Anderson City Council

Anderson City Council - Part III - 10/9/2008

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:07:38 -0700

thevideo

Anderson Indiana City Council - Part II - 10/9/2008

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:47:30 -0700

thevideo

Anderson City Council - Part I - 10/9/2008

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:46:19 -0700

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Anderson City Council Meeting - October 9, 2008 - Agenda

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 2 Oct 2008 23:04:01 -0700

AGENDA

REGULAR MEETING-COMMON COUNCIL OF ANDERSON, INDIANA

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2008

OPENING OF MEETING – PRESIDENT JOSEPH NEWMAN - 7:00 P.M. – COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
INVOCATION – COUNCILMAN MIKE WELCH
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – COUNCILMAN ART PEPELEA, JR.

ROLL CALL:

COMMUNICATIONS:

ORDINANCE TABLED UNTIL OCTOBER MTG – AMENDED WITH FIRST READING APPROVED:

1. 1. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 91 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY

INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCES:

1. 1. REZONING .284 OF AN ACRE FROM R-2 TO I-2, LOCATED AT 405 EAST 38^TH STREET ON THE SOUTH SIDE

- - - - ROGER L. AND C. MICHELLE HOPPES

CONTACT: AMY D. GORDON

CONTACT: EMILY MARTIN

1. 1. AN ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS FOR OFF-PREMISE SIGNS

47-08 ORDINANCE OF APPROPRIATIONS AND TAX RATES

INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS:

1. 1. A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS BETWEEN CERTAIN ACCOUNTS

1. 1. A PRELIMINARY DECLARATORY RESOLUTION FIXING A DATE, TIME AND PLACE FOR A

1. 1. A FINAL CONFIRMATORY RESOLUTION DESIGNATING AN ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION

1. 1. A FINAL CONFIRMATORY RESOLUTION DESIGNATING AN ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION

1. 1. A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING MAYOR KRIS OCKOMON TO FILE ON BEHALF OF THE CITY

1. 1. A RESOLUTION APROVING AN EXCESS LEVY APPEAL PURSUANT TO I.C. 6-1.1-18.5-16 AND

54-08 A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE CITY CONTROLLER TO WITHDRAW CERTAIN FUNDS HELD WITHIN THE POLICE AND FIRE PENSION FUNDS FOR THE GENERAL FUND OF THE CITY OF ANDERSON

MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS:

COUNCIL TO APPOINT SIX (6) MEMBERS TO THE COMMISSION ON AFRICAN

AMERICAN MALES

ADJOURNMENT:

SHEILA ASHLEY

CITY CLERK

Anderson City Council 9-11-8 - Full - Part 15

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:47:25 -0700

thevideo

Anderson City Council 9-11-8 - Full - Part 14

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:46:03 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9-11-8 - Full - Part 13

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:13:40 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 12

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:12:33 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 11

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:33:27 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 10

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:16:23 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 9

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:40:51 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 8

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:13:50 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 7

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:24:56 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 6

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:51:11 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 5

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:14:06 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 4

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:37:07 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 3

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:24:45 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 2

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:07:22 -0700

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Anderson City Council 9/11/8 - Full - Part 1

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:45:30 -0700

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Anderson City Council Meeting 9/11/08 - Notes

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:37:55 -0700

Looks like it's going to take about 30+ GIGS of space for just the raw footage.

I think this time (and in future for longer things like this) to do some editing. How long is too long? I'm thinking of lots of small videos dealing with specific topics/issues during the meeting.

I'm opening this process of getting the material on the site up to you, so don't be shy...

Letter: Have city utility rate-payers been duped?

kpaul.mallasch — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:26:39 -0800

By Anonymous

In December, the city council was informed that the city utilities operating fund had been exhausted, ostensibly by rising costs not offset by rate adjustments, and was asked to approve a 10-percent permanent rate increase for electric and water utilities customers. After an initial 8-1 vote to approve the rate hike on the first reading, the council suspended its rules after a lengthy discussion (an agreement made simply to avoid having to return for another meeting during the holidays), and voted 9-0 on the second and third readings to approve the rate increase.

The council, in its entirety, failed to adequately represent the city's utility rate-payers when it chose to dismiss its responsibility to take the time to investigate more thoroughly the causes of the operating funds' depletion and the long-term rate needs of the city's utility services before acting on the rate hike. It is quite possible the rate hike could have been instituted on a temporary basis until the operating fund reached adequate proportion at which point rates could have been rolled back to a lower level. And, had council members taken time for thorough investigation, the council could possibly have approved such a measure that could have been renewable annually until financial stability was attained.

If Mayor Ockomon's announcement that city finances are in such a critical situation is correct, and that cuts in funding/spending will be necessary, then it seems even more important that the city council launch its own investigation into what happened to the money in the utility operating fund and openly provide explanations as to where the city's financial management of the fund went awry during the previous administration.

Further, Mayor Ockomon's plan for the financial recovery of the civil city should not focus on just a few of the city's funding areas, but should require equal, across-the-board austerity measures among every city department except safety services, which were cut beyond minimum standards during the previous administration.

One perception among many citizens regarding the utility operating fund fiasco is that the previous administration transferred utility funds to the general fund to support selected administrative salaries, to fund administrative pay raises, and to subsidize the general fund in order to prevent an immediate property tax increase for the 2007-2008 year. And, this is an even more amazing situation when one considers that our city's former leaders also spent the city's share of the Indiana Major Moves money and much of the food and beverage tax distribution on infrastructural improvements, while it was using rate-payers' money to fund salaries and raises outside of the utility services.

The public also recognizes that our fire and police services were reduced significantly during that same time while city administrative departments remained untouched and some head administrators' salaries increased. It appears there may have been more to the story of the "disappearing operating balance" than simply "rising costs not offset by rate adjustments."

The city's current leaders should revisit the utility rate hike approved by the city council in December, but only after careful study and public disclosure of the facts of how the depletion of the utility operating fund truly occurred. The rate hike that does emerge should be temporary and renewable on an annual or biennial schedule only until restoration of the operating fund is achieved.

In the meantime, the mayor and city council, as part of the austerity program to stabilize city finances, must eliminate any civil city salary monies being paid from utility funds, even if this means salary and wage cuts or job consolidations, and enact a city ordinance that permanently forbids this type of inappropriate redistribution of utility dollars for civil city business.

City leaders have used the utility operating fund as a "slush fund" for far too many years. It is time to end this financially unsound, destabilizing, and unethical practice, and it is time to get this city's financial management in line with this city's tax revenue base.

Anonymous in,
Anderson, IN

‘Traveling’ City Hall Session September 10

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 7 Sep 2007 17:33:14 -0700

ANDERSON, IN - Mayor Kevin S. Smith will conduct a “Traveling” City Hall Session on Monday, September 10 from 5-6 p.m. in the Community Room at Senior Cottages of Anderson, 3221 Morton St. The town meetings, conducted in various locations throughout the city, include a short discussion by the mayor followed by a question and answer session:

Representatives of the Anderson Police Department, Anderson Fire Department, Board of Works, Street Department and Light and Power and other departments will be on hand to answer citizens’ questions. Every Anderson resident is invited to attend.