Toledo City Council to vote on funding for capital improvement projects

​By: Tim Schneider, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

At its regular meeting at 4:00 p.m. today, Toledo City Council is expected to vote on two ordinances authorizing funding for previously planned projects under the city’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Ordinance 362-18 would authorize $750,000 from the CIP fund for the District Improvement Program which would allot $125,000 for capital projects in each of the six council districts. Applications for the funding from community-based groups and organizations would be reviewed by a to-be-formed three member committee. Council is also expected to vote on Ordinance 368-18 which would authorize $500,000 from the CIP fund for phase 1 of improvements to Levis Square including walks, stairs, landscaping, drainage structures and conduits, utility connections, and other updates.
 
Other legislation expected to be voted on include the following:

• Ordinances 332-18 and 333-18 which respectively authorize three-year contracts with HealthScope Benefits for third party administrator services and FrontPath Health Coalition for preferred provider network services for the city’s covered employees. The administrative fee costs with HealthScope would be $321,750, $347,490, and $373,230 for each of the years, and the contract with FrontPath would be $180,180 for each year.
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• Resolution 358-18 which would confirm Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz’s nomination of various directors and commissioners for city departments. Newly selected director of Neighborhoods & Economic Development Amy Sackman Odum is not among those included as Council must first approve forthcoming legislation merging the currently separate Department of Neighborhoods and Department of Economic Development.

 

• Ordinance 361-18 which would repeal the prohibition on A-frame signs, commonly referred to as sandwich board signs, and instead allow them in various commercial zoning. The signs must be limited to one per occupant, not exceed 42 inches in height nor three feet in width, and be constructed of material that presents a professional appearance. The signs would be required to be placed within five feet of the establishment, not be secured or attached to public objects or obstruct pedestrian access, and be displayed only during business hours.

 

• Ordinance 363-18 which would authorize $20,000 to continue use of the Priority Based Budgeting online data tool developed by software vendor Resource Exploration. Implemented as a partnership between the city and the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, Priority Based Budgeting is a process that aims to maximize the effective use of public resources through a methodology that links priorities with funding allocation decisions.

 

• Ordinance 365-18 which would approve $144,000 to supplement a contract with Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. for completion of a sustainable asset management plan mandated by Ohio statute and to address deficiencies identified by the 2015 Department of Public Utilities performance audit

 
Council could also vote on an ordinance to approve a new collective bargaining agreement with the Toledo Police Command Officers’ Association which includes base pay increases of 1.5 percent in 2018, 2.5 percent in 2019, and 3 percent in 2020.
 
All Council meetings are held in Council Chambers on the first floor of One Government Center, located on Jackson Boulevard in downtown Toledo.

​​Tim Schneider
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​As Manager for Local Government Advocacy, Tim Schneider advocates for local policies and laws that safeguard and foster a pro-business environment in the Toledo Region. Tim has more than 10 years of legislative and public policy experience with the local, state and federal levels of government.