As in years past, Tipp’s City Council met for the final time of the year to celebrate and thank departing council members for their contribution to our community as well as to wish the residents of Tipp City a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The audience for this evenings proceedings included more than sixty residents in addition to the three incoming new council members, Brian Budding, Joe Gibson and Katelyn Black.

After the invocation by Pastor Andy Warren from Victory Assembly of God, Council made a motion to add the AFSCME negotiations to the Resolution section of the agenda. This motion passed without incident however ordinance 40-72-09 did not receive quite the same fate.

This ordinance was to reduce the 100% income tax credit that Tipp City residents currently enjoy who already pay local income tax to another city. An additional .5% of their salaries would be required to fund Tipp City’s failing operating budget.  The sponsor of this tax credit reduction, John Kessler, curtly removed his support for the ordinance “due to the economic climate”.  President Hale sought out another council member to sponsor this ordinance which had already passed its first reading. No other council member picked up the sponsorship of the ordinance, so it officially “died” for lack of a sponsor.

The next ordinance that Council voted on was the Ordinance to adopt the operating budget for the fiscal and calendar year 2010 as proposed by the City Manager and reviewed beforehand by Council. During comments, outgoing councilwoman Vicki Blakey stated that she would have “liked to see Council eliminate health care for council members before they cut funding to City police and essential City services”. Blakey then stated that she is not in favor of approving the budget. Councilman George Lovett followed up and thanked his fellow council members for their time in reviewing the budget and noted that it was indeed “imperfect”. Lovett further stated “We are tightening the belt quite a bit and I am mindful of these cuts”…” I am sure this is what our community needs”.

As the roll call vote was tallied, Blakey, Kessler, Evans and Hale voted NO on the 2010 proposed budget. City Manager Jon Crusey was visibly surprised by the voting down of the budget ordinance by Council. “The City cannot operate without a budget” stated Crusey. “City services, contracts for work awarded in January, the resolution for the water tower, the pool resolution” all of these were in jeopardy of not being met.

Visibly shocked by the revelation, councilman Lovett identified that the $750,000 in grants for the water tower were now in jeopardy as well as the zero percent loans that the City made to guarantee those monies. President Hale called for a 15 minute recess to discuss the new items for discovery.

During the break I had a chance to ask Steve Staub, a concerned resident, his thoughts on the killing of the tax ordinance by Kessler. “I think it was the right thing to do… it’s what it was all about”. Staub further added “I think that without citizens organizing around this issue the income tax WOULD have been passed unanimously by this council”. In closing Staub stated that “I felt that this was not the right way to go about asking for money.. by simply  taking it”.

President Hale reconvened Council after about 25 minutes of sidebar discussion, primarily between Blakey, Hale and Lovett. President Hale requested that a motion be made to amend the amended budget ordinance. The changes proffered by President Hale included the elimination of a number of cost-cutting measures made in the 2010 budget including the elimination of a Superintendent level position, as well as the reductions made in the Water department.

Councilman Kessler stated “unfortunately health and safety will come in play”… “Public hazards will occur without a tax increase”. Councilman Evans echoed some of Kessler’s remarks stating “We have to have a budget in balance. We were asked by the citizens of Tipp City to come up with a balanced budget, and we have not come anywhere close to that”. And on the economic situation for the City Evans stated, “I do not foresee this getting any better in the near future”.

In comments just prior to the vote, councilman Lovett stated, “We may have to dip into reserves to fix this”. “We’ve reached a crisis point and now we have to make some tough decisions”. “Again we will have to delay changes, this could cost us grants and favorable financing”.

The roll was called and councilmen Kessler and Evans vote no, the amendment to the amended budget, as well as the 2010 city budget was finally approved by majority.

Resident Steve Staub approached the microphone during the public comments section of the agenda and commented that he felt that while Lovett stated that “tough decisions” have been made by Council, he strongly disagreed. “Council kept their health insurance” stated Staub “you only made cuts to City and staff benefits”. Mr. Staub was referring to the hotly contested issue during the November election where many of those running for council publicly stated that they would turn down health insurance if offered. For the 2010 amended budget, no move was made to eliminate health insurance for council members.

The rest of the council session went on without incident and President Hale awarded and thanked Evans (4 years), Beagle (6 years) and Blakey (8 years) for their commitment to Tipp City as distinguished members of Council.