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Canton City Council backs Ohio Municipal League challenge to AT&T tariff, adopts several emergency ordinances
Summary
Canton City Council voted to adopt an ordinance supporting the Ohio Municipal League's challenge to an AT&T tariff change that could shift utility relocation costs to municipalities, and approved multiple emergency ordinances including HUD action-plan amendments; votes were unanimous on the adopted items.
Canton City Council voted Tuesday to adopt an ordinance expressing the city's support for the Ohio Municipal League's challenge to an AT&T tariff change and approved several emergency ordinances, including amendments to HUD action plans.
The council adopted Ordinance 14 after a brief Environmental and Public Utilities Committee review. A presenter told council that AT&T's proposed tariff change could shift costs for moving utility lines from private utilities to municipalities on certain projects. The speaker said the Ohio Municipal League plans to file a challenge at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and asked council to provide an official expression of support so the law department could monitor and, if appropriate, participate; no city funds were requested. The speaker warned the tariff would take effect on the 18th if not challenged.
Why it matters: Council officials said the tariff change, if approved, could make the city responsible for relocation costs that historically have been borne by private utilities when their lines must be moved for public projects. Council members voted to suspend the statutory rules and adopt Ordinance 14 as an emergency measure, registering support for the municipal league's challenge.
In other business, the council considered a slate of replats and infrastructure-related ordinances (Ordinances 15'24) at second reading, read and discussed grant- and contract-related measures, and approved several HUD-related action-plan amendments. Council accepted a joint Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant of $96,455 to purchase police equipment and authorized a change order not to exceed $219,184.62 for the 11th Street Southeast Improvement Project.
Votes at a glance: The council voted to suspend rules and add second readings for ordinances 15 through 27 earlier in the evening. Later, after suspending statutory rules for immediate consideration, the council adopted Ordinances 25, 26 and 27 (action-plan amendments for HUD CDBG/HOME programs) unanimously. Ordinance 14 was adopted as an emergency with a unanimous roll-call vote.
The meeting closed with routine committee announcements and the next council meeting set for 01/27/2025.
Provenance: The account above is based on the clerk's ordinance readings and committee remarks (Ordinances 11'14) and subsequent roll-call votes recorded during the meeting.
