01/06/2009 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 1/6/2009 with malls, and people who usually work in malls are not of a higher income so the city is not going to get much income tax. Anything we can do to bring more residences here he thinks we need to do. 12) David Firment, 4678 Michael Avenue, said he doesn't know how anything gets done in the city and asked why the Mayor and Council can't work together. Mr. Ryan had a good point about going through the budget line by line. All he has heazd is tax, tax, tax. It has been said that the tax won't bring back the laid off safety forces. But the Police and Fire Departments aze saying they will work with the city to bring back the employees. Maybe tax shouldn't be the whole issue. Maybe Mr. Ryan should head it up and it should be taken line by line to figure out how to get out of this mess. Let's just get off this word that the only solution that Council is being handed is pass this tax or we're in trouble. Councilman Ryan said he and the Mayor had a conversation about 3 % years ago, and they knew this was coming but it has gotten more severe. He said that yeaz after year, we've been taking from dedicated funds and funding the General Fund. Let's be clear to everybody, we have not had a balanced budget for four years. We have been very fortunate because of the RTA .funds and the sewer funds. We're here now, we've got to do something. The problem is we don't have a budget yet-there is nothing Council can change. All they can ask of the administration is to defiznd positions. No one says you've got to issue a pay check. Cut money. That's what the administration could do right now. But within the next few weeks, they expect a budget. And next year, the Mayor is not going to get the money had had in the past. Council has made a mistake of giving too freely. He has a perfect record of voting against every single budget that has been passed. He always votes against it, but now you see why. Mayor O'Grady commented that he and Mr. Ryan work well together. They don't necessarily agree all the time, but they do speak often. The truth is 3 '/z years ago the economic downturn was seen coming. Changes had to be made and were made. On the budgets, he would disagree. He is required under law to bring forwazd balanced budgets and that was done four years in a row. We're in a unique economic time. We have to work together to find solutions. 13) Anna Mackrell, 29340 Vita Lane, (a school crossing guazd), thanked the Fire Dept. and Police Dept. and said she appreciates everything they do. Her question is what is the city going to do with children that cross after January 22 when crossing guards are no longer there? Also, a fellow school guard had a question: are the children who walk less deserving of safety than the ones who ride the bus? Mayor O'Grady said he has been in consultation with the North Olmsted City Schools. The schools analyzed that, due to grade realignment and changing transportation patterns, very few children actually cross and utilize the crossing guards. Additionally, the Police Dept. surveyed crossing sites. They found that, at some locations, no children crossed. In other locations, two or three. In a joint meeting between himself and the Supt. of Schools, the need was analyzed. They found things have changed and the need has changed. Their analysis shows clearly that we need crossing guazds in two locations, not fourteen. Those two locations will continue to have crossing guards. There will be Police auxiliary officers that are paid for half by the city and half by the North Olmsted City Schools. Those locations will continue to have guards. Elsewhere we're doing the responsible thing, both on the side 20