No safety pension levy try this fall: 2 charter amendments fail to reach ballot also 2 charter amendments also will not be seen in voting booth Nov. 4

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by Andre Clayton

Reporter

Twinsburg -- The city missed an Aug. 21 deadline to send a new 1-mill police and firefighter pension levy to the Nov. 4 ballot. Councilors also voted against sending two charter amendments to voters during a recent meeting.

Councilor Steve Murphy said the city charter prohibited Council from legally voting at a special meeting Aug. 19 to place the pension levy on the fall ballot because Council did not vote to place the matter on the Aug. 19 agenda at its last meeting before summer break, which was July 8.

City finance officials have said that the existing 0.3-mill levies -- the police and fire departments each have one -- are not sufficient to fund safety workers' retirement pension fund, and the city has had to transfer $600,000 from its general fund each year in recent years to supplement the fund.

According to city officials, if the new levy was approved, the three total pension levies would bring in more than $1 million annually, and no general fund supplement would be necessary.

According to Councilor Bill Furey, the city will have to continue to supplement the police and firefighter retirement pensions at $600,000 per year until new funding is passed.

Charter amendments fail to reach ballot

Council on Aug. 26 voted against sending two charter amendments to the November ballot.

The first measure, proposed by Mayor Katherine Procop, would have had voters decide if Council should reconvene after summer recess on the second Tuesday rather than the fourth Tuesday of August.

That measure failed 2-5, according to Marie Weaver, clerk of Council.

Councilor William Hon, who voted for the measure to go before voters, said he was OK with a shorter vacation.

But Murphy, who voted against the measure, questioned the necessity of the charter change.

Murphy said Council deserves its seven-week break since it already meets twice per month for regular Council meetings and once a month for Committee of the Whole meetings.

"If we need to meet during the summer break, then that's what special meetings are for," Murphy said.

The second measure that failed to reach the ballot would have amended the charter to allow Council to rearrange or disband the department of planning and community development.

The measure would have allowed the city to eliminate its planning and community development director position, currently held by Larry Finch.

That amendment failed 3-4, according to Weaver.

Murphy, who voted for the amendment, said he believes the position creates an unnecessary "layer of bureaucracy," and that he feels the engineering and building departments should not have to report to the director.

Murphy said the city would not fire Finch if his position is eliminated, but he would not elaborate further.

Councilor Andy Romito said he voted against the amendment because he feels "[Finch] is doing a great job."

"He helped bring in the Cleveland Clinic," said Romito, referring to the 170,000 square-foot planned medical facility along Route 91 just south of downtown. "He has the most important position in the city."

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