Council notes mosquito-abatement tax discussion, strategic-planning meeting; approves minutes

Council business on Jan. 13 included reports on mosquito-abatement funding, notice of an upcoming strategic-planning meeting, a condolence for a late city employee and two procedural motions: approval of minutes and adjournment.

A council member reported on a recent mosquito abatement board meeting and said the district is “likely going to raise our tax rate this year.” The speaker noted the abatement rate had not been raised since 2002 and was lowered in 2009; the speaker said the likely increase would amount to “roughly...a dollar more than what they're paying toward mosquito abatement” per household and characterized that as a heads-up for residents. The transcript does not identify a full name for the speaker who reported on the mosquito abatement meeting.

Mayor Jeff Silvers announced a public strategic-planning meeting for Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. at City Hall (Sixth Floor multipurpose room) where the council will meet department heads to begin next fiscal-year budget planning.

A council member offered condolences for the family of Jed Janssen, identified in the meeting as a Zamboni driver for the city. The speaker thanked those who attended Janssen’s services; no action was taken.

The council recorded two formal procedural motions. Council Member Sherry moved to approve the minutes of Dec. 16, 2024; Council Member Bev seconded. The transcript records the chair calling for a voice vote and the response “Aye,” with no roll-call or individual vote tallies recorded. The transcript records a motion to adjourn that was seconded and approved by voice vote; the chair said the motion “was made by Bev and Sherry, which counts as a second.”

The meeting then adjourned.