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Erlanger council approves two $10,000 small-business grants; conflicts disclosed on both
Summary
Council approved two $10,000 matching small-business grants Oct. 7—one to 4506 Dixie LLC (owned by a council member's brother) and another to Lillian Rentals LLC (owned by Tyson Hermes, with Mayor Jessica Fetti a tenant). Conflicts were disclosed and staff will sign documents to avoid direct mayoral signature.
The Erlanger City Council on Oct. 7 approved two $10,000 small-business matching grants and publicly disclosed potential conflicts of interest in each case.
City Attorney Jack presented the first resolution for a $10,000 grant to 4506 Dixie LLC, which the record identifies as owned by Eric Hermes, a brother of council member Tyson Hermes. Jack said the application ran through the normal staff process and that the grant met the program’s requirements; the council approved the resolution by voice vote after the conflict was disclosed on the record.
A second resolution provided a $10,000 grant to Lillian Rentals LLC, which the record identifies as owned by Tyson Hermes; meeting materials and Mark Collier noted the total improvement project at that site was about $35,900 (demolition, new siding, faux stone, facade, doors and windows) and $10,000 would be the requested reimbursement. Councilwoman Nisley asked who should sign the grant paperwork to avoid an appearance of conflict when the mayor is involved; city staff and the city attorney discussed options and the council agreed that Chief Administrative Officer Mark Collier or another designee should sign the documents rather than the mayor. The motion to approve the Lillian Rentals grant was moved by Miss Nisley and seconded by Mr. Farmer; it passed by voice vote.
Both grants were handled as resolutions with conflict-of-interest disclosures under the city’s ethics practices. Council recorded the approvals by voice vote; the meeting transcript did not capture roll-call tallies or additional conditions tied to disbursement other than the standard grant process.
