Cortland City Council approves emergency contracts, adopts budget; advances other ordinances

Cortland City Council on Monday approved multiple emergency ordinances and advanced other measures on a largely procedural agenda while department heads delivered brief reports.

The most consequential actions were emergency approvals that the council said were needed to meet vendor timelines or project schedules: an agreement to move the fire and EMS reporting data platform, a contract for construction administration on the West Main Street water-line replacement project, and the city’s annual appropriation ordinance for fiscal year 2025.

Council members voted on several numbered ordinances during the meeting. Ordinance O-08-25, submitted by the fire chief, authorizes the fire chief to enter into an agreement with FAMCO Inc. to transfer the City of Cortland Fire Department’s fire and EMS reporting data; council approved the emergency ordinance on roll call. Ordinance O-12-25 authorizes the mayor to enter an agreement with GPD Group for construction administration and inspection services for the West Main Street water-line replacement project; the ordinance was passed as an emergency to meet the project’s tight schedule. The council also adopted ordinance O-11-25, the annual appropriation ordinance for the fiscal year ending December 2025, as an emergency measure after finance committee review.

Council advanced two second-reading ordinances: O-06-25 would amend codified ordinance 505.11 to allow deer hunting with a bow and arrow or crossbow within the city during Ohio’s deer hunting season (submitted by Councilman Bradley); and O-07-25 would update the city’s civil service provisions, a measure submitted by the police chief and the civil service commission. Both were read for a second time and moved forward with roll-call votes. The council held a first reading on O-09-25, an amendment to the planning and zoning code and general offenses code to clarify language regarding barbed wire fences; members held a public hearing and the planning and zoning and building commission had unanimously recommended the amendment. Ordinance O-10-25 authorizing a mosquito-control contract with Alexander’s Pest Control Inc. was presented in first reading.

Council members asked a few clarifying questions about the emergency data-transfer contract for the fire and EMS records and about the schedule for the West Main water-line project. Fire leadership said the vendor had requested the city move off the existing platform and had provided only a tentative per-record estimate; the fire chief characterized the price as roughly 20 cents per record but said a firm written quote was not yet available and the ordinance sets a not-to-exceed ceiling because a fixed figure had not been finalized. On the water-line project, the interim service director and council members said construction could begin in the coming weeks and that a segment-by-segment schedule was expected soon.

Several of the ordinances were presented as emergencies because vendors or contractors set required timelines or because construction work is scheduled to begin promptly. The council recorded roll-call votes on the emergency ordinances and the two second-reading ordinances; the meeting transcript records affirmative roll calls for those items.

Less-formal business included routine approvals of minutes, the schedule of bills ($274,490.33), and bank reconciliation ending Feb. 28, 2025. Department heads provided short reports; the police and fire chiefs and the finance director made brief remarks. The council also noted committee scheduling and an open posting for the director of public service.

The meeting concluded with no public speakers recorded and a motion to adjourn.