Upper Arlington council approves budget adjustments, labor contract and $30 million bond authorization

Upper Arlington City Council approved multiple funding and labor measures at its Dec. 8 meeting, including amendments to the 2025–26 biannual budget, the 2026 appropriations ordinance, a three-year labor agreement with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 521 and authorization to issue up to $30 million in general obligation bonds for capital projects.

The council voted to pass Ordinance No. 42-2025, described in the meeting as amendments to the 2025–26 biannual budget supplement and the 2026 master schedule of fees, after a single motion and no extended council discussion. The body also passed Ordinance No. 43-2025, the 2026 annual appropriations ordinance, with no substantive debate recorded at the meeting.

Council members then took up a contract to update the city’s master plan with consulting firm OM Advisors. A public commenter, Todd Jankres, urged caution about consultant spending and cited the proposed OM Advisors contract amount of $600,000 (which he estimated at roughly $200 per hour), saying the city has significant in-house expertise and should review prior consultant outcomes before committing new funds. After public comment the council called a vote; the transcript shows the vote carried (see note below about transcript numbering).

The council also moved and approved Ordinance No. 46-2025, authorizing a three-year agreement with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 521; staff characterized the negotiations as transparent and successful and said the contract reflects wage adjustments to remain competitive in Central Ohio.

On capital financing, the council discussed and then approved Ordinance No. 47-2025, which authorizes issuance of not-to-exceed $30,000,000 in general obligation limited-tax bonds to acquire, construct, install and equip capital projects and related infrastructure. Finance staff (identified in the transcript as Director Danica Lewis) told council members the city is modeling roughly $27 million in bond requirements for the upcoming CIP, explained that the city used $8–10 million in cash on the 2025 CIP and does not have sufficient cash to fully fund the next two years, and said staff typically plans for 20-year bond lives while the ordinance sets a legal maximum of 30 years. A council member asked about expected interest rates for a AAA-rated community; Director Lewis estimated rates “just a little over 4” percent, with exact pricing to depend on market conditions.

The meeting also included the first or second readings of other ordinances. Ordinance No. 44-2025 (amendments to Chapter 155, the personnel code) was discussed as a second reading with no council action; the president said three readings are required and the item will return for action at the Dec. 15 meeting. Ordinance No. 48-2025, an ordinance to appropriate and transfer funds to the 2025 budget, was presented for first reading; staff highlighted an advance from the general fund to the Kingsdale Center TIF while state and county approvals remain pending and said the TIF proceeds are expected to arrive in the first half of next year, at which point the advance would be repaid.

The council voted to enter executive session under Ohio Revised Code section 121.22(g)(1) to consider employment/compensation matters and adjourned after the executive session. No further formal actions were announced on the record at the meeting’s close.

Notes: The transcript contains a numbering inconsistency around the master plan item: the item was introduced as Ordinance No. 45-2025 but the vote language immediately following public comment in the transcript references Ordinance No. 44-2025. The reporting above reflects the agenda identifiers as presented at the start of each item and records the council’s voice votes; specific roll-call tallies for the regular ordinance votes were not recorded in the transcript and are therefore not reported here as counts.