. Geers, the letter
stands.
Mr.
Mumper called for question on the motion.
There was no second.
Mr.
Sanker reiterated the Mayor’s comment and that this should not become a
political issue. Mr. Geers deserves the
10% and he fully agrees with that. There
may be other people within the City that probably do also, however there are
other positions in this City that currently have a higher rate of pay right now
than the Safety Service Director. We
started seeing letters for other people and how this one and that one deserve
more money, but there is no one sitting on this Council that can’t see and
realize the amount of time and work that’s put in by this particular individual
and if anyone would be deserving of that, it would be him.
Mr.
Thornbury noted he was in favor of the first reading previously, whether or not
the raise was deserved he wanted the chance to discuss before it was
passed. He mentioned that there was a
plea received for a pay increase for the Health Commissioner.
Mr.
Schneider directed a question to Mr. Stith asking if it was typical in the
private sector for management to receive the same percentage as laborers. Mr. Stith said in his experience raises are
based upon individual negotiations based upon experience and what they produce
for the company.
Mr.
Sanker commented there are others here who also have experience. The reason raises are issued by and approved
by the board of directors (Council) instead of individuals is because in the
past, the individuals who were responsible for distributing these raises were
arbitrary in giving these raises. When
looking into this matter, it was decided that department heads could make
recommendations to Council, but Council would make the final decision. He does believe that the Safety Service
Director, being the Operations Manager of the City should be one of the highest
paid, if not the highest paid individual for the subordinates who are under
him.
Mr.
Schneider noted that we are in a situation where City department heads don’t
have the ability to compensate their employees.
Should we mandate each appointed person get the same pay raise, or
should it be handled on an individual basis?
Mr.
Mumper said that according to the Mayor’s letter, we are changing this
ordinance to 3% for everyone. If there
are department heads who don’t think their employees deserve a 3% raise, they
are welcome to give them less.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Barlow, it was moved that the letter be
received and filed. All members present
voted YES.
E) ORDINANCE PROVIDING RAISES FOR APPOINTED EMPLOYEES, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY, AS AMENDED
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Barlow, it was moved to amend the
ordinance by taking out the words “except as provided for in Section 2 of this
ordinance” in Section Number 1, to delete Section Number 2 and to change
Section Number 3 to Section Number 2.
All members present voted YES.
Mr.
Schneider stated that this ordinance says that the raise will be retroactive,
so he sees no point in having all three readings tonight and will be voting
against that.
Mr.
Thornbury agreed with Mr. Schneider in that there are a number of issues being
raised by the discussions here. Is there
a legitimate case to be made for certain individuals to receive more than 3%? As the letter from the Health Board says, the
Norwood Board of Health authorized by Section 3709.16 of the Ohio Revised Code
is charged with setting the salary for the Health Commissioner. In addition, the Board of Health awarded salary
increases to the Health Commissioner following an annual review of
performance. Like Mr. Schneider, I
wonder if we are setting precedence here for only blanket raises by passing
this ordinance.
Mr.
Moore said that he understands the issues being raised here and thinks it’s
worth a review to look at. We have a
salary range from 1999 for a lot of our appointed positions and thinks we need
to have a review of those ranges, but that is going to take some time. 3% is reasonable at this time; people who
work for this City should not have to wait until that’s done. We should go ahead and pass this ordinance
now and put the subject of salary ranges in committee.
Mr.
Gabbard said that there should be a ceiling when it comes to raises. If we open it up to the discretion of the
department head, we set ourselves up for political bantering whether the raise
is deserved or not. We are already into
March all union employees were given there raise in January.
Mr.
Thornbury agreed with Mr. Moore in that this needs to be an organized
approach. The one thing the private
sector allows is to set salary ranges designed to attract the best possible
candidate. At the same time, people are
probably getting antsy about this and he agrees that it can be referred to a committee
for further discussion.
Mr. Mumper
said that the Mayor’s letter mentioned that Mr. Geers was being used as a
pawn. The letter from the Health Board
is a great example of that and Mr. Geers wanted to withdraw to keep that from
happening. We are still in Fiscal Watch
and a 3% raise is adequate right now.
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to suspend the rules
and hear all three readings of the amended ordinance. The following members voted YES: Mr. Gabbard,
Mr. Sanker, Mr. Moore, Mr. Thornbury, Mr. Barlow and Mr. Mumper. The following member voted NO: Mr. Schneider
On a
motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to pass the
ordinance. The following members voted
YES: Mr. Gabbard, Mr. Sanker, Mr. Moore, Mr. Thornbury, Mr. Barlow and Mr.
Mumper. The following member voted NO:
Mr. Schneider
As
amended, Council then considered the following item:
L) INTROCUCTORY
READINGS OF RESOLUTIONS
A) A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO OTHER FUNDS ESTABLISHED BY THE CITY, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Mr.
Barlow explained that this Resolution is to render fund 12 (Drug Law
Enforcement) back to a zero balance.
Mr.
Mumper added that Council will add to the appropriation as donations are
received.
On a
motion by Mr. Barlow, 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. Barlow, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved to pass the
Resolution. All members present voted
YES.
L) ADMINISTRATION
REPORTS
Mayor
Williams was present and noted the letter from Gerry Stoker regarding Xavier’s
zoning request which is on the Agenda tonight.
In an effort to improve communications between the Planning Commission
and Council, the Planning Commission will be sending Council copies of the
minutes of Planning Commission Meetings when recommendations from the Planning
Commission are coming to Council. There
will also be a member of the Planning Commission present at those Council
Meetings.
Mayor
Williams also mentioned he has been criticized for not making appointments to
commissions and boards quickly. We
should be careful to select the most appropriate people. When a position came open on the Planning
Commission, someone mentioned that it would be nice to have an Architect on the
Commission. We put the word out and
found Mr. Robert Robinson who lives on
On a
lighter note Mayor Williams went on to mention how news travels fast. People have said that
Mr.
Gabbard said that he would like to apologize on Council floor to the Mayor and
President of Council for getting out of hand a couple of weeks ago and making
some nasty remarks. Mayor Williams told
Mr. Gabbard that we all care about every Ward in this City and he thanked him
for his apology.
Mr.
Schneider commented that he received an email about some parking problems with
some of the events going on at
Mr.
Sanker asked Mayor Williams if he knew when the tenants on the top floor of
Linden Pointe were moving in. Mayor
Williams answered that the Architect firm should be in there by the end of
April. The developer is pretty close to
announcing additional tenants as well.
Mr.
Sanker asked if there was a projected date when Huntington Bank would be
opening. Mayor Williams answered Friday,
March 28th.
Mr.
Gabbard asked about the painting of lines on the center lane headed westbound
on
Mr.
Schneider asked the Mayor if he has made any progress on getting the Budget
Analyst position filled. The Mayor
answered that it’s an ongoing process.
We are also looking into some other options as well. This City has to change the way we do
business. We need to explore every
option available. There are not too many
people who have a total grip on where we stand financially and that is irresponsible
government. We are fortunate that we are
doing fairly well right now, but unless we agree to collectively get our heads
together to change the way this City operates, we won’t be in good financial
shape for long.
Mr.
Thornbury asked the Mayor if he could define what some of the other options
are. The Mayor responded that he has had
some discussions with some people interested in the Budget Analyst
position. However, we need to look at
different options; perhaps not necessarily a person, but maybe a system and a
different way of doing business.
Mr.
Thornbury said that he wasn’t trying to probe for the solution, but the
process. He asked the Mayor if he was
going to put together a formal recommendation that would come before
Council. The Mayor affirmed, when a plan
is defined. The plan is to look at
different options and then bring ideas to the Finance Committee for an open
discussion. All of Council can be there
as well as the public.
Mr.
Schneider asked if the Mayor was talking about changing our form of government
from Statutory to Charter. The Mayor
denied that and said that he doesn’t think that this City or the Residents have
the capability to change from a Statutory to a
Mr.
Moore asked the Mayor for an update on the Building Department now that they
have a new Building Commissioner. The
Mayor said that things are progressing nicely.
Mr. Stoker has a good working relationship with the Assistant Law
Director, Chris Brown. He has sent out a
couple of orders basically saying “tear it down or we will”. Some of these people need to be told
that. Mr. Stoker is here three days a
week and he’s at the Planning Commission meetings to answer questions - he’s
accessible.
Mr.
Stith was in attendance and gave an Auditor’s Report. Mr. Stith said that he has been working on
putting together useable data and reports for the Finance Committee to complete
the permanent appropriations.
Mr.
Stith went on to say that he has been here now for about 6 weeks and that he’s
getting a good feel for what’s involved in the day to day operations of the
office. He has been able to identify
some problems and some issues. There is
a lot to be done in that office and there’s a lot to be done on a daily
basis. We need a financial professional
in the Deputy Auditor’s position. He has
been interviewing for that position and has offered someone the job. We need someone in there on a day to day
basis to be going through finding these problems that he’s finding and
correcting them.
Mr.
Thornbury asked Mr. Stith if he has had a response from the job offer.
Mr.
Stith said that the individual had some questions that needed to be answered
and that there were details that he needed to work out with his current
employer. He should be getting back to
him in the next day or two.
Mr.
Thornbury asked Mr. Stith how the current staffing would play out if this
person does accept the position. Mr.
Stith said that the current Deputy Auditor would then become the Assistant
Deputy Auditor. That position has been
open and the current Deputy Auditor has had to spend a majority of his time
working that position as it’s basically the payroll/human resource
position.
Mr.
Moore said that he does sympathize with Mr. Stith and understands that we need
to discuss positions and salaries and maybe revisit un-staffed positions that
have been cut in the past. His question
for Mr. Stith is what the status is of the Cincinnati Bell project as well as
E-Gov. Mr. Stith answered that the lease
agreement is being looked over now and that T.A. Brown has been in contact with
Cincinnati Bell and has made arrangements for them to come in and start
evaluating.
Mr.
Kiser was in attendance and reported that he has reviewed the lease agreement
and it is expected to be getting back to Mr. Geers within a week.
M) OTHER REQUESTS TO
ADDRESS COUNCIL
There
were no requests to address Council.
N) UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Mr.
Moore spoke regarding the Xavier East Campus Project. He announced that there will be a Town Meeting
on Thursday, March 13th at 7:30 pm at the Community Center. There will be a representative there from
Xavier to go over the details of the project.
O) NEW BUSINESS
Mr.
Mumper asked for the topic of positions/salary on the Deputy Treasurer, Deputy
Auditor, Assistant Deputy Auditor and Budget Analyst be placed in the Finance
& Audit Committee.
Mr.
Gabbard announced some upcoming community events. The Norwood High School Spring Musical is
this weekend, March 13, 14 and 15th at 7:00 pm with this year’s
presentation being “The Little Shop of Horrors”. The Norwood/Winton/Carthage Lodge 576 will be
having a Pancake Breakfast from 8:00 to 11:00 am at the Masonic Lodge on March
22nd. It’s all you can eat for $5.
P) COMMUNICATIONS
1. Letter from Jennifer
Wallace RE: Addressing Council
As amended, this item was considered previously.
2. Letter from
Jennifer Wallace RE: Great American Clean Up
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
On a motion by Mr. Thornbury, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved that the letter be received and filed. All members present voted YES.
4. Letter from
Gerry Stoker RE: Public Hearing Request
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Sanker, it was moved that the letter be received and filed and that the Public Hearing be set for May 13, 2008. All members present voted YES.
5. Letter from
John Hanrahan RE: February 2008 Tax Report
On a motion by Mr. Thornbury, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved that the letter be received and filed. All members present voted YES.
6. Letter from
Mayor RE: February 2008 Court Fines
On a motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved that the letter be received and filed. All members present voted YES.
P-7. Letter from Mayor RE: Wage Increase Ordinance.
As amended, this item was considered previously.
Q) EXCUSE ABSENT MEMBERS
All
members were present.
R) 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