Saturday, September 15, 2007

Emergency Council Bill 2007-290

I've been looking into Council Bill 2007-290, the emergency bill involved in the Special Meeting called September 18. Follow the links above and below for background.

According to what the City Council adopted on August 27 (Special Ordinance 25244) the Director of Finance cannot exceed her certified levy listed in Section 2 of that ordinance. The Council, however, has authorized the Director of Finance to set each levy in an amount equal to the levy authorized by the State Auditor.

Apparently there are some adjustments to be made in the levy amounts, but according to section 3 of Special Ordinance 25244 the levy amounts can only be adjusted down because the Finance Director was not authorized by Council to adjust them up:


Section 3 - The levies listed in Section 2 are estimated based on the preliminary assessed valuation provided by the Greene County Clerk. The City Council authorizes the Director of Finance to set each levy in an amount equal to the levy authorized by the State Auditor. However, the levy certified by the Director of Finance shall not exceed the levies listed in Section 2.


The city was required by State law to have their certified levy amount submitted to the State by Sept. 1. Did the City hear back from the State Auditor and how do they plan to adjust the levies? Unless otherwise authorized the Director of Finance cannot adjust the levies up, they can only be adjusted down. Which would be a good thing for tax payers.

Is it possible that the new emergency Special Ordinance/Council Bill 2007-290 authorizes the Director of Finance to adjust the levies to exceed the levies listed in Section 2? There is no available online explanation to the Special Ordinance listed on the Special meeting agenda for September 18 so citizens won't know unless the City posts it on Monday or Tuesday before noon, the time of the special meeting. I think it is legitimate to wonder about that scenario because the Director of Finance has already been authorized to adjust them down, so unless the City must again approve the final valuation in the form of an ordinance for the public record (which could very well be) then one would wonder why it was necessary to bring it before Council again.

In the case of Special Ordinance # 25244 the city was required to post a public hearing notice. There has been no public hearing notice in this case, as yet, and the fact that it is brought as an emergency bill tells us it will be voted on September 18.

4 comments:

The Libertarian Guy said...

If it's an emergency... where are the sirens, ladder trucks, ambulances and cop cars? *snicker*

Jackie Melton said...

I think they're at the park looking for their retirement funds. ;)

Anonymous said...

I would guess that most of the emergencies are planned 6 to 8 months in advance.

They are simply items that they do not want to expain, or have anyone question what they are doing.
They just want a quick vote by the council..

I would suppose the two Mr. C's have five or six emergencies planed for December already ....

The Libertarian Guy said...

Speaking of one of the "Mr. C's"... I passed one of 'em on Walnut Street the other day. Looked smug and arrogant, just like he does when he sits center stage at the Legion of Doom - uh, City Council - meetings. ;)