SPECIAL MEETING JUNE 4, 2001
PRESENT
Council President William Stacey
Council Vice President Joseph L. Scott
Councilwoman Rachel S. Polk
Councilwoman Lavonzella Siggers
Councilman C. T. Webster
IN ATTENDANCE
City Clerk Brenda Colegrove, Executive Officer John Pick, City Solicitor
Paul Wilber, and
interested Citizens and Members of the Press.
ABSENT
Mayor Barrie P. Tilghman
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The Salisbury City Council convened in a Special Meeting at 9:00 a.m.
in Room 301 of the
City/County Government Building for the consideration of amending Budget
Ordinance No.
1808 as passed by the City Council on May 29, 2001.
Mr. Scott moved to amend Ordinance No. 1808 by eliminating the $60,000
line item for
professional fees in the City Council budget. Mrs. Polk seconded the
motion.
Ms. Siggers voiced her support of the motion and commended the Mayor
for taking a strong
stand on this issue. Mr. Scott did not view this line item as a violation
of the Charter. However,
because of the turmoil it caused, he believed they were doing the right
thing. Mr. Webster did
not think it was a violation of the Charter, but in order to proceed
with the City business, he
supported the motion. Mrs. Polk opined that the Charter was clear on
who could request
professional services and who could not. Therefore, she supported the
motion to delete the
$60,000 line item.
Executive Officer John Pick reported that by eliminating the professional
fee line item,
expenditures would be reduced by $60,000. The Council could reduce
the revenue side of the
budget by $60,000 or transfer $60,000 to another expenditure account.
Mr. Pick noted that the
Mayor had suggested moving it to the City's Contingency Fund.
City Solicitor Paul Wilber opined that the Mayor, under the Charter,
has the right to veto the
budget ordinance. He believed Council's pending action was the legal
way to proceed.
In Mr. Stacey's view, the Charter contained conflicting laws and Article
23A of the State Code
should set precedent. Even though he still questioned the Mayor's right
to veto the budget, he
believed it was in the City's best interest to move forward with the
business at hand. It was his
understanding of the motion that the $60,000 would go into unappropriated
surplus.
Mr. Pick clarified that the budget had to be in balance. In the absence
of any specific direction
to move the monies to another expenditure category, the line item on
the revenue side (current
year savings) would be reduced by $60,000.
All voted in favor of the amendment with the exception of Mr. Webster who voted nay.
Ms. Siggers moved to fund the requested street sweeper operator position
out of the $60,000,
with the balance left over carried into the Mayor and Council Contingency
Fund. Mr. Pick
acknowledged that the position was approximately $20,000. Mrs. Polk
seconded the motion.
Mr. Webster recalled the Public Works Director stating that a new street
sweeper was
desperately needed because one of the three was very old. He wasn't
sure what a new person
would be doing. Mrs. Polk noted that the issue arose because of a conversation
about the streets
being dirty. Four street sweepers would enable the City to be cleaned
in quadrants with an
operator dedicated to a particular area. This would enable the City
to be cleaned on a regular
schedule and not done at random as they are now.
Ms. Deborah Campbell wanted the streets to be clean, but was concerned
that Public Works
employees were being used to hand out flyers for meetings. Mr. Michael
Day reported that
street sweeping was the second priority during neighborhood meeting
discussions.
On the vote to amend Ordinance No. 1808 to include the street sweeper
operator position and
the remainder of the $60,000 being deposited in the Mayor and Council
Contingency Fund, Mrs.
Polk and Ms. Siggers voted aye. Messrs. Scott, Stacey and Webster voted
nay. The amendment
failed on a 2-3 vote.
Mr. Webster moved and Mrs. Polk seconded to readopt Ordinance No. 1808,
as amended.
Ordinance No. 1808, as amended, was approved unanimously.
With no further discussion, the Special Meeting adjourned at 9:21 a.m.
City Clerk
Council President