University Heights City Council meeting highlights 11-19-12

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

• Leaf pickup
• Merger of fire departments
• Beautiful Homes
• Funding for economic development
• Transportation for seniors
• Anthony Coyne
• Safety department clock synchronization
• Cedar Taylor Fund 2012
• Estate tax revenue
• Housing court costs
• Inspection fees
• 2012 income tax receipts
• AT&T cell tower lease
  
  

All council members were present.

Leaf pickup

Leaf pickup has been extended to Dec. 7 due to the storm damage.

Merger of fire departments

On Tuesday, Dec. 4, there will be a town hall meeting to discuss the consultant’s report regarding the merger of the University Heights and Shaker Heights fire departments. The full report is posted on the city’s website and council will be seeking responses from residents.

Beautiful Homes

University Heights’ Beautiful Home Awards were given out to 24 families.

Funding for economic development

The Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce, which includes University Circle, will apply for grant funding for economic development.

Transportation for seniors

The use of STC (Senior Transportation Connection) to provide transportation for senior citizens will continue on a month-to-month basis while council looks into providing a broader range of services.

Anthony Coyne

Anthony Coyne was sworn in as the new law director. Although he has been in this position since Nov. 1, the ceremony was postponed so family members could attend.

Safety department clock synchronization

Council authorized the purchase of a GPS Clock Synchronization system for the police department from Independence Communication Systems, which included installation, for $11,699. A recent investigation revealed that the clocks in the fire department were not synchronized with those in the police department, so 911 calls weren’t synchronized with the cars. It is standard for cities to have this function and the cost was budgeted for this year.

Cedar Taylor Fund 2012

Council authorized the transfer of the Cedar Taylor Fund 2012 balance to the general fund, as the fund has not been used for five years.

Estate tax revenue

An ordinance was presented on first reading to transfer from the general fund to the capital improvement fund all estate tax revenue in excess of the budgeted estate tax revenue. This will be the last year for cities to receive estate tax revenues (except for minor funds from estates still in process).

Housing court costs

An ordinance to permit the assessment of court costs for legal proceedings to enforce the housing code was presented on first reading. If a housing case initiated by the city cannot be brought to the judge because the named individual cannot be located or fails to appear, the Shaker Heights Municipal Court will pass along the cost to the City of University Heights. This ordinance would allow the city to then apply those fees to the property’s taxes for collection.

Inspection fees

An ordinance to change inspection fees was presented on first reading. The city currently has a lower cost than surrounding communities for point-of-sale inspections, which are very time consuming for the building department.

2012 income tax receipts

Larry Heiser, finance director, reported that the city is on target for income tax receipts in 2012, with an increase of 1.5 percent. One percent of this increase is due to the increase in the city’s income tax rate.

AT&T cell tower lease

Anthony Coyne, law director, reported that the AT&T lease for the cell phone tower is being renegotiated.

LWV observer: Wendy Deuring.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse, and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.