Council eyes 2 levies for ballot

Councilman questions the repeated hiring of one engineering firm.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CORTLAND -- City council intends to place two levies on the November general election ballot.
Lawmakers passed resolutions Monday expressing their desire to place before voters a 6.76-mill fire replacement levy and 1.9-mill, five-year renewal levy for general operations.
Finance Director Frances Moyer said council will be asked at its next meeting to actually place the issues on the ballot. The deadline to put issues on the fall ballot is Aug. 24.
Moyer said the fire levy will generate about $260,000 annually for fire department operations.
Voters approved the 6.76-mill levy in 1995. Because of the increased valuation of city property, Cortland is collecting between 5.3 and 5.6 mills, depending on the use of the property.
If approved by voters, Moyer said property owners would pay an additional $52.50 per year for every $100,000 valuation.
Currently, the city receives $706,000 annually from the fire levy. The other source of income that supports the department is $200,000 a year from ambulance fees.
Fire Chief Bill Novakovich said he wants to use the added money to replace an ambulance in the near future. In the long term, the department is looking at refurbishing a firetruck and resurfacing the fire station parking lot.
The 1.9-mill replacement levy will continue to generate $214,000 annually for the general fund. Moyer said the current levy expires this year.
Other business
In other business, council moved to second readings 31/2-percent pay raises to some administrative employees.
Their current hourly wages and what they would be paid is water/sewer billing clerk, $9.85 to $10.19; part-time administrative assistant, $10.10 to $10.45; assistant finance director, $15.53 to $19.07; and council clerk, $18.95 to $19.61.
Department heads and their proposed annual salaries are finance director, $47,358 to $49,016; and service director, $51,750 to $53,561.
Pay raises for the police and fire chiefs were withdrawn from the agenda after an executive session. Mayor Curt Moll said the request would be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.
The chiefs are currently paid $48,446 annually.
In other business, council agreed to enter into an agreement with MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown for the engineering and construction inspection of the city's southern waterline extension project.
Councilman Terry Tackett cast a dissenting vote because MS has been receiving all the city's engineering work.
Tackett asserted there are other engineering firms that can do the work besides MS. Council President Frank Stocz said he agreed with Tackett but not on the southern waterline extension.
Moll supported MS, noting that it has been correcting problems at other project sites.
yovich@vindy.com