During Monday’s regular meeting of the Beaver Dam City Commission, the commission gave the planning and zoning board a gift, discussed personnel policy changes, had the second reading of the budget and discussed the possibility of golf cart use in the city.
Mayor Paul Sandefur called the June 11 regular meeting of the Beaver Dam City Commission to order and began by accepting the minutes from the previous meeting and the approving of the payment of bills for the month.
— The planning and zoning board came before the commission to request $1,500 in funding to help make the board a more self-sufficient entity and less dependent upon municipalities. This $1,500 would be a “gift” and not taken out of the budget for the next fiscal year. The board informed the court that they are operating at a “severe” deficit.
The city of Hartford had already given the planning and zoning board $1,500 and the board has raised the cost of permits by 75 percent across the board. Even with the permit increase, the board does not think that the money will come in quick enough to decrease the deficit.
The board has also reworked some expenses having to do with a stipend for Nancy Hoover, to still be able to pay her the stipend and put some money into the board’s account.
The commission was satisfied the planning and zoning board had looked at all options and done their homework before asking for the $1,500. A motion was made to give the planning and zoning board $1,500 and the motion passed unanimously.
— Next the commission discussed some personnel policy revisions regarding sick leave and bereavement leave. There was some discussion on whether to include step-family in the policy regarding bereavement leave, and if step-family was included, how many times could you use bereavement leave in a year’s time. After much discussion, the commission decided to leave the wording as is in the personnel policy when it comes to bereavement.
There was discussion on how much sick leave an employee could have. It was finally decided that there would be a 60 day cap on sick time for current employees and with new hires, they would get a percentage of the 60 days at five, ten and fifteen years of employment. After fifteen years they would be eligible for 100 percent of the 60 days of sick leave.
Both revisions passed unanimously.
— The commission then had the second reading of the 2012/2013 budget.
There was much discussion during this time about money that the Beaver Dam Fire Department (BDFD) would receive. At some point there was a misunderstanding over nine sets of bunker gear to be purchased at $1,200 a set, for the BDFD in the next fiscal year. Fire chief Tim Blair understood that he would get nine sets of bunker gear in 2012/2013 in addition to the four sets that were purchased in the past fiscal year. The commission thought that because four sets were purchased in the past fiscal year, then they would need to buy only five in 2012/2013. The commission budgeted $5,500 for this expense instead of $10,000. Blair was disappointed that this was the case, but claimed he could make things work.
Commissioner Sandy Robinson asked the court to increase the BDFD’s miscellaneous expenses from $1,000 to $1,500 to pay for a Christmas dinner and incentives at the end of the year for the volunteer firefighters. Mayor Paul Sandefur reminded the commission that there needed to be some “belt tightening” this year.
Chief Blair informed the commission that the incentives weren’t “gas cards” or things of that nature. The incentives were things that firefighters could use in the field such as flashlights or lime green jackets and shirts.
According to Blair, last year the city of Beaver Dam paid only $749 of the meal/incentives and he used county money to make up the rest of the $1,200 cost. The commission then agreed to raise the BDFD miscellaneous expense from $1,000 to $1,200. Chief Blair could accept the $200, but he thought he would get $1,500 last year and the city only paid $749. The city agreed that they would pay the $1,200 for the meal and the incentives.
There was a small concern over the money budgeted for expenses on the new Beaver Dam Family Park, but the commission believed that the revenue generated from the park would make up any under budgeting.
The commission then discussed a stipend that the code enforcement board receives. The stipend is $1,500. That is the only city board that gets a stipend. The commission was informed that if they took away the stipend, they would have to make a new ordinance because that was how the stipend was set up. In the end, the commission decided to take back the stipend.
After that a motion was made to accept the new budget and the motion passed unanimously.
Later in the meeting, a motion was made to change the ordinance of the $1,500 stipend for the code enforcement board and it passed unanimously.
— Next the commission made the unanimous decision to maintain the 100 feet of a walking trail that Beaver Dam Baptist church is installing on their property that will connect to the new Beaver Dam Family Park. The Beaver Dam Baptist church is paying for the installation of the walking trail and a bridge. The city will also put Beaver Dam Baptist Church as an extra insurer on their insurance policy and vice versa.
— The board then voted unanimously to accept the municipal road aid resolution and to buy a table for $200 at the Taste of Ohio County.
— City Superintendent Larry Carter then asked the commission about negotiating an agreement with Greg Moore to coordinate and promote tournaments to be held at the Beaver Dam Family Park. Carter said that after talking with several people he felt the pay should be a percentage of entry fees and the gate fees depending on number of participating teams. Carter feels that Moore has a large number of contacts and has many years of experience in this area. The commission agreed that Moore should be contacted and offered this position.
— During the commissioner comments, Mayor Sandefur thought the commission should make the city-wide yard sale on the second weekend in August an annual event. The commission agreed and the motion passed unanimously.
Sandefur also discussed the possibility of creating an ordinance that would allow golf carts and any four-wheeled vehicle that would be used in the maintenance of a golf course to be driven on Beaver Dam city streets as they have already done in Hartford. Sandefur said this was something that he would look into and the commission should think about.
The commission then entered into closed session. After they emerged from closed session, the meeting was adjourned.
