08/26/2002 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Special Council Minutes of 8/26!2002 positions that are needed or whether we aze preserving luxuries. Mrs. Kasler stated her intention in placing the money in that staffing line item, after discussion with the Finance Director, was to give the police the authority to evaluate which positions of crossing guards aze most critical and which responsibilities of auxiliary police aze most critical and to address those immediate safety issues. She wishes she had the money to replace the dispatcher, but she has dug as faz as she can. She challenges the administration to dig a little further and get that dispatcher back on. Mr. Gareau commented, if there are funds available after the Police Department has made its safety determinations regazding school guazds and auxiliary police, then it should be brought back to Council for further appropriation-be it a dispatcher, street repair or some other new. That is what Council does. Councilman Nashar asked the Mayor if he had received a response from the school boazd regarding the possibility of their coirtribution to the cost of school guards. Mayor Musial said the school boazd had responded that they aze not in the financial position to help with those costs. Also, they feel it is the city's responsibility as they construe it to be a safety issue. Mr. Dailey said he believed the schools had extended out the busing azea for some of the people who were affected by the crossing guards. So, in effect, the school district has absorbed some of this cost by transporting those additional children. Mr. Miller said he would agree with Mr. Dailey if the situation was that the extended busing was mandatory. However, all parents still have the opportunity to choose whether or not they want their children to ride their bikes or walk to school for exercise. So, those crossing azeas that aze closest to the schools are still an issue. He believes this is a safety issue, and the re-installation of the crossing guards should be done as quickly as possible. Roll call on the motion made by Mrs. Kasler and seconded by Mr. Gareau to amend Ordinance No. 2002-117 by taking $17,884 remaining from the Adelphia cable money and $5,100 from the Mayor's secretary line item and placing it in the police staffing line item to be earmarked and used for re-instatement of auxiliary police duties and school guazds, to be prioritized by the Police Department in a manner that they see fit: Kasler, yes; Gareau, yes; Dailey, yes; Limpert, yes, given the caveats of the discussion. Rotl call continued: Nashaz, yes; Miller, yes, McKay, yes. The motion passed unanimously. Ordinance No. 2002-117 was amended. Councilwoman Kasler moved to amend Ordinance No. 2002-117 by subtracting the remaining $2,387 from the Housing Council's secretary position and to earmark that money for economic development. The motion was seconded by Councilman Gareau. Finance Director Copfer noted that this item was on page 4 of the ordinance and it is the fund in total the Economic Development Fund and it doesn't specify staffing. The effect of the amendment will be to reduce appropriations--the money would be removed from the Housing Council's secretary line item and would not be appropriated anywhere else. It would stay in the unencumbered balance of that particulaz fund. Discussion began with Mr. Gareau asking the Finance Director for the unencumbered balance of the fund. Mrs. Copfer answered that at the end of 2001 there was $44,903, and $24,774 was appropriated to be expended. She does not believe any other funds were expended beyond those paid to the Housing Council secretary. The fund is `"""` approximately forty-two thousand dollazs right now. Mr. Limpert noted that Ordinance 8 ,,,.n.-,,.~a.