MONTPELIER -- The City Council agenda for the meeting set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday is packed.
Up for discussion is to include an update on the T.W. Wood art collection, increasing the number of signatures required to get an item on the Town Meeting Day ballot and implementing a local option sales tax.
Those last two items would require a change to Montpelier's charter.
As it is now, to get a petition on the Town Meeting Day ballot requires signatures from 5 percent of registered voters, up for discussion is bumping that up to 10 percent.
The local option sales tax, if accepted, would be a 1 percent tax on meals, homes and retail sales.
On the City Council agenda, there are two ballot items up for debate.
One is that 20 percent of the revenue raised would go to fund Montpelier Alive and the rest would be available to the city to spend however it sees fit.
Montpelier Alive is currently funded, in large part by donations from local businesses, as well as, $20,000 from the city's annual budget.
The other option is to use 100 percent of all sales tax revenue, minus the 30 percent that the state of Vermont keeps, solely for infrastructure spending, such as repairing roads, sidewalks, bridges and retaining walls.
The T.W. Wood gallery is planning to move some of its stored collection to Barre for safekeeping and City Councilor Tom Golonka asked that representatives from the gallery explain what's happening.
CITY OF MONTPELIER
MONTPELIER, VERMONT
Agenda for City Council Meeting
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
6:30 P.M. |
|
| 1) |
Call to Order by the Mayor |
| 2) |
11-320. General Business and Appearances |
| 3) |
11-321. Consideration of the Consent Agenda: |
| a) |
Summary Budget Reports by Department for General Fund and Detailed Budget Status Reports for General Fund, Water Fund, Sewer Fund, Cemetery Fund, Parks Fund, Parking Fund and Senior Center for a 4-month period beginning July 1, 2011 and ending October 31, 2011. |
| b) |
Consideration of becoming the Liquor Control Commission for the purpose of acting on the following: |
| 1. |
None as of "press time" |
| 4) |
11-322. Setting of "approximate times" for the following agenda items. |
| 5) |
11-323. Update from representatives of the Wood Art Gallery on the Gallery’s collection as it was bequeathed by Thomas W. Wood. |
| 6) |
11-324. Complete review of Operating Budgets for Administration, Fire and Police Departments. |
| 7) |
11-325. Consideration of amendments to the City’s Charter which would change the percentage of registered voters needed from 5% to 10% for petitions requesting that articles be placed on City Meeting Warnings (§5-501); for a Special City Meeting to be called or rescinded (§5-503); and for the reconsideration or rescission of action taken on a warned article at an Annual or Special Meeting (§5-513). |
| 8) |
11-326. Consideration of two amendments to the City’s Charter to allow for the collection of a local options tax. |
| a) |
A rooms/meals/alcohol tax which would be dedicated to infrastructure improvements. |
| b) |
A sales tax, a portion of which would go to property tax reduction and a portion to supporting economic development. |
| a) |
Recommendation: Review and discuss information; vote as to whether or not Council wishes to pursue. |
| 9) |
11-327. Consideration of the oversight of the Recreation Department. |
| a) |
Council Member Tom Golonka asked that this be included on this evening’s agenda; he is concerned about the finance piece in the short term. |
| b) |
Based on the MATRIX Report, the current desire of the City Council to explore potential synergies between multiple city departments, the aging demographics of the town as well as our fiduciary responsibility as the legislative body of the community, the following motion is proposed: |
| 1) |
In accordance with Title VIII, Section 7, of the Montpelier City Charter, we hereby request the City Manager to resume oversight and control, in concert with this body, of the Recreation Department effective July 1, 2012. |
| c) |
Recommendation: Discussion; possible direction to staff. |
| 10) |
11-328. Update on District Heat with possible voting on agreements with the State. |
| a) |
City officials have been negotiating an energy purchase agreement and a procurement agreement with the State Department of Buildings and General Services for the District Heat Project. |
| b) |
Manager will update Council on status of negotiations. |
| c) |
If tentative agreements have been reached in advance, possible draft agreements will be presented to the Council for consideration. |
| d) |
Recommendation: Receive update; review documents, if available; take action as necessary. |
| 11) |
11-329. Reports by City Council |
| 12) |
11-330. Mayor’s Report |
| 13) |
11-331. Report by the City Clerk-Treasurer |
| 14) |
11-332. Status Reports by the City Manager |
| 15) |
11-333. Agenda Reports by the City Manag |
Adjournment
Comments