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Westfield council approves appropriations, fund amendments and swears in new public safety personnel
Summary
At its April meeting the Westfield Common Council swore in new police and fire personnel, proclaimed Arbor Day and Ivy Tech Day, and approved multiple housekeeping ordinances and appropriations including reclassification of federal equitable-sharing funds and allocations from opioid-settlement and ARPA accounts.
The Westfield Common Council on April 13 swore in new police officers and firefighters, issued proclamations for Arbor Day and Ivy Tech Day, and approved a slate of ordinances and a resolution affecting city funds and grants.
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and an invocation from Pastor Eric Lowery of Crosswords Church of Westfield. "We always pray for our first responders as they too serve us," Pastor Lowery said, asking for safety and protection for those who answer emergency calls.
In routine business the council approved its previous meeting minutes and the claims docket on unanimous roll calls. The council then adopted ordinance 26-13, moving previously deposited forfeiture proceeds into a newly established Department of Justice Equitable Sharing Program fund; city clerk Marla Ailor said no expenditures have been made from the funds and the reclassification is for accounting and compliance purposes.
Council also adopted ordinance 26-17 to rename Fund 255 from the Westfield Welcome Fund to the Community Engagement Fund and to explicitly allow grants to nonprofits under a city-reviewed grant agreement. Ordinance 26-18 approved a $25,000 additional appropriation from the opioid settlement fund to support the Westfield Washington schools' Prime Life early-intervention program; Danielle Carey-Tolman described the appropriation as an initial use from a growing settlement fund.
A separate amendment to the Grand Park planned-unit development (ordinance 26-14) to permit multi-family dwellings on a roughly 6-acre parcel passed 4-1, with one councilor voting no. The council also approved resolution 26-122 to transfer a sponsorship payment from Coca‑Cola that had been sent to the city back to Grand Park Sports and Entertainment.
Clerk-Treasurer Marla Yerkes presented an additional appropriation—about $25,000—reallocating remaining ARPA funds to an eligible stormwater project before a year-end deadline; that item was introduced and set for consideration at the council's next meeting.
The meeting concluded with council comments and adjournment.
What happens next: Several introduced ordinances (including a GPSEA escrow appropriation and several annexation items) were scheduled for further consideration at the council's April follow-up meeting.
