Votes at a glance: Bradford council approves budget, tax-rate measure, grants and multiple city contracts

Bradford City Council on Nov. 25 moved quickly through a series of ordinances, contracts and grants that the council said are routine parts of year-end budgeting and project work.

The council introduced and approved an ordinance amending ambulance service rates (PO 5564 / general file 3127.13). During the roll call recorded immediately after the motion, Councilor Cooper, Gorath, Lopez, Jones and Mayor Ramirez each answered “Yes.” The council did not record a named mover or seconder in the public transcript.

Councilors also moved and approved a general-fund appropriation ordinance for 2026 (CO5565, general fund number 3302) and an ordinance fixing the city tax rate for city purposes for 2026 (PO 5566, general file 3303). Mayor Ramirez told the meeting there is no tax-rate increase at this time; millage will be finalized at the final reading and could change before then.

Other fiscal and administrative items approved included an ordinance setting salaries for various city employees (CO5567), certificates of appropriateness for downtown properties, and several vendor payments authorized by council voice vote (including payments referenced for Hittel's Mercury Inc. and a listed payment to Mike Smith, DBA Empty Carpet Cleaning).

Grants and project authorizations approved by the council included: - A grant of $10,690 to Deborah Wick for emergency home repairs at an address recorded in the minutes as 24 Constitution Hammond (resolution 38147). The motion was seconded and approved. - A statewide local share assessment grant of $1,000,000 from the Commonwealth Finance Authority to complete the new police station project (resolution 38149). Mayor Ramirez announced the award during the meeting and the council recorded approval. - A T‑Mobile Hometown grant application for $5,000 for the historic downtown to Todd Hendrick (resolution 38150), authorized by council vote. - Authorization of change order No. 4 with Bob Cummins Construction Company for Calumet Park Recreation Improvements, Phase 2 (resolution 38151). - Authorization to execute the city’s 2025 Community Development Block Grant contract (resolution 38155).

Administrative and personnel-related approvals included a renewal agreement authorization with Highmark to provide health insurance to the city (resolution 38157), a mortgage subordination authorization for a property at 200 West Washington Street (recorded as PA158), and a renewal agreement for occupational health services with Bradford Regional Medical Center as third‑party administrator for 2026 (item 3159). Motions on those items were seconded and approved.

Several corrections and land‑use resolutions were also handled, including corrections to tax-parcel listings and motions to decline the sale of certain City of Bradford tax parcels from the county tax-claim repository (resolutions 38152 and 38153). The council also approved a lease/renovation authorization for Suite 101 at Old City Hall (resolution 38154).

What happens next: Most of the budget and tax-rate measures noted that a final reading or further procedural steps remain; Mayor Ramirez said millage could change before the final reading later this year. Funding and contract authorizations are recorded as approved by the council; the transcript records motions, seconding and recorded approvals but does not always identify the named mover or recorded roll-call vote for each item.

Votes and records cited here are taken from the council’s Nov. 25 meeting transcript. Where the transcript listed full roll-call names for a specific vote, those names are reported; where the transcript records only voice approval or a series of “Yes” responses without named attribution, the article reports the outcome as recorded.