VW Council honors former city officials

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council honored former city officials for their service and also discussed current economic development efforts, as well as city finances, during Monday’s meeting.

Council President Pete Weir presented proclamations to former mayor Don Farmer and former Council clerk and mayor’s secretary Vivian Thompson honoring both for their years of service to the city, while Councilman At-Large Jon Tomlinson did the same for former mayor and Councilman Stan Agler.

Farmer was honored for his two terms as mayor and several terms on City Council, while Agler, the city’s first full-time mayor, was honored for his more than three decades of public service to the city. Thompson was honored for her tenure as City Council clerk, as well as the years she spent as secretary to the mayor.

Former Council president Ken Mengerink and former Council member Kirby Kelly were also honored with proclamations, but didn’t attend Monday’s meeting.

Tomlinson and Mayor Jerry Mazur both provided some updates on the city’s efforts to combine its economic development entity with that of the county.

Tomlinson was appointed by Council to chair the newly created Economic Development Committee, which acts as a liaison between City Council and the Van Wert Area Economic Development Council — the temporary entity tasked with developing a joint economic development program and hiring a new county economic development director.

Tomlinson provided some information on recent meetings of the city-county economic development council and said that, while initially skeptical of the group’s efforts, he felt the entity was proceeding in a positive manner.

City Auditor Martha Balyeat did question whether the new entity, which is seeking to become a not-for-profit corporation, either as a 501(c)(3) or similar non-profit corporation, would conduct annual audits — something she felt was crucial when public tax money was used to fund the organization. She also wondered whether the city and county Revolving Loan Funds were going to remain separate or be combined, noting that discussion has been held on the subject for several meetings, but no decision has yet been made.

City Law Director John Hatcher, who is filing the paperwork for the non-profit designation, is also currently involved in researching the legal questions involved in the filing.

In her report, Balyeat also addressed city income tax revenues, noting that, instead of a projected 5-percent increase in tax collections, income tax revenues are currently down more than $20,000 over the first two months of 2015.

“I’m a little concerned,” Balyeat said of the numbers, noting she would be looking at March’s tax revenues, though, before recommending any fiscal austerity moves. February and March are typically the biggest income tax revenue months of the year, because that is when taxpayers file their returns. February’s tax revenues were down more than $10,000 over last year.

Balyeat also noted that the city had spent approximately $981,000 so far this year, while taking in $924,000. While adding that city officials had expected to spend more than they took in early this year, she was still monitoring the situation to ensure conditions didn’t worsen without action taken.

“It’s not a concern — yet,” Balyeat told Council members.

In other financial matters, City Council approved two salary ordinances, one for Van Wert Municipal Court and one for the city’s service departments, after both were amended to reflect changes in 2016 figures.

Council also approved a then-and-now certificate totaling $3,790.69 for work done by Ridge Quarry.

Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming noted that work on the South Washington Street reconstruction project would likely start in early April, with a pre-construction meeting scheduled for sometime next week.

The Streets & Alleys Committee was also assigned to review speed limits along Westwood Drive following a letter from a concerned citizen who feels the 25-mph speed limit is too slow. Although it was also noted that the speed limit was lowered from 35 mph a couple of years ago because of safety concerns, a number of people also felt the 25-mph speed limit did create problems for local drivers.

The next regular meeting of Van Wert City Council will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 28, in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.