Bradford council adopts pension amendment, places home-rule question on ballot and approves leases and payments

The Bradford City Council adopted Ordinance 3165.28, amending the non-uniform employees pension plan to clarify pension contributions, and approved Ordinance 3300, which places a government study-commission question on the 2025 general-election ballot.

Councilors also approved a series of routine payments, lease agreements and appointments listed on the consent agenda. Recorded actions included an additional rehabilitation grant payment to William L. Rogenbaum Sr. for work at 18 Marion Avenue and multiple vendor payments; the council authorized lease agreements for the Robert P. Hatco Junior Business Development Center and for space at Old City Hall and appointed a negotiating committee for the IAFF local contract.

Votes at a glance: Ordinance 3165.28 — adopted (motion and second recorded; roll-call affirmations recorded during the meeting); Ordinance 3300 — adopted (the ordinance places a government study commission question on the November 2025 general-election ballot and sets the number of commission members); Payment 37911 — approved (additional grant payment of $1,450 to William L. Rogenbaum Sr. for rehabilitation work at 18 Marion Avenue); Item 37912 — approved (prepayment to IRR Supply Centers Inc.); Item 37913 — approved (rescinded resolution 37895 dated 03/11/2025); Item 37914 — approved (payment to SL Welding and Fabrications); Item 37915 — approved (payment listed on the agenda; payee phrasing in minutes unclear); Item 37916 — approved (authorize city officers to execute a lease with Heather Joe, d/b/a Starlet Dance Connections, at the Robert P. Hatco Junior Business Development Center); Item 37917 — approved (authorize lease with the Children’s Center for Treatment and Education, d/b/a Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems, for Suite 102 at Old City Hall); Item 37918 — approved (appoint city administrator Eric Taylor, Councilman Terry Lopez and Mark Hollenbeck as the negotiating committee for the IAFF Local 6055 labor contract); Motion to adjourn — approved.

Where it came from: councilors introduced these items under old and new business and moved them by motion and second; most items received roll-call affirmations. Several items on the consent list were described in the meeting as paid from donated funds or grant sources.

Ending: Ordinance 3300 does not itself change governance; it asks voters whether a government study commission should be formed. Councilors emphasized that placing the question on the ballot starts a study process and does not itself implement a home-rule charter or new taxes.