Invocation was given by: Dr. Jerry A. Burton, Pastor followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.  

Approval of Minutes – February 23, 2009

Copley so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

Workshop

a.      Discussion of the Fire and EMS Levies

City Manager Larry Boggs advised Council was provided information for a combined levy.

Council Member Johnson inquired if a combined levy fails where did that leave the

departments. He indicated he didn’t like combining them due to the state of the economy and he wasn’t confident it would pass. Johnson advised he was also concerned with how do you designate the amount of funds for each department.

            Boggs advised they would be in trouble if it didn’t pass.

            Council Member Beaumont advised they were also in trouble if (as separate levies) one would pass and not the other.

            Council Member Copley advised he would not object to putting two separate levies (EMS/Fire) on at the same time, as he would be more comfortable with that than a combined levy. Copley suggested if one of the departments needed more funds they could put a levy on in an off year so they no longer followed the same schedule.

            Council Member Russell inquired if they could put one on in the fall and one on in the spring.

            Council Member Carey advised there would be an extra fee for putting one on in the spring (special election).

            Boggs advised the cost could be almost $5,000 to have an election in the middle of the year.

            Beaumont thought it should be a combined levy.

            Copley, Russell, Johnson felt they should be separate levies.

            Johnson advised the EMS budget was currently larger than the fire budget and he inquired as to how they designate what department the funds come from with a combined levy.

            Finance Director Mann indicated the percentage would be proportioned according to the millage requested for each department.

            Council Member Lapehn advised to him it came down to how the departments operate and the money they have now and he would ask how much more does the fire department need to operate and how much more does EMS need to operate (effectively). He advised if they were already in the ballpark with the money that we were collecting now, he felt a renewal would be a fine way to go because the chance of passing a renewal (was greater) opposed to an increase when they were looking at serious sewer increases in order to keep our sewer fund solvent. Lapehn advised he would need to hear from the chiefs that if they didn’t have a certain amount of dollars then their services would be hindered and an increase would need to take place for several reasons or coverage was going to suffer. He advised then he could go out and say he was for it because he wanted the best coverage possible. Lapehn advised the current coverage was excellent and if the chiefs assure him that if they don’t have X amount of dollars then coverage would suffer and there would be people injured who don’t receive prompt attention and that there would be fires taking place that wouldn’t receive adequate coverage then, he would say to the public that we have to have this increase for those reasons. He advised if he couldn’t see that on paper then he would have trouble supporting anything other than a renewal at this point because his big worry was the sewer fund right now and that was a bigger focus right now. Lapehn advised they need to get these levies on the ballot, but unless he were to hear a definite statement about the need for something other than a renewal he would say that a renewal was the best option.

            Fire Chief Don Sweigert advised currently the (fire) levy brings in around $90,000-$100,000 and approximately $50,000 comes out of the General Fund and the remaining amount from a $175,000 budget comes from the carryover balance, as they were trying to save to purchase major equipment. He advised to renew a fire levy at 1 mill may not be adequate enough to provide for new or replacing old equipment. He advised they have a 30-year old piece of equipment right now that probably needs $10,000 invested in it just to keep it running, as usually fire trucks last approximately 30 years. Sweigert advised he would recommend adding to the fire levy to make up for the $50,000 his department was using from the general fund and the $25,000 from the carryover balance.

            Lapehn advised there was a small reserve fund that keeps decreasing each year.

            Sweigert advised yes and it was used (in part) to help fund the fire department for the next year.

            Mann advised basically the carryover balance has been decreasing each year and if they could build up the carryover balance toward a capital expense. She advised the transfers from the general fund was not keeping up with the need from between the taxes (levy) and those general fund transfers. Mann advised they would either need to start transferring more from the general fund, which didn’t have much money either, into the fire department budget.

            Lapehn advised in his mind they should have a fire levy that covers the fire expenses. Lapehn inquired as to how much they needed.

            Sweigert advised previously he provided his five-year projections. He advised they were spending approximately $170,000.00 to $175,000.00 every year that he has been chief. Sweigert advised that was where the budget was set and they obviously try to stay under that amount because they were fiscally responsible.

            Lapehn agreed and advised they were amazing (at keeping within their budget).

            Sweigert advised with the education requirements being put on them by the state they need additional training and that expense would be going up and they were already at a record pace for fire runs for 2009.

            Boggs advised they maybe they should consider renewals and if the economy comes back in a year or so look at a capital improvement levy for the departments. Boggs advised the EMS Chief has said he feels they could operate on a renewal levy and slightly increase user fees. He advised this would not give the EMS department any surplus to plan for the next replacement ambulance purchase. Boggs advised he would recommend a renewal for EMS and he wasn’t sure what to do with the fire department. He advised he agreed it would be nice if the fire levy covered the expenses of the fire department although he wasn’t sure this was the time to do such as it might be a tough sell. Boggs agreed both departments were very well respected and services could be interrupted if they didn’t have the funds.

            Mann advised in answer to a question from Beaumont that a rule of thumb was to have a minimum of 2 or 3 months of the normal expenditures at the beginning of each year for operations. Mann advised such as when the city purchased the house (Hillside) she hadn’t received the funds from the county yet and she was trying to encumber the house, but there were all the normal expenditures and there wasn’t enough money in the fund so we have to have carryover funds available at the beginning of the year as they could not spend money they don’t have (available) and was required for all departments by the ORC.

            Beaumont inquired as to the last time a fire levy failed.

            Johnson indicated he believed the first time the existing levy was placed on the ballot it failed.

            Russell advised he believed it had something to do with a portion of the fire levy funds going into the general fund and the fire department wasn’t happy.

            Mann advised originally the fire department was paid out of general fund and the fire capital levy was strictly for capital expenses. She advised with the current levy, operations and capital were now paid out of the fire department levy fund. Mann advised the reason they were transferring money from the general fund to the fire department levy was to help pick up the difference not meeting the departments need from property taxes.

            Chiefs Baillis and Sweigert indicated they would consider using a joint marketing flyer and do some canvassing together.

            Lapehn advised he felt the reputation of our fire and EMS in the city was sterling and they do great work. He advised he was very proud of the fact that we have such excellent service available and he felt people generally would want to support these levies. Lapehn advised he felt they should tweak the fire levy a little so they could maintain services and from the chiefs recommendation they should ask for a little bit more (millage) to make the carryover proper and maintain services and hopefully put a little aside in the capital expense fund so when an old truck dies they have something toward a new truck. Lapehn advised he felt they should keep (the millage) as low as possible and still provide those things and 2 mils sounded reasonable to him and he felt it would receive general support.

            Copley advised he felt the community would support both departments, but he felt any raise in the levies might result in a failure and he would hate to have nothing as opposed to having something. He advised he liked the idea of renewals now and possibly a capital only levy if needed in the future. Copley advised if they were to look at a larger levy for the fire department he felt they should also look at dedicating more to strictly capital expenses.

            Mayor Robertson advised a replacement levy would generate additional money.

            Lapehn advised they also didn’t want to throw away the hold harmless money they could get for several more years and a new levy doesn’t allow us to collect the hold harmless money.

            Robertson concurred and advised they would only receive the hold harmless money for a renewal, a replacement or a replacement with additional.

            Boggs inquired of Council if they wanted him to come up with language for the next meeting such as sample levy (legislation). Boggs advised they needed to move on a decision to allow for three readings and the summer session would be here soon.

            Robertson advised they needed to file (with the board of elections) by August.

            Boggs advised they could do a replacement (EMS) and a replacement with additional (fire).

            Carey advised (fire chief) said he would need another mil to cover normal operations.

            Lapehn advised he would recommend a renewal for the EMS and two samples for fire of a replacement and a replacement plus one (mil). He advised we don’t know what November holds as the nation may be in better shape by then.

            Robertson suggested they get some numbers from the county auditor as to what a replacement levy would generate and see what would support the budget.

a.      Discussion of the Sewer Rates

City Manager Larry Boggs advised at a previous meeting Councilman Copley made a

presentation on a new structure (for sewer calculations and billing). He advised there was an error discovered in the data provided to Council previously, which threw the original proposal off from the base rate of $17 and $4 per thousand gallons used and after re-calculations they would recommend a base rate of $19 and the $4/per M. Boggs advised he was pleased with this structure and he felt it simplifies it and they could also decide to amend the water rate structure in the future as well. He advised water preservation might become part of resident’s lifestyle like recycling has become as he felt they would be more conscious of water usage. Boggs advised he was prepared to recommend this rate structure and he didn’t know what Council wanted to do for commercial and industrial customers.

            Mayor Robertson inquired as to how the billing department felt about this proposed change.

            Mann advised she wouldn’t want to have to explain it to people when they call in.

            Robertson inquired if the billing system would accept this new billing template.

            Mann advised there was a template where the rates were entered for residential, commercial and industrial and it was just a matter of changing the amounts and those were handled with every rate change.

            Copley advised he would recommend that if Council agrees to make this change in the sewer that they look at a similar change to the water rates to avoid confusion.

            Boggs advised he also provided an informal document for water operational costs and other expenditures for future consideration.

            Robertson advised he would suggest for (explanation purposes) they try to do them both (water/sewer) at the same time.

            Copley inquired as to where they stood in the water fund. He advised they have talked a lot about needing more revenue for the sewer fund, but he knew the water fund was tied to the income tax fund as well and he was assuming the income tax revenue was down a little bit.

            Mann advised that was part of the problem with figuring the water rates because they were kind of mixing apples and oranges trying to figure out where they stood and what they need for operations and what they were collecting on tax versus billing. Mann advised tax collections last year was slightly higher than in 2007, but the first two months of this year they were down and she usually didn’t get a real good feel until the end of April. Mann advised with the economy tax collections were probably going to be down and it was definitely a concern. Mann advised the revenues overall versus what they pay for operations they weren’t doing too bad, but the problem was they have done a lot of capital expenditures in the last couple of years and it has decreased the carryover balance very quickly.

            Copley advised so overall they could look at a different structure for the water rates, but keep the revenue the same.

            Mann advised at least if not more as she was worried since it depended so much on tax collections and if they start dropping off even $20,000 was a big hit.

            Copley inquired if it would be beneficial to wait until an April time frame to look at the water rates to see where we were at least as far as a tax standpoint.

            Robertson advised they could use the time to figure out what the structure was whether it stayed the same or increased.

            Beaumont advised on the worksheet there were listed rates for non-users of city water and he inquired as to where they came up with the number of 50 or more employees.

            Boggs advised that was an abbreviation of the ordinance and he included it in his notes because when they were looking at the overall rate structure they ought to look at this as well.

            Beaumont inquired if there was a way to figure out by taking the rates for non-users of city water and compute what the rate would be for the apostolic home using a guesstimate of the amount of usage.

            Boggs advised he was assuming they could. He advised they have not discussed anything for commercial or industrial and the “home” he believed would fall under special industrial.

            Beaumont advised Copley spent a lot of time going over these numbers and we all applaud him for doing so, but he felt one of the caveat’s was that if we were going to do this we should consider out of the city limits users who would be using (city utilities) and possibly adjust the 300%. He inquired as to how they could incorporate these numbers into a program so they (entities like “the home”) would be getting an increase without it being 300%.

            Boggs corrected himself and advised he felt industrial and special commercial rates would pertain more to a nursing home facility.

            Mann noted the codified does not reflect 2007 & 2008 rate increases of 6%.

            Copley inquired from a processing standpoint for the industrial and commercial should they be charging more per thousand or should they just be raising the base. He inquired if it cost us any more to process the commercial and industrial accounts.

            Mann advised it definitely cost more to process and the reason the special commercial and industrial rates were set was because these were (facilities) that were putting more into the sewer system such as grease, dye or chemicals.

            Copley advised so it would be legitimate to look at both the base and per thousand gallons usage.

            Boggs advised they could bring an ordinance for consideration at the next meeting for sewer rates.

Citizens Forum

             Bill Workman of Overlook Drive advised there used to be an ordinance on the books for the fire department where money would be set aside for equipment, although that was before the city had an EMS department. Workman advised the second thing he wanted to address was Mr. Russell, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Copley regarding the sewer line (extension to the apostolic home) and he has read where they have stated they were doing what was right for the people and he inquired if they do what was right for the people what direction could they (the city) expand. He advised south was about the only way although they could go a little bit west or east, but Wadsworth was right at our back door. Workman advised they were letting everyone step on us and were not doing anything to bring them in. He advised if we run that line out there we’ve at least got some kind of resources to say we have sewer available and it wasn’t costing (the city) any money to run it out there. Workman advised he understood $100,000 wasn’t much money and 10% over 100 wasn’t much, but it was if you start adding up what it would do for the community. He advised until they (understood) it was good for the people if they (Council) just stop and think about it because who else was going to run a sewer line 2 miles and give us (the city) $100,000 upfront and we would get paid for the processing (of the sewage) and we wouldn’t be losing money on it. Workman advised he felt they ought to think about that before they start saying they were doing what was good for the people in this town. He advised we have already lost PCA (Caraustar) and we were going to have to pay to tear it down. Workman advised we have the highest electric rates of any (city) around us and that was the first thing (a business) looks at and back when he was on Council they looked at it. He advised they (Council) needed to take those things into consideration when they were voting what was good for the people or else you might run some more out of town. Workman advised let’s try to keep the business we’ve got plus bring some more in.

Old Business - None

New Business

            a.         Ord. No. 7543 An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Amending Section 1329.06 (A) Flood Control and Declaring an Emergency. First Reading. Ord. No. 7543 was read on first reading. Boggs indicated Council previously passed a new flood control ordinance and he recently received a call from ODNR stating they needed to amend one section by the addition of the sentence, “Flood Insurance Study Wayne County, Ohio and Incorporated Areas and Flood Insurance Rate Map Wayne County, Ohio and Incorporated Areas both effective August 18, 2009.” to comply with FEMA rules and maps. Boggs advised since they were the first in this area to comply, Rittman would be host to a meeting with ODNR for other cities at the recreation center community room. Johnson moved to place on second, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

            b.         Ord. No. 7544 An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Amending the Annual Appropriation Ordinance No. 7531, As Amended According to the Attached Sheet(s) and Declaring an Emergency. Three Readings. Ord. No. 7544 was read on first reading. Copley moved to suspend the rules and have second and third reading, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried. Ord. No. 7544 was read on second and third reading. Carey moved to adopt, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

            c.         Motion to Approve the Addition of a College Membership to the Recreation Center Rate Schedule Recreation Director Di Salvo advised they were trying to capitalize on the college students who use the facility (intermittently). Di Salvo advised in talking with these students and asking why they don’t purchase a membership he was reminded there wasn’t a membership category specifically for college students and it was hard for them to afford the adult rates. He advised after checking he discovered that most other recreation centers and YMCA’s have some sort of college membership rates available. Di Salvo advised he presented the idea of offering college membership rates to the recreation center board of directors who recommended it for Council’s approval. He advised they weren’t looking to lose money, but rather to gain college students in the Wayne County area who use the facility, as there were a number of students who were home for the summer months or who attend Wayne College or Akron University and live at home who would like a membership. Di Salvo advised to be eligible the student had to show a valid college I.D. and show proof they are a full-time student. He advised the rates were set between the youth membership and the adult membership for residents and non-residents annually, quarterly and monthly.

            Johnson inquired as to why only full-time students.

            Di Salvo advised it was a board recommendation.

            Johnson advised he was previously a part-time student who worked and still could not afford a recreation center membership. He advised he would like to see something added for a student who takes less than 12 credit hours, as he felt that was discriminating against a part-time student.

            Russell inquired as to how many (college) students were (attending).

            Di Salvo advised they haven’t been tracking the number of college students, but he felt there were a good number of them and they see an increase during the summer months, Christmas and spring break.

            Copley advised he would like to applaud the board for looking for ways to increase revenue and he felt the 12 credit hours was typical for programs that offer college students discounts. He advised a lot of the grants offered students require 12 credits. Copley inquired as to why the stipulation on the age (18-23) as there were some who may not go to college directly out of high school, although he understood that was the normal age range of a college student.

Johnson advised he would like to amend the motion, as he would like to see a part-time college student rate added, although he understood it would not be at the same cost as a full-time college student rate. He advised he felt they should not be discriminating just because someone was a student part-time as he felt that was a bad standard to set. He advised he believed there were grants available for part-time students. Johnson advised he didn’t feel it was fair to part-time students to pay more (for their membership) just because they can’t attend (college) full-time because they might have other issues.

Lapehn advised he would be against such an amendment at this time, as he would rather send that idea to the board and let them know it has been recommended they consider reaching out to part-time college students for their discussion, but what was before them currently was well said and well defined and he felt it was proper to do it this way. He indicated he wasn’t opposed if the board recommended something for part-time students at a separate time.

Johnson advised he would like to see it all at once and he said he would like to table this (current proposal) and refer it back to the recreation center board of directors and have them take a look at a part-time (college student) rate. He advised he didn’t want to pass a full-time (college student) rate without them at least looking at a part-time rate first.

Lapehn advised he felt this (proposal) was valid the way it was and the board could discuss the part-time situation and possibly come back with another letter from the director. He advised he felt this (proposal) was sound the way it is and for the board to spend time hashing over another issue would delay the possibility of some college students (having this opportunity).

Johnson advised he didn’t believe it would delay it that much.

Johnson moved to table the current rate schedule, upon roll call; Johnson-Yes, Russell-Yes, Lapehn-No, Beaumont-No, Copley-No, Carey-No and motion failed.

Copley advised he would like the director to present the idea of a part-time college student rate to the board of directors.

Lapehn moved to approve, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

City Manager’s Remarks

            City Manager Larry Boggs advised Councilman Johnson wanted him to take a look at putting up no soliciting signs at the entrances of the city. He advised the cost of doing so would be approximately $800 and he wanted to know if this was the wish of Council. Boggs advised he felt it was a good idea he just didn’t know if now was the right time with budget constraints.

            Johnson advised his reason for requesting such was because the Green River Ordinance signs were removed and if people coming into town don’t see the “No Solicitation” signs they could get away with the statement that they didn’t know. He advised if it was posted it could be enforced a little better. Johnson advised other cities have posted signs stating all solicitors must check in at City Hall or the Police Station.

            Boggs advised there was no soliciting in residential sections of town, but there was no permits or fees required. Boggs advised church organizations and charities could go out and ask for donations, but nothing could be sold door to door (residentially). He advised they could solicit in the commercial and business districts. He advised some cities do require permits, but we don’t.

            Copley advised he would agree they should post signs and he felt it was money well spent and it would help to discourage people from going door to door residentially.

            Beaumont advised if someone were going to do any kind of enterprise in a city it was incumbent upon that organization to know the rules. He advised if you want to plow snow in the city you have to have a permit and show proof of insurance and the same for trimming trees in the city. Beaumont advised he doesn’t disagree that they might have to put some notice up, but he inquired as to where does that stop. He advised we have ordinances in place and he wasn’t sure they needed to post signs and where do they stop saying if you enter the city you have to do this or you have to have that. Beaumont advised any enterprise that comes into town needs to know the rules and if you don’t know the rules you suffer the consequences. He advised the cost of the signs didn’t include the man-hours to install them and replacing them due to graffiti or damage.

            Boggs advised there were a number of people who inquire at the police station or city hall about obtaining a permit and they were told there was no permit, but they could not go door to door residentially.

            Johnson advised he felt it was a necessity as people needed to know coming into this town.

            Motion to Approve the Purchase of Signs for the City Entrances Stating Soliciting Prohibited in the Residential Districts Johnson so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

            Boggs advised regarding the meeting set with school officials and Council it was his understanding that no one from Council could attend. He advised he wanted to reiterate that there would be a traffic flow engineer at the meeting to answer questions. Boggs inquired if it was Council’s wish to cancel said meeting.

            Johnson advised he felt any discussions should be held before the public.

            Russell advised he originally committed himself to attend, but after talking to a couple of school board members he felt nothing was going to change so he didn’t feel the need to attend.

a.       Approval of Financial Report for February

Johnson moved to approve, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

b.      Finance Director’s Remarks

Finance Director Lucinda Mann advised this upcoming Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the software people would be installing the update for the Finance Department. She advised there might be a new look to reports as she wasn’t sure what to expect yet.

Mann advised she would be out of the office tomorrow as she had a meeting with PERS regarding retirement issues. She advised she needed to know from Council how they felt about the possibility of her retire/rehire before she talks to PERS specifically regarding her position.

Lapehn advised he remembers when Mr. Kellogg went through this process and he and some on Council talked with PERS about his situation. Lapehn advised he would say again as he did then that it was a benefit to the city for the retire/rehire if the employee was a valued employee that was contributing incredible things to the city whose service to the city was something they wanted to continue. He advised in Cindy’s (Mann’s) case he felt it obviously was, as they valued her great leadership for finances, her knowledge of the whole financial structure of the city for these past 30 years and he didn’t feel she was easily replaceable if replaceable at all. Lapehn advised the question would be as in the previous cases of Mr. Boggs and Mr. Kellogg that the city benefited by continuing to have that great experience that you have given the city and we’ve paid less for that service because of insurance issues and such. He advised those would be the points of discussion for Council and a family decision for Cindy. He advised in the past he knew they removed Mr. Kellogg from the city’s insurance saving the city money and yet retaining his experience and work at the city and he took advantage of the PERS retirement and continued to work for the city.

Mann advised currently she was on her husband’s insurance with the kids. She advised currently PERS was changing some things and they would prefer the employer still cover her. Mann advised she would be approaching PERS with the angle that the city would not cover her insurance, but she didn’t know what to expect when she talks to them about the insurance issue.

Beaumont advised he felt it was a good idea and he felt it was true that the city would retain her expertise irrespective of the classification. He advised whether they were retired/rehired or regular employees the city still reaps the benefit of that expertise. He indicated he would support such a decision.

Motion to Go Into Executive Session for the Purpose of Discussing a Personnel Issue and Invite the City Manager - 8:20 p.m. Beaumont so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

            Motion to Come Out of Executive Session – 8:40 p.m. Russell so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

            Council President Richard Lapehn advised he has been instructed by Council to say that the opinion here was that they do not oppose the retire/rehire process for our Finance Director. Lapehn advised the other opinion was that they all think she was doing a fabulous job and were very proud that she serves the city.

            Finance Director Lucinda Mann thanked him for those comments.

Council Remarks

            Council Member Darrell Carey thanked everyone for coming. He commended Chief Baillis on an excellent report as it was very well put together.

            Council Member Charles Copley thanked everyone for coming.

            Council Member Lynn Beaumont thanked everyone for coming. He thanked Mr. Workman for his comments and advised they could always gather knowledge and information from others who have walked in their shoes previously and he appreciated him coming and commenting.

            Council Member Glen Russell thanked everyone for coming. He thanked Chief Baillis for his report. He invited everyone to come back.

            Council Member James Johnson thanked everyone for coming. He advised it was his hope the school board and Council could work together on the traffic control situation with the new school project, as he would like to see something positive come out of it. Johnson advised October 1, 2008 he believed they established a 6-month trial period for the employee wellness program and that time has expired and he would like a report at the next meeting. He advised he felt it was discussed they should vote to decide whether or not to keep the program established after its reviewed.

            Council Member Richard Lapehn advised he appreciated Mr. Workman’s comments and it was his hope they could reach an agreement that would allow them to extend the sewer line out to the apostolic home as he felt it would be good for the city and good for our neighbors and a win/win.

            Mayor William Robertson advised Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 6:30 there was a Chamber meeting regarding the downtown revitalization in Council Chambers at City Hall with Poggemeyer and the public was welcome.

a.       Approval of Vouchers 50516 thru 50576 Including Then and Now

Certificates Copley moved to approve, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

Adjournment: 8:45 pm

Russell so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

________________________________Mayor

__ ______________________

Clerk of Council