Though the citizens of Nelsonville voted against the income tax levy to maintain public safety, there was a near-unanimous agreement at last night's City Council meeting that the city needs a code enforcement officer.
The defeated 0.5 percent income tax levy would have subsidized public safety, including code enforcement and the police and fire departments.
Before the election
I had a lot of people tell me they were against the levy said Councilman Bill Wend. But I never had one person tell me we didn't need a code enforcement officer.
City Manager Fred Holmes said since the defeat of the levy last Tuesday he has made every effort to find ways to cut back as the city considers the possibility of an all-volunteer fire department to make up for a more than $300,000 budget deficit.
In 2005, the fire department had a budget of about $255,000, Wend said.
Also last night, Council President Clinton Stanley scheduled a special council work session at 7 p.m. next Monday to discuss the future of the police and fire departments.
I encourage everyone to attend the meeting Stanley said. The town is torn in two right now and we need to get it back together. The people said 'no' [to the levy]
but I am not sure they were saying 'no' to safety services. Moving to a volunteer fire department is a last resort.
Council members also voted to appropriate funds of about $96,000 to several Federal Emergency Management Agency projects within the city, such as street slips and city park fence repairs. The city will be reimbursed by FEMA for 87.5 percent of the costs.
After an hour-long executive session to consider six applications for an empty seat on council vacated by John Reynolds, council members took a vote on two nominated replacements -Anita Winner and Charlie Pancake. However, members were not able to reach a majority decision, leaving the position open. If no one is appointed at the next regular meeting Stanley will have the responsibility of naming the new council member.
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Lisa Schwerin
