Kent City Council increases budget, urges energy efficiency standards

%28From+left%29%2C+Kent+City+Council+members+Garret+Ferrara%2C+ward+1+council%2C+Jerry+T.+Fiala%2C+mayor+and+president%2C+Jack+Amrhein%2C+ward+2+council%2C+listen+to+a+proposal+during+a+council+meeting+on+Wednesday%2C+June+15%2C+2016.

(From left), Kent City Council members Garret Ferrara, ward 1 council, Jerry T. Fiala, mayor and president, Jack Amrhein, ward 2 council, listen to a proposal during a council meeting on Wednesday, June 15, 2016.

Sam Verbulecz

The Kent City Council passed every resolution on its agenda during Wednesday night’s meeting, including increasing a proposed budget and encouraging a proposed energy efficiency resolution. 

Those resolutions included contacting state officials about energy standards, surveying land for a new safety center near campus and adjustments to the budget.

The first order of business, however, was to determine how best to replace the retiring clerk of council.

Council will begin seeking replacements for current clerk of council Linda Jordan, whose retirement will begin Aug. 1.

Jordan began on the council in 1990. The replacement will primarily act as a record keeper and consultant on the formal rules governing the council itself.

 

The council adopted every ordinance on its agenda. Among these was a plan to send a resolution to urge Ohio Gov. John Kasich and other state officials to unfreeze the Energy Efficiency Resource Standard.

Kasich froze the EERS in 2014. According to the Ohio Environmental Council, the EERS should reduce 22.5 percent of Ohio’s electric energy use by 2025.

Also passed was a resolution to survey a plot of land at the intersection of Haymaker Parkway and Depyster Street for the purpose of building a safety center for the police.

The plot was sold to the city by the Kent State Board of Trustees so that the safety center could be constructed for use by the police as a parking garage, using money from an income tax increase voted on in 2014.

The Council also approved amendments to its previous appropriations allotted for 2016.

The general fund expenditures will increase by $316,945, consisting of $2,490 to council itself, $9,880 to city hall faculty, $15,000 to community development and $45,850 to economic development.

Budgets for street construction, maintenance and repair, the community development block grant, water, sewer, storm water utility, capital projects and the police facility will all also increase—a total of $1,049,144.

The standard committees of the Kent City Council will meet on July 6, and the next public meeting will be held July 20.

Contact Sam Verbulecz at [email protected].