All members present for the December 11 Adrian board of alderman meeting
Investments made by the city seen to being doing quite well despite a soft economy, according to Administrator Ryan Wescote. As of now, the city has made about $251,000.00 over the last year which is good news; however insurance premiums are on the rise and some changes have been made. This included going over the current policy for accuracy and some changes to boot. It was originally thought that a jump of about 7.9% for health insurance was expected, however it was only 3.4% to which Wescote said “we’re very fortunate”. Alderman Bridges noted that anything under 13%, which seems to be the average, is good.
However in contrast, a representative with the Mike Keith Insurance Agency went over details of the policy for city owned buildings, vehicles, liability and other which didn’t bring good news, those premiums are going up a degree and as the ‘fat has been trimmed’ as much as possible, the aldermen had no recourse except to approve the changes. The representative went on to say the city should consider an adder for pollution coverage, something that would protect the city in the event of a chemical/oil spill or similar. Discussion on that matter was tabled for a future session.
While the term ‘bonus’ cannot be legally used, the aldermen did approve a $250 holiday stipend for city employees which will certainly be appreciated. With that, a discussion was held regarding paid holidays, administrator Wescote said that he “likes to be on the side of the employees” and suggested adding a day to get more in line legal holidays. Alderman Bridges wanted insurance that all bases would be covered in terms of personnel available for emergencies when city hall is closed which brought a swift answer of yes. He also thought an additional day might be excessive, and that he wanted to be cautious in making a decision. Following more discussion, motion was eventually made to make Christmas eve a paid holiday, which passed unanimously.
Much time was devoted to the current pet ordinance which has been in effect since 2014 and it’s possibly the most heavily worded ordinance in the city books. Wescote speculated the ordinance was probably a “cookie cutter” version written by an attorney and really should be brought up to date with current policies, which may be a lengthy process. The subject was tabled for a future meeting to give the aldermen more time to think it over.
Fire Chief Gary Dizney reported that the department is on track to run just over 400 calls for the year and while quite busy, so far everything is being covered and he is hoping for an uneventful holiday ahead.
The Adrian board of alderman meet on the second Monday of each month, 7 pm at city hall. The public is highly encouraged to attend. A video of this meeting is available on YouTube under the Mid America Live channel.
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