Temp. position to survey similar communities

The Ironton City Council will meet tonight and go over five things on its agenda.

There is only one new item on the agenda, a resolution for the finance director to hire “one individual on a one-time contractual basis to be paid an amount not to exceed $600.”

According to Resolution 17-22, the person would “compile statistical financial information” from 60 Ohio cities with populations similar to Ironton for the “purposes of the City of Ironton officials’ analysis and comparison.”

Jim Tordiff, the councilman who is heading up the Strategic Planning Committee, said they were going to determine what type of questions they would need in their survey at their meeting at 5 p.m.

“We will set the criteria then,” he said. “I know a few things for sure, like these cities that are our size, what income tax rate do they have, do they have things like municipal fees and fire fees. We’re trying to get financial data to see how we stack up to other cities our size.”

Three items on the agenda are ordinances that got first reading at the March 25 meeting, including a quit claim deed, a application to the state Revolving Loan Fund to repair a downtown business façade, and an amendment to the city budget. The ordinances only got first readings because there were only five of seven council members present, so there were not enough to suspend the rules to give second and third readings, and then vote on the measures.

Also on the agenda is a resolution to execute consent for the mayor to allow SBA Communications to sublease space on a cell tower to T-Mobile. That motion has been tabled for the past month.

Before the City Council meets, the Strategic Planning Committee will meet at 5 p.m. and the Finance Committee will meet at 5:45 p.m. to discuss the hiring of the person to compile the financial statistical information for officials.

The City Council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on the third floor of the Ironton City Center.