7/6 Meeting & 7/13 Workshop Recaps
Public Comments
Several public comments were made by citizens as well as a community group opposing the term limit legislation, which I dive into more below. Eight citizens spoke out in favor of the DEI proposal Councilwoman Schlademan has brought forth, and one spoke out in opposition to it.
Report of the City Manager
I wanted to make a point of emphasizing one particular topic from City Manager Howington’s report. She gave a reminder that the State Legislature is no longer allowing virtual public meetings. All Hudson Boards, Commissions, and Council meetings must now be held in person. I know that during the height of the pandemic when we were virtual/hybrid, we got used to sending letters to the Clerk of Council, Elizabeth Slagle, to be read into the record. That is no longer the process. If you have something you wish to be read into the record, you can attend and read your public comment in person, or if you cannot attend, you can email your letter to any Hudson council member and request they read it into the record.
Legislation
10. A. 21-65 AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORS OF HUDSON A PROPOSAL BY HUDSON CITY COUNCIL TO AMEND SECTIONS 3.01 AND 4.01 OF THE CHARTER OF HUDSON CONCERNING TERM LIMITS FOR MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR.
Brief Description: Councilman Foster has proposed amendments to the City’s Charter to implement term limits for members of City Council and the Mayor. Pursuant to Charter Section 13.01, five or more affirmative Council votes are necessary for passage of this Ordinance.
My Take: This needed 5 affirmative votes to pass. It failed, 4 against 3 in favor of the legislation. I have written on this topic quite a bit in the past. And over the past few weeks, I have raised many concerns about this legislation that were never addressed and asked many questions that Councilman Foster could not answer.
Ultimately, this is what it comes down to: I want to make it easier for people to vote and choose their elected representatives, not harder.
Additionally, I had 10+ people either email, call or tell me in person that they opposed this legislation. No one contacted me individually in favor of it. We also had quite a few public comments opposing it, and only maybe 1 or 2 in favor of it. People said they did not view it as a problem and did not want to use taxpayer dollars (would be in the 20-25k range!) to put something on the ballot they did not ask for. Councilman Foster said that many people asked for this legislation in 2019 when he was campaigning and knocking on doors. I have been knocking on doors as I campaign, and this has not come up a single time. This frankly is not even on people’s radar!
One point I made previously was that term limits do not seem to actually accomplish what they intend to in most cases. It more often results in a loss of institutional knowledge because of this revolving door of new elected officials, and politicians forcing things through in order to accomplish what they need to in a limited amount of time.
The big question I kept asking was, “why two terms?” Councilman Foster was not able to answer this question with anything other than precedent and opinion. I searched high and low for the answer to my question of, historically, when did two 4-year terms become the precedent everyone must follow, and how was this length of time determined? It seems this legislation is based off of what is done at the state and national level, which I question the relevance of to our municipality’s non-partisan, City Manager form of government.
Most importantly, I think this legislation would take the choice away from voters by limiting who can represent them. Hudson is still a relatively small city, and getting people to run for office is not always easy. I see no reason to limit your choices at the ballot. You vote us in, you can apply term limits by voting us out.
10. E. 21-75 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE FUNDING TO THE HUDSON DEI ALLIANCE IN SUPPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION FOR FACILITATING COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
Brief Description: The Hudson DEI Alliance and a representative of the City of Hudson will oversee the coordination, development and implementation of a program to implement facilitated community conversation through a contribution of $30,000 from the City of Hudson.
Update: Councilwoman Kate Schlademan gave updates on this legislation. This was it’s second reading.
City Manager Comments
City Manager Jane Howington gave an update about the upcoming Labor Day weekend Festivities. Learn more about the “Celebrate Hudson” weekend here.
Discussion Items
3. A. 21-0057 Hudson Public Power 2021 Cost of Service and Electric Rate Study
Brief Description: The Public Works Department has contracted with Public Utility Consultants, Courtney and Associates to develop a cost of service and electric rate study and to make recommendations to City Council regarding future electric rates.
My Take: Based on the review completed by the consultants the City hired to perform the rate study, the following take away is very important: Revenues at current rates are not sufficient to meet near-term revenue requirements. Therefore, the recommendation is to modify rates to provide sufficient revenue to meet the projected monthly revenue requirements increasing the rate approximately 5% and increasing the power supply loss adjustment from 7% to 9%. The rates would need to be adjusted by January of 2022 to meet the cost of service needs.
I have requested that the topic of the Prairie State Energy Campus and Hudson Public Power’s contract with them be placed on a future agenda for Council to discuss.
B. 21-0055 Stopped Train Warning Signals
Brief Description: Councilman Chris Foster has requested discussion regarding stopped train warning signals for the Hines Hill Road railroad crossing.
My Take: Staff submitted four solutions for Council’s review. We discussed and asked them to explore a fifth, new option. They will come back to us in the future with their recommendation.
Upcoming Council Forum
Join me for a Town Hall open forum on Wednesday, August 18, 2021at 7:00 pm. This will take place in-person at Town Hall which is located at 27 E. Main St., Hudson, OH 44236. There is no set agenda, residents will determine the topics to be discussed.
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Have questions? Want to share your thoughts with me on any of the agenda items or issues listed above? As always, I would love to have a conversation! Email me directly at nkowalski@hudson.oh.us.
