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Campbell Council approves property specialist contract, police cruiser equipment
By Sarah Lehr
CAMPBELL
Council approved a professional-services contract for the city’s property specialist.
The ordinance passed by council this week authorizes the board of control to enter into an $18,000 contract with property specialist Maureen O’Neil for the retroactive time period of Jan. 18 through June 27.
O’Neil is tasked with developing a rental and vacant property registration program for the city. The city created her position last year in response to blight.
“Keeping her here is invaluable,” Council President George Levendis said of O’Neil’s work toward reining in vacant properties.
Levendis said, however, when O’Neil’s contract expires in June, he will not vote to renew it unless the city comes up with another source of funding. The property specialist is currently being paid out of the city’s infrastructure fund.
“I will not keep deficit-spending from the infrastructure fund,” Levendis said.
The infrastructure fund currently has a positive balance of about $435,000. However, Levendis indicated he was worried that money would be used up at the current rate of spending given that much of the revenue to that fund came from a one-time sale of drilling rights, Finance Director Michael Evanson said.
Levendis has asked council to brainstorm alternative funding for the property specialist salary. He suggested raising the trash fee by $1 a month to generate revenue for the general fund and then paying the property specialist from the general fund.
The city currently has about $487,000 in its general fund and a total of $4.85 million aggregated from all funds.
In other business, council approved a $10,388 one-year maintenance contract with Software Solutions and approved the purchase of an estimated $16,409 in police cruiser equipment.
Council honored former 3rd-Ward Councilman Joseph “Red” Mazzocca, Sr., who died Monday, with a moment of silence. He was the father of current 3rd-Ward Councilman Joseph Mazzocca, Jr.
Mayor Nick Phillips will host an informal town hall 6 p.m. Feb. 12 in city hall, 351 Tenney Ave