Norwood City Council
Council Chambers
June 23, 2009
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. Moore, Mr. Thornbury, Mr. Barlow and Mr. Mumper. Mr. Schneider was not in attendance.
E) AMENDMENT OF AGENDA
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Sanker, it was moved to move item K-A to immediately follow the Public Hearing. All members present voted “Yes”.
f) Public hearing
PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 2010 TAX BUDGET PREPARED BY THE CITY OF NORWOOD OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO, FOR THE NEXT SUCCEEDING FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31,2010.
The
Public Hearing opened by an explanation of the rules and procedures regulating
the hearing.
The
Public Hearing closed when no one spoke either in favor of or against the Tax
Budget.
As amended,
Council then considered the following item.
K-A) RESOLUTION
ADOPTING 2010 TAX BUDGET
On a
motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, 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. Moore, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to pass the
Resolution. All members present voted
“Yes”.
G) Request to address council on Agenda Items
H) REPORTS OF STANDING
COMMITTEES
I) SECOND
A. ORDINANCE
AMENDING CHAPTER 1335 TO ADOPT THE MOST RECENT EDITION OF THE ICC INTERNATIONAL
PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE DESIGNATED AS THE CITY OF
On a
motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Sanker, it was moved to hear the second
reading of the Ordinance. All members
present voted “Yes”.
J) INTRODUCTORY
A. ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE
SAFETY-SERVICE DIRECTOR TO BYPASS THE COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCESS AND ENTER
INTO A CONTRACT WITH MEDICOUNT MANAGEMENT, INC. FOR EMS BILLING SERVICES FOR
THE NORWOOD FIRE DEPARTMENT AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
On a
motion by Mr. Sanker, 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. Moore, seconded by Mr. Barlow, it was moved to pass the
ordinance. All members present voted “Yes”.
B. ORDINANCE TO CHANGE APPROPRIATIONS FOR
THE YEAR 2009, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
Mr.
Moore asked Finance Chairman Chuck Barlow to explain the need for this
change. Mr. Barlow answered that this
was the first he had seen of these proposed changes.
Mr.
Moore then asked Mr. Stith for an explanation.
Mr. Stith said renaming keys is for bookkeeping, cleaning up other items
and addressing cash flow considerations.
He urged Council to pass the portion renaming certain keys.
Mr.
Moore asked Mr. Kiser to address the changes regarding the Building Abatement
Fund. Mr. Kiser noted that this is part
of the vacated building ordinance and explained the details.
Mr.
Moore asked the Auditor if the final appropriations were based on projected
revenue. It appears we are continually
adding funds to other keys without transferring funds from other keys. Mr. Stith explained the budgeting process
that was based on minimal operating expenses, as time has passed we have seen
slightly increased revenues and added to keys as necessary. All departments that have come with a request
for additional funding have been either contractual obligations or other
necessary expenses.
Mr.
Moore followed up by asking if these keys are out of funding at this point and
noted that aside from a few good weeks our revenue has been slightly below
expectations. Mr. Stith answered that
some money remains in each key, but these new expenses were not previously
anticipated. Mr. Moore reiterated his
concern with continually updating appropriations without a corresponding
decrease in other areas.
Mr.
Barlow reminded Mr. Stith that Council amended the attachment at the last
meeting in an attempt to correct the key numbering. Mr. Stith responded that he didn’t realize
the error in name changes at the time, but this will clean up the issues.
Mr.
Sanker asked if keys may have been unintentionally renamed in other
circumstances as well. Mr. Stith
explained his understanding of the required format for appropriations
attachments and that these guidelines are established by the state.
Mr. Mumper
asked the Auditor if in the future we could add a disclaimer to the bottom of
the form specifying that the intent is to modify the amounts and not intended
to rename keys. Mr. Stith answered that
this is probably a question for the Law Department and explained that
consistent and accurate record keeping is the goal regardless of the exact
formats.
Mr.
Mumper asked who gave the information on the last ordinance. Mr. Stith
explained that Mr. Barlow wrote the attachment, but the information came from
the Deputy Auditor. Mr. Barlow further
explained the process that was used to create the last attachment. He added
concern with the process and explained that his understanding of the process
was that Appropriations changes were to be originated by Council or brought to
the Finance Committee prior to appearing in the form of an Ordinance.
Mr.
Mumper asked the Director of Service-Safety about the hiring of new Police
Officers. Mr. Geers explained the
“intent to hire” is for five Police Officers.
Mr. Sanker
asked the Auditor if Council could specify that the appropriations changes are
for a particular expense. Mr. Stith
confirmed that in some cases that may be the best approach and in others, a
more generic key is more appropriate.
On a
motion by Mr. Sanker, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, 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. Moore, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to pass the
Ordinance. All members present voted
“Yes”.
C. ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE DONATION OF 1980 SEAGRAVE PUMPER VALUED AT NO MORE THAN $25,000 OWNED BY THE CITY OF NORWOOD, OHIO TO THE NEW VISION FIRE AND RESCUE IN MARION COUNTY, OHIO, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Mr.
Mumper asked if there would be any recognition of our donation. The Mayor
responded that he will work with Chief Goodman to come up with some sort of
presentation in front of Council.
On a
motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, 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. Moore, seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to pass the
Ordinance. All members present voted “Yes”.
D. AN
ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 1335.11(C) OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
Mr.
Moore mentioned he has discussed with the Building Department a means to
identify additional funds for this purpose.
On a
motion by Mr. Moore, 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. Moore, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved to pass the
ordinance. All members present voted “Yes”.
K) INTRODUCTORY READING
OF RESOLUTION
A. RESOLUTION ADOPTING 2010 TAX BUDGET
As
amended, this item was considered previously.
L) ADMINISTRATION
REPORTS
The
Mayor updated Council on a few ongoing projects and noted the progress on
Marion Avenue and that completion of the project is expected in the next few
weeks; the restrooms are now completed and operational at Hunter Park; the
Kroger grand opening was at 8 a.m. Thursday and he encouraged residents to
support the location.
In
addition, Mayor Williams announced that the Police have apprehended a burglary
suspect that has several local notches on his belt, including the Recreation
Building and Linden Pointe.
Mr.
Thornbury asked for an update on the gas aggregation from Director of
Safety-Service. Mr. Geers said they have
had interest from one local company but there has not been much interest or
action at this point.
Mr.
Sanker asked for an update on graffiti vandals.
The Mayor said we were “tagged” again at Burwood Park and noted that
there are additional plans to address this that can be discussed privately.
During
the Auditor’s Report, Mr. Stith announced that the Auditor’s mid-year report is
to be shared shortly. Mr. Thornbury asked
if there was any update on the spike in earnings tax revenue in April. Mr. Stith said he cannot share any additional
information at this point.
During
the Law Director’s Report, Mr. Kiser gave an update on Juvenile Court and
mentioned that he and Mr. Brown will be spending several hours with Judge Lipps
on July 6th to gather additional information.
M) OTHER REQUESTS TO
ADDRESS COUNCIL
N) UNFINISHED
BUSINESS
O) NEW BUSINESS
There
was no new business
P) COMMUNICATIONS
1. Letter from Auditor of State Re: Recommended Support
On a
motion by Mr. Moore, seconded by Mr. Mumper, it was moved to receive and file
the letter and request a resolution on the matter. All members present voted “Yes”.
2. Letter from John Hanrahan Re: Earnings Tax Report-May 2009
On a
motion from Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to receive and file
the Report. All members present voted
“Yes”.
3. Letter from Auditor Re: Report Online: May 2009
On a
motion by Mr. Thornbury, seconded by Mr. Moore, it was moved to receive and
file the letter. All members present
voted “Yes”.
Q) EXCUSE ABSENT
MEMBERS
On a motion by Mr. Mumper, seconded by Mr. Moore, it
was moved to excuse the absence of Mr. Schneider. All members present voted “Yes”.
R) ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Mr. Mumper seconded by Mr. Thornbury, it was moved to adjourn the meeting. All members present voted “Yes”.
______________________________ ______________________________
J. Brian Mumper Jane
M. Grote
Clerk of Council President
of Council