Council delays emergency vote on property tax rates; finance director warns of an Oct. 1 deadline

The Vermilion City Council postponed taking emergency action on a resolution that accepts the amounts and rates determined by the county budget commission after one council member said the document was distributed only hours earlier.

Finance Director Amy Hendricks told the council that a resolution accepting the Erie County Budget Commission’s 2026 property tax rates is due back to the county by Oct. 1 and that council would need to suspend rules to adopt it by emergency before that deadline. Later in the meeting, when members considered suspending the rules for Resolution 20 25 R-11, one councilor said they had just received the resolution and preferred to wait until the next meeting, and the matter was pushed to the Sept. 22 meeting.

Nut graf: The finance director flagged a firm statutory or administrative deadline to submit certified rates to the county auditor by Oct. 1; the council’s decision to delay indicates members wanted more time to review the resolution and supporting materials before using emergency procedures.

Discussion vs. decision: This meeting recorded discussion of deadlines and the need to suspend rules for emergency adoption; the council did not adopt Resolution 20 25 R-11 at this session and deferred the vote.

Ending: The council president said the matter would be moved to the Sept. 22 meeting, allowing members additional time to review the proposed resolution and for staff to supply requested details.