Village Council Has It’s Hands Full

The Village of North Baltimore held “Council of the Whole” and an additional “Special Meeting” on Tuesday. All council members were present.

The Village Council held its regularly scheduled “Council of the Whole” meeting where reports and updates are shared by committee chairmen. No legislation is approved at these meetings. This meeting is chaired by Art Patterson, President of Village Council.

Here is a brief summary of what was talked about this week:

~Public safety–$75,000 is needed for Bunker Gear for NBFD in the year 2021. Savings are on track to have that money available at the needed time. Over $1400 and many bikes and toys were donated for the “Toys for Tots” campaign, led by the Fire Department.

~Technology—Still trying to find an affordable option on cameras for the Park area and at Village Hall. Hard wiring is recommended, but also expensive. WiFi  is being reconsidered.

~Public Utilities—“I have ZERO applicants,” said utility Director Brian Roberts, of an existing need for a water plant operator. The search continues.

~ Public Works—A discussion was held on getting switched to cost-saving LED lighting. Several reports and examples of dramatic dollar savings were shared. Also, bidding will be sought for some street paving.

~ Personnel, Policy, Ordinance Review –Compensation policy, including, Flex Time, Overtime, Comp time, and Random Day Off, will be reviewed and updated  to make sure it is meeting the needs of the Village.

~Tree Commission—All trees that were scheduled to be planted for 2018 have been.

The Mayor reminded Council that prior to next week’s meeting, there will be a holiday gathering for the council members.

The meeting adjourned and moved on to the “Special meeting” which went to closed “Executive Session”.  No action was expected.

After that meeting had concluded, (and I had left )  TheNBXpress was contacted, to inform us that action had happened . Here is what was shared:

The Village will be hiring a new Finance Officer , as Melanie Lee quit last week.

In order to finish the 2019 Budget and close out the 2018 books, the Council agreed to hire local resident and retired Accountant Tony Swartz, who will assist the Village in getting those 2 tasks completed, as Interim Finance Officer.