Ironton council adopts emergency budget amendment and landlord-reporting ordinance, certifies county tax levies

Ironton — The Ironton City Council on Nov. 13 adopted an emergency amendment to the city’s permanent operating budget, approved a new landlord-reporting requirement for the municipal tax code and certified tax levies to the county.

Ordinance 25-46, an amendment to the city’s operating budget for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2025, was presented with a favorable recommendation from the finance committee and adopted after the council voted to suspend the rules. The presiding official said the ordinance had received a favorable committee recommendation before Councilman Chris moved to suspend the rules and adopt the measure; Councilmember Mike seconded the motion. The roll call shows Brown, Cleary, Amy, Bob, Vaughn and Pierce voting “Aye.”

Council also adopted Ordinance 25-47, which adds landlord-reporting provisions to the city tax code and was presented as an emergency measure. City staff described implementation steps including software updates and an online form. "We're hoping to have this form online that they would be able to do that, then they could electronically submit it to the tax department," a city tax department staff member said. Council moved to suspend the rules and approved the ordinance on roll call.

The body passed Resolution 25-49 accepting the amounts and rates set by the Lawrence County Budget Commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies. The presiding official said Resolution 25-49 received a favorable recommendation from finance; the roll call recorded votes from Graham, Cleary, Annie, Hawk, Vaughn and Pierce as “Aye.”

Council also heard a first reading by title of Ordinance 25-48, authorizing the mayor to enter an antenna site agreement with SBA Towers LLC; that ordinance was scheduled for additional reading and was not adopted at this meeting.

No dissenting votes on the ordinances and resolution were recorded in the transcript roll calls presented at the meeting. Where roll-call details were incomplete in the record, the transcript lists the named members who voted "Aye"; other attendance was recorded earlier in the meeting’s roll call.

The council did not set specific effective dates in the readings beyond the statements that the budget ordinance covers the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2025, and that the landlord-reporting form is expected to be available online (staff said implementation timing may hinge on a software conversion).