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City council is split on funding for the leaf bag program.
In the council's first meeting since July 18, due to the council taking their annual recess in August, council was split regarding a resolution authorizing City Service Safety Director Joe Cappuzzello to purchase 30,000 paper leaf bags for the city's annual leaf pickup program at a price not to exceed $13,080 utilizing council contingency funds.
The use of the contingency funds for the purchase proved to be the primary source of disagreement regarding the resolution. Last year the city purchased the bags for the first time, as the bags have always either been donated or funded through the county.
Councilman Andrew Null questioned how the proposed rate compared to last year and how much would remain in the contingency fund after the purchase, if approved.
Cappuzzello said that the rate is lower than last year, with Councilman Dennis Plegge further explaining that last year the bags had been purchased for approximately $18,500 from True Value, so the decrease is significant. Cappuzzello also said that prior to the purchase the fund had approximately $27,000 remaining, meaning there would be around $14,000 left if the purchase is approved.
In response Null said that the city may need to re-consider funding the program directly.
"It sounds to me like at some point we're going to have to look hard at this, it might not be sustainable," said Null.
Councilman Jeff Stockman also voiced concerns about using the discretionary funds for the purchase, arguing that the purchase was not in line with the original purpose or intention of the funds as he understood them and questioned how those funds are replenished
"That contingency fund was never made for leaf bags, I wouldn't think. From what I've spoken to people about that contingency fund, it was made for the different wards to help the citizens of the wards, not for leaf bags," said Stockman.
Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey said that when the discretionary funds were originally established, the purpose of the funds, as well as guidelines of what they could be used for and how, had been contentious, leading to them not being used for an extended period and changes to those guidelines over time. Dickey also said that the discretionary fund could be replenished by allocating funds to it in the annual budget.
Stockman argued that since the city operates at a deficit, replenishing the discretionary funds in that way would be very difficult.
Councilman Evan Newman asked if it was known how many residents picked up leaf bags last year, and Cappuzzello said that all 30,000 of the bags had been used, but it could not be determined exactly how many residents had taken advantage of the program.
"It's really difficult and labor intensive just to make sure they're city residents, let alone trying to track how many and what they take," said Cappuzzello.
The resolution ultimately narrowly passed with a four to three vote, with Null, Plegge and Stockman in opposition. As a result, the requirements for passage with the emergency clause was not met, and the resolution will have to wait 30 days to take effect.
Other financial matters approved included an ordinance vacating an undeveloped city right of way in the Salem industrial park, an ordinance approving appropriations and transfers, and a pair of routine resolutions accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the Columbiana and Mahoning County Auditor's Offices to council for review.
During her report Dickey announced that the city's negotiations with Utilities Workers of America Local 560, the union which represents the city's utilities workers, were still ongoing, and hopefully would be completed soon. Dickey said once those negotiations had been completed, the city would be reviewing the pay of non-negotiating staff so that the 2024 budget could be finished and presented to council for approval.
Dickey also announced that the building and sidewalk improvement grants offered by the city will be closing Oct. 1, noting that to qualify for the grants the project has to be completed by the end of 2023, and if the project has not been started by then, it is very unlikely to be able to be completed before the deadline.
"Anybody who wants to get in on it please apply now. We have had some interest in it, and hopefully that's going to help clean up the looks of the city, so we're grateful to those people that did take that opportunity," said Dickey.
Dickey also gave an update on the status of the Lincoln Plaza Project. Dickey said that the city had completed the necessary architectural plans and revisions and sent them to the state for review, and the state had mandated that public bathrooms be included in the plans. Dickey said that this had temporarily stalled the project as it "was going to be very expensive, and something we didn't feel was affordable for the city."
Dickey said that the city had appealed the mandate and recently won the appeal. As a result, the bid package for the project had been put out and will be opened at 11 a.m. Sept. 12. Dickey said she was hopeful the project would begin in earnest this fall.
Dickey also announced that an update to the city's website was currently in progress.
"If you've ever used our website, it is a little bit like reading a newspaper in my opinion, and there are a lot of modern, very convenient websites out there that other cities are using that are much easier to search the things you want search, and find them when you don't really know where to go. We're trying to make it more accessible to the public, more interesting to people who are looking at Salem for any reason to kind of market us a little bit better," said Dickey.
During his report Cappuzzello said that Franklin Avenue had recently been re-opened from Lincoln to Southeast, and that the work was "about 98% done," with only a few catch basins remaining to be installed.
Cappuzzello also made a brief statement on the recent decision to revert the speed limit on South Lincoln Avenue to 25 mph, from 35 mph.
"We made a decision and changed the speed limit back to 25 mph, we've had some feedback from everybody, but it seems like it's going smoothly in the city, and the police department hasn't had any problems so far," said Cappuzzello.
Council also approved a resolution officially commending the recently retired Don Weingart for his decades of dedicated service to the Salem Utilities Department from June 2, 1952, to July 7, 2023, serving as utilities superintendent from April 11, 1985, to July 7, 2023.
During pleasure of council, Plegge reminded residents that the annual Halloween parade will be Oct. 26, beginning at the Memorial Building at 6 p.m. and proceeding down State Street to Broadway Avenue, concluding on Broadway Avenue. Plegge urged anyone interested in participating in the parade to contact him.
The city council will meet next at 7 p.m. Sept. 19.
mahart@mojonews.com