City Council OKs ‘housekeeping’ measures

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council adopted a number of end-of-year housekeeping fiscal measures and the 2021 permanent appropriations ordinance during a brief final meeting Monday to close out 2020.

Council approved salary ordinances that cover employees in the various city departments, as well as Van Wert Municipal Court, as well as permanent appropriations legislation for the coming year, on third and final reading.

City Auditor Martha Balyeat also explained the changes to supplemental appropriations and end-of-year transfers legislation, noting that some accounts had money deducted from them because revenues were less than the amounts budgeted for those areas. Those measures were also adopted later in the meeting.

The auditor also noted that CARES Act funding allowed the city to deduct more than $480,000 in expenses from the General Fund, in the police and fire department budgets, while the remainder of CARE Act money was used to purchase equipment and other items needed by the city.

Also adopted on third and final reading was an amended resolution appointing Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming to the District 13 Public Works Commission Integrating Committee for 2021-23, while also appointing the mayor as an alternate for the position.

During his report, Mayor Ken Markward noted that representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be talking to members of the city administration about the new federal flood map.

An open house will also be scheduled sometime in February 2021 to provide information to members of the public, Markward noted.

The mayor also provided an update on the demolition of the Home Guards Temple, and talked about the four brick columns still remaining after the rest of the building has been demolished, noting that the columns may — or may not — remain after demolition is completed.

“The Foundation is exploring the possibility of preserving them as sort of an archway to a small park,” Markward said, “but they still need to look at the cost and what’s underneath, and whether it’s going to be feasible to keep.”

The mayor also noted that a probation officer with the Van Wert County Juvenile Court informed him that juveniles who committed acts of vandalism at Franklin Park would be paying restitution as part of their probation.

In his last report of 2020, Fleming thanked city workers for their efforts during what he said was a “very trying year.”

Health Service & Safety Committee Chair Bill Marshall gave a year-end report on code enforcement efforts, noting that code violations decreased significantly during 2020, from an overage of 500 in 2018 and 2019 to 277 this year.

Marshall said he did not have a reason why code violations were down nearly half this year, but did commend city residents for doing a better job of maintaining their properties.

The next meeting of Van Wert City Council will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, January 11, 2021, in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.