Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton
November 7, 2007
At Monday’s City Council meeting, the City Council voted to place three ballot questions on the February 5 election. There has been some confusion regarding what actually happened in the voting, but all three ballot resolutions were approved.
The confusion stemmed from the fact that Alderman Dennis Renner attended the meeting but left the Council Chambers prior to the votes being taken. Here is what happened:
1. When the first vote was 7-6, City Attorney Dale Funk said that although Alderman Renner was not in his seat when the vote was taken, he was present at Roll Call and should be included in the quorum. With 14 aldermen (including Alderman Renner), the resolution then required eight votes to pass. Therefore, the resolutions failed for lack of majority of the quorum.
2. After the votes were taken, Mayor Graham informed the city attorney that Alderman Renner told him before the meeting that he was sick and may have to leave early if he feels bad.
3. Since Alderman Renner informed the mayor beforehand, the city attorney ruled that his absence was excused and that the quorum would not include him, and seven votes were enough to pass out of the thirteen aldermen remaining at the meeting. As a result, the resolutions were approved.
Due to the close vote and confusion surrounding the issue, we are taking a second look to make sure we did everything correctly. Resolutions do not require two readings, so the vote is final unless there is a motion to reconsider at the next city council meeting. So stay tuned and the situation may change at the next City Council meeting on November 19.
As of now, there will be three questions on the February 5 ballot. Here are summaries of the three ballot issues approved by the City Council:
-- Stormwater Utility: The City has been wrestling with stormwater issues for several years. A Stormwater Master Plan was conducted three years ago and a Stormwater Advisory Committee was appointed two years ago to look at stormwater solutions. The committee recommended that a stormwater utility be established that would provide an ongoing revenue source to address the many drainage problems throughout O’Fallon. The utility would place a $3.45/month fee on resident utility bills.
-- Water Lateral Repair Program: Currently, the water line from the meter to the house is the homeowner’s responsibility and is their cost to repair if there is a leak. The proposed ballot question would place a $1 charge per month per home and if there is ever a water leak, then the City will repair the line for no additional charge.
-- Sewer Lateral Repair Program: This program would operate the same as the water lateral program, but the cost would be $2.40 per month per home.
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