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Martins Ferry council approves series of finance and operations measures including audit payment, street funding change and rec-center support
Summary
At its Sept. 17 meeting the council approved the final audit payment, reallocated income-tax percentages to increase street paving funding, authorized temporary rec-center funding, approved Tri-County rate restructuring and authorized use of a demolition fund to accelerate property clean-up; several other administrative votes also passed.
Martins Ferry City Council took multiple finance and operations votes during its Sept. 17 meeting, approving a set of measures councilors said were needed to keep operations running and support local projects.
Key votes approved by the council included:
- Final audit payment: Council approved payment of $28,950 to complete the city's PERI audit. Motion by Mister Eshman, second by Mister Rogers. Roll call votes were recorded as yes by all members present and the payment was approved.
- Street funding allocation: The finance committee recommendation to increase the share of income tax directed to streets passed. Council adopted an additional 1% to street paving, moving to a total allocation described in the meeting as 21% (17% to street operations, 4% to street paving). Motion by Mister Hunker; second by Missus Armstrong. Roll call was unanimous.
- Rec center monthly support: Council voted to continue a $5,000-per-month contribution to the city rec center for 90 days (month-to-month through January), a measure intended to sustain programming while partnerships are negotiated. Motion by Mister Hunker; second by Missus Armstrong. The motion carried unanimously.
- YMCA partnership: Council authorized staff to continue discussions with the YMCA about running programs out of the rec center and to negotiate terms; council members endorsed moving forward with partnership talks and the council recorded a unanimous vote to allow staff to proceed.
- Demolition and land-bank property: Council authorized the mayor to negotiate with the land bank to release a city property (address provided to council) for demolition using Fund 46 demolition funds, and to speak with an interested end user about sharing any additional demolition costs. Motion by Reverend Agnew; second by Mister Hunker. Roll-call vote: unanimous approval.
- Tri-County rate restructuring: Council approved a motion allowing the mayor and service director to restructure the city's Tri-County rate to a new operating factor (the meeting record references a restructuring to 6.3454 with the minimum continuing at 6,300,000 until costs are recouped). Council also discussed attaching negotiating guidance to the contract. Motion carried in roll call.
The meeting also approved routine administrative items: approval of payroll summary, new hire/termination reports and acceptance of officers' reports for inclusion in the minutes.
Where votes were taken, roll-call results were recorded in the meeting minutes and were unanimous for the items listed above. Several items were moved from recent committee discussions onto the council floor for action; councilors said they wanted to clear those matters to enable staff to proceed with contracts, projects and service decisions.
