Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout12-16-2002PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2002 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., Monday, December 2, 2002, in the Council Chambers in said City. President Bruce Wissel presided with the following Councilmembers present: Howard "Jack" Elstro, Etta J. Lundy, Karl Sharp, Bing Welch, Larry Parker, Paul Combs, Phil Dickman and Sarah "Sally" Hutton. The following business was conducted: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRAYER BY COUNCILMEMBER WELCH ROLL CALL Nine present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the December 2, 2002 meeting were approved on a motion by Councilmember Parker, second by Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote PRESENTATIONS, MEMORIALS, REMONSTRANCES, PETITIONS AND INTRODUCTIONS MOTIONS OR RESOLUTIONS. (MUST BE IN WRITING) RESOLUTION NO.4 — 2002 The Clerk read Resolution No. 4 — 2002 — A RESOLUTION FOR SUPPORTING THE APPROVAL OF A CORRECTED APPLICATION FOR A PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT FOR BELDEN WIRE & CABLE COMPANY Tony Foster of the City's Community Development office introduced Darrin Bailey, with the accounting firm representing Belden. He explained the situation as it stood, saying that on a previous deduction form equipment that was eligible for a new deduction -for the year 2001 was inadvertently excluded. Councilmember Welch said that, in essence, all Bailey is asking Council to approve by this resolution is Ordinance 32 — 2000 which was an abatement request by Belden which was approved by Council. He said the 10-year abatement was for $3.8 million in manufacturing equipment. He added that the year in question would be for the assessment year March 1, 2001, payable in 2002. Bailey said the form was filed by Belden but it did not include the equipment list that would allow for the deduction. City Attorney Bob Bever . said this resolution is in order and needs the approval of this Council. Councilmember Parker moved to approve the resolution, second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote. COMMUNICATION FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Shelley Miller said she would pass the time allotted to her to the Law Department. Bever reported that as of last week he has a complete signed contract between the City and AFSCME, saying the Sanitation Board approved it on Tuesday, there was a vote of ratification by the membership of AFSCME later in the week and on Thursday the Board of Works and the Mayor signed off on it. He expressed his appreciation to both departments, the City officials and the AFSCME representatives. Bever also announced that he had received a letter of resignation from Assistant City Attorney Steve Rabe effective December 31, 2002. He said Rabe is planning to continue and expand his private law practice as well as his other business and even political ventures. He publicly and personally thanked Rabe for his past service to the Law Department and the City. He added that he and the Mayor would be reviewing a couple of possibilities on what legal assistance the department would then go forward with to help him in the next year and would hopefully be able to announce something by the first of the year. Rabe stepped forward to express his appreciation to the Council and the City and to publicly thank them. He said his private practice has given him an opportunity to also pursue some other business and political opportunities and that is the avenue he has chosen to take. REPORT FROM BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY President Wissel said the minutes of the meeting of November 27, 2002 were in their packets. REPORTS FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS Ron Chappell, director of the Human Rights Commission, and Tony Foster from the City's Community Development office reported on past and future activities in their departments. q�i Common Council Minutes Cont'd December 16, 2002 Page 2 REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM SPECIAL COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM ORGANIZATIONS MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS Councilmember Hutton asked Councilmember Sharp if the County had acted on the precinct proposal. He responded that he had met with the Commissioners last week and they accepted Council's proposal to change the precinct boundaries. Councilmember Combs expressed his appreciation to David Leffell for his 34 years of service with Roseview Transit and the City on the eve of his retirement effective the first of 2003. ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and read Ordinance No. 105, 106, 107 and 108 - 2002 by title only, second by Councilmember Lundy and the motion was carried on a voice vote. ORDINANCE NO. 105 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 105 — 2002 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE APPROVAL OF A STATEMENT OF BENEFITS FOR A PROPERTY OWNER APPLYING FOR DEDUCTIONS UNDER I.C. 6-1.1-12.1 AND SPECIFICALLY 6-1.1— 12.1-7 (UPTOWN AREA) Councilmember Sharp said this ordinance deals with a request for a tax abatement by Beach Automotive Service Inc. at 110 East Main Street and it falls under the Economic Development target area that Council adopted recently. He said Councilmember Welch would look into that and report back to Council at its next meeting. ORDINANCE NO. 106 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 106 — 2002 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2002 BUDGET Police Chief Greg Pipes said this ordinance deals with a transfer of funds within the Police Department, deleting $3,500 from Other Administrative Expenses and adding it to Holiday, and deleting $6,000 from Other Equipment and adding it to Gasoline. He said this is intended to help with projected expenses of Christmas holiday pay and gasoline for the remainder of the year. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 106 — 2002 to second reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 106 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 106 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for o r a gainst t he o rdinance, C ouncilmember E lstro moved f or a ngrossment, s econd b y Councilmember Lundy and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 106 — 2002 to third and fmal reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Elstro and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 106 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 106 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 107 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 107 — 2002 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE APPROVAL OF A STATEMENT OF BENEFITS FOR A PROPERTY OWNER APPLYING FOR DEDUCTIONS UNDER I.C. 6-1.1-12.1 Councilmember Sharp explained that this ordinance deals with a request by Elder Lite Express Inc. and Focus Five LLC for a new building in the Midwest Industrial Park with an estimated value of $3.5 million in addition to the current value of $300,000, making it $3.8 million. He said he would check into this request and report back to the Council. Common Council Minutes Cont'd December 16, 2002 Page 3 ORDINANCE NO. 108 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 108 — 2002 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE AREA 9 IN - HOME AND COMMUNITY SERVICES AGENCY Tony Foster explained that this ordinance deals with a grant request made by the City of Richmond Parks and Recreation Department, specifically the Senior Center, from Area 9 for $1,867 which is exactly one half of the cost to purchase a new commercial grade refrigerator for the center. - Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 108 — 2002 to second reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 108 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 108 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for o r a gainst the o rdinance, C ouncilmember E lstro moved f or a ngrossment, s econd b y Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 108 — 2002 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 108 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 108 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. President Wissel acknowledged that Ordinance No. 109 and 110 — 2002 have been distributed to Councilmembers. Councilmember Hutton moved to amend the agenda adding both of the ordinances, second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules on both ordinances and read by title only, second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. ORDINANCE NO. 109 — 2002 AMENDING ORDINANCE NO.65 - 2001 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 109 — 2002, AMENDING ORDINANCE No. 65 — 2001 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE TO BE KNOWN AS THE 2002 SALARY ORDINANCE In explaining this ordinance, Bever said that as a result of the AFSCME contract it included across the board 4 percent increase for all employees which was already implemented even though the contract was never signed. He said that was put into place with all the other City employees for 2002. However, he said, the contract also included some other increases of 3.5 percent for street department equipment operators and an a dditional . 5 p ercent for s treet d epartment I aborers. H e s aid those were n of a beady p ut into the salary ordinance. He said the only thing that is being changed in this ordinance is within the street department where it has 7.5 percent for equipment operators and sections leaders and the 4.5 percent for the laborers. He continued, saying that since this contract requires that the salary ordinance, to be consistent, had to be amended to reflect that. Then, he said, assuming that this ordinance would pass, it would affect what those people made for 2002. Therefore, when you look at the 2003 ordinance which has also already been passed, those items, since that increase would have taken into account their 2002 base, it would change what their numbers would have been in the 2003 ordinance. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 109 — 2002 to second reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 109 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 109 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for o r a gainst the o rdinance, C ouncilmember E lstro moved f or e ngrossment, s econd b y Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 109 — 2002 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Elstro and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Yea Common Council Minutes Cont'd December 16, 2002 Page 4 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 109 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 109 — 2002 - Amending Ordinance NO. 65 — 2001 — was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 110 — 2002 AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 75 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 110 — 2002, Amending Ordinance No. 75 — 2002 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE TO BE KNOWN AS THE 2003 SALARY ORDINANCE Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 110 — 2002 to second reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 110 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 110 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for o r a gainst t he o rdinance, C ouncihnember E lstro moved f or a ngrossment, s econd b y Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 110 — 2002 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 110 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 110 — 2002, Amending Ordinance No. 75 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING AND ENGROSSMENT ORDINANCE NO. 102 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 102 — 2002 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS TO CERTAIN FUNDS Further explaining this ordinance after being questioned by Councilmember Lundy, Mayor Shelly Miller said that for the 2002 budget the insurance provisions increased by 30 percent and based on history the administration felt that would be sufficient. Seeing that it was not going to be, throughout the year, she said they worked closely with the State Board of Accounts and it was closely monitored. She said that this is a problem that started approximately 20 months ago and the City has been working slowly to address that problem and monitoring it to the point that this would keep the City current with the needs of the insurance. The Mayor said the City's claims increased 60 percent from last year when the budget was prepared to this year. She said City Controller John Kenny and his staff had been working closely with the Human Resources Department and the consultants to identify the funds to become current. She said they have been working with the departments so that they were aware that there were insurance problems and they could help set aside the funds to ensure that the cast was available to move into the insurance fund. She said significant s teps have b een t aken in working with the a mployee/management p artnership t o a ddress the issues. She said they built in an additional 30 percent into the budget for 2003 to apply toward the insurance and in addition a new plan has been introduced to the employees that changes their deductibles and out of pocket expenses. She said the health insurance would continue to be monitored to ensure the employees are protected. In answer to a question by Councilmember Elstro, the Mayor said a $1.5 million operating balance to ensure payrolls are met. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 102 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance, Councilmember Welch moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 102 — 2002 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 102 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 102 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCES ON THIRD READING a Common Council Minutes Cont'd December 16, 2002 Page 5 CALL FOR ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, on a motion duly made, seconded and passed, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 P.M. ATTEST: Norma Schroeder, Clerk Bruce Wissel, President