MOUNT VERNON — At their June 13 meeting, Mount Vernon City Council members unanimously voted down legislation creating a workforce recognition program because the items would be counted as taxable fringe benefits to the employee.
The idea was to recognize employees for service and performance through T-shirts, special awards, and an annual dinner. Council member Tammy Woods noted the program gets into murky areas in relation to employees being taxed on fringe benefits.
“I just think it’s a bad area to go into,” she said.
City Auditor Terry Scott agreed, noting that tracking these benefits is very difficult to do.
Other council members said they like the idea of recognizing employees but urged the administration to find a better way to do so.
Council members gave the first reading to legislation accepting the recommendations of the Tax Incentive Review Committee. The TIRC recommended continuing the CRA exemption for the Woodward Opera House and the Enterprise Zone exemptions for Owens Corning Insulating Systems, Replex Plastics (Pisces Properties LLC), and Sanoh America (Chesterland Productions PPL).
By a 6-1 vote, council passed as an emergency a resolution appointing Cindy Cunningham to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Cunningham will replace Don Carr, whose term expired. Carr sent a letter to council members stating he would like to continue on the board. Council member Janis Seavolt cast the no vote, saying, “I hate to see him replaced. He wants to continue, and I think we should have worked with him.”
Council took the following additional actions:
•Postponed indefinitely an ordinance creating an audiovisual technician position, opting instead to make the technician a contract employee.
•Passed as an emergency supplemental appropriations
•Adopted an ordinance creating a new “Streets” section in the codified ordinances
•Passed as an emergency legislation authorization the sale of police vehicles no longer needed
•Gave a first reading to a resolution authorizing the SSD to buy Tomco recarbonation control panels for the water and wastewater department at a cost of $219,246. One panel is being used as spare parts for the second panel; the second panel still needs additional repairs. The cost to rebuild the existing panels is $80,000; while that would extend their life, it would not allow for future upgrades and new panels will ultimately need to be purchased anyway.
•Waived the three readings and authorized the safety-service director to bid and contract for Mansfield Avenue traffic signals
In a Utilities Committee meeting, council discussed the issue of some residents overpaying for stormwater fees.
During public participation, Jeff Gottke, president of the Area Development Foundation, updated council on local activity related to Intel’s building of a complex in Licking County. A steering committee has subdivided into five subcommittees to address the following areas:
•Housing
•Manufacturing
•Workforce/education
•Transportation
•Government
