By Sue Miklovic, www.TheNBXpress.com
Village Council Special Meeting 12.23.2019
All was calm…….All was bright……. at the special meeting of the North Baltimore Village Council, held just 2 days before Christmas. Last week’s regularly scheduled meeting (December 17th) was not able to be fruitful, as illness, work schedules, and family emergencies prevented any type of formal action to be taken. But this week, our elected officials worked together to quickly take care of the business at hand, finishing several pieces of legislation and approving supplemental appropriations for the December 31 Year end.
Finance Officer Tony Swartz provided very detailed information and explanations of practically every account that exists in the village, carefully and completely answering every question that came up. His vast experience and expertise made it easy for all to comprehend, including members of the public in attendance, myself included.
Councilman Aaron Patterson asked if Mr. Swartz thought our department heads needed any additional training with budget preparation. “No,” Mr. Swartz responded. “They are all conservative and very good at setting up long-term savings plans for big expenses. They are all ‘Under budget.’” Mr. Swartz said they have changed their budget meetings to weekly and it seems to be working well . “Our overall end of the year balance looks good. We are actually up, despite having to fix a lot of things this year. Income tax collection was also up too,” he said.
Other items voted on included:
-Amending the penalty provisions of the ordinance pertaining to parking violations
-Approving the establishment of an investment account with StarOhio for short term/overnight investments of public/village funds
-Approving renewal of depository agreement with Huntington Bank
-Adopting a five year Capital Improvement Program (CIP)for 2020-2024.
The progress on the 100 block of North Main streetlights was also discussed. “Things are coming along”. East side lights are installed. West side bases are in. No power has been provided to the poles yet.(Update: They are now illuminated-12.27.19)
The Mayor thanked Councilman R. Ty Carles, who completed his term of office with this meeting. ”I am still willing to serve on a committee if you need me” he said.
As a village resident and someone who regularly attends most council meetings, I have to say I left the Council Chambers on Monday evening feeling proud of our Council and Administrators and the job they are doing. I truly believe they all have the best of intentions for the betterment of this community and its residents. THANK YOU ALL FOR SERVING!
2 Responses
Sue, you do and excellent job of reporting the happenings of Council. Thank you for that.
Thanks, Don. I appreciate your kind words. ~SM.