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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/30/2012SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL 30 JANUARY 2012 The South Burlington City Council held a special meeting on Monday, 30 January 2012, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Councilors Present: M. Emery, Acting Chair; J. Knapp, P. Engels, R. Greco Also Present: S. Miller, City Manager; R. Rusten, Deputy City Manager: D.Kinville, City Clerk; P. Taylor, D. Fleming, A. Clift, D. Coriell, City Charter Committee; T. & S. Tapley 1. Agenda Review: No changes were made. 2. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to Agenda items: No issues were raised. 3. Announcements & City Manager’s Report: Mr. Engels: Attended the legislative breakfast this morning. Two State Senators and 3 of the 4 South Burlington House Representatives were present. Discussion topics included the two Charter changes, the proposed tax penalty elimination bill, and TIFs. Mr. Miller: Noted receipt of the resignation of Joe Randazzo from the Development Review Board. Mr. Knapp moved to approve the resignation of Joe Randazzo from the Development Review Board. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Public Hearing on Proposed City Charter Amendment Request by City Clerk to change Charter re: Clerk’s Authority over personnel and office space: Mr. Knapp moved to open the public hearing. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Fleming of the City Charter Committee said the Committee has met three times and will meet again tomorrow. The expectation is that they will have a recommendation for the 6 February meeting. Mr. Fleming then read the proposed language of the Charter amendment. The Committee’s discussion has focused on whether the proposed language clarifies things and whether there are better alternatives. The Committee has heard from the City Clerk, City Manager, Deputy City Manager, President of the City Hall Employees bargaining unit, the City Attorney, Paul Gilles, former Assistant Secretary of State, and the City Auditor. Ms. Clift noted the Committee is considering 4 possible options: 1. Approve the proposed language 2. Modify the proposed language 3. Ask for more time 4. Take no action. Mr. Fleming said the Committee is anxious to hear from the public. There was no public comment offered. Mr. Knapp moved to close the public hearing. Ms. Greco seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Other Business: Ms. Emery asked the status of a proposed letter to the Airport regarding noise testing. Mr. Miller said a letter will be drafted to the Airport regarding a number of issues including: the noise testing, bird shooting, and assessment. Ms. Emery asked whether the issues should be dealt with separately or together. Mr. Knapp noted they have been dealt with together in all communications. The key is to have everything on the table until an issue is settled or dropped. This is especially true with the Airport. Ms. Emery said she would like to have issues addressed before she leaves office. Ms. Emery also asked about a campaign to get the city budget passed. She suggested a campaign in The Other Paper and Channel 17 appearances. She also noted that last year she put together an ad. Ms. Greco said she was willing to write a letter to The Other Paper. Mr. Knapp said he has heard a lot of public comment but none of it about the budget. Mr. Miller noted there will be a CCTV appearance on 9 February. A power point presentation is being drafted for this. He asked if the Council wanted to have a candidate forum after the budget presentation the night before the vote. There is also a question as to whether there will be a community dinner that night. Ms. Kinville noted that Suzie Merrick of PACT has contacted the city indicating they would be doing a dinner again this year. Members felt the candidate forum should be held that night. Ms. Emery asked the status of a proposed letter to Bert Munger regarding H328. Mr. Miller said the letter was sent today. He noted that H328 relates to elimination of the penalty fee for late payment of property taxes. Presently, communities have the option to charge up to 8% of the taxes due (South Burlington charges this 8%). H328 would take that option away. In South Burlington this could mean an increase of .4 cents on the tax rate and could discourage on-time payment of taxes which could create a cash flow problem. Mr. Miller also noted that Bert Munger is a co-sponsor of the bill. Mr. Taylor said he supports the city’s position in opposition to H328 and noted that if people have a problem paying their taxes on time, they have the option to make arrangements for payment with the City Manager. Ms. Greco said she spoke with Mr. Munger who said he was against the penalty charge but not against the interest charge. Ms. Emery noted receipt of an e-mail from Leslie Williams and questioned how to respond to it. Members agreed to consider it at Thursday’s meeting. Ms. Clift asked how many people are running for the open Council and School Board seats. Mr. Miller said 3 people are running for the 2- year Council seat: Pam McKenzie, Chris Shaw, and Tracy Tepley. Helen Riehle is running for the 3-year Council seat. Rich Cassidy is running for the 2-year School Board seat and Elizabeth Fitzgerald and Phil Soltau for the 3 year School Board seat. Ms. Emery said Ms. Dooley will be drafting a letter regarding the UVM President search, but there is a question as to whether it is too late for input. 6. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement orders were signed. 7. Executive Session: Ms. Greco moved that the Council meet in executive session to discuss personnel issues and to resume regular session only for the purpose of adjournment. Mr. Knapp seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Regular Session: Council returned to regular session. As there was no further business Mr. Knapp moved for Council adjournment. Ms. Greco seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Council adjourned. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.