Three ordinances; Second reading, Third reading and a do-over

Thinking the issue of not being able to fill the vacancy in the office of city treasurer had been discussed to a conclusion, Alexander City Council members were expecting to conduct the second reading of an ordinance that will change the city treasurer’s position from elected to appointed. Three public readings for any ordinance is required unless two-thirds of the council votes to suspend the second and third readings and approve the ordinance at one meeting.

But, Council Member Juanita Wilson wanted to re-litigate the issue one more time. Wilson said, “You need to look at Arkansas code 1444, and this is what it says.”

Quoting Arkansas code 14-44-106 Wilson said, “If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor, marshal, recorder, treasurer, or recorder-treasurer in any city of the second class, at the first regular meeting after the occurrence of the vacancy the city council shall proceed to elect a person to fill the vacancy either by a majority vote of the council members or by a call for a special election to be held in accordance with § 7-11-101.”

Wilson has been consulting with an attorney from the Arkansas Municipal League.

“Miss Wilson,” Mayor Crystal Herrmann began. “We need to get someone in place to be held accountable for our bookkeeping.”

City Attorney Chris Madison stepped in with a summary.

“And so without having filled the vacancy, which is the responsibility of council for almost a year, and after waiting until after the filing period for this upcoming four-year term, we proposed the appointment of a city treasurer because the law allows the appointment of a city treasurer by ordinance,” he said. “So I have to say what you're saying, you're correct.”

The council decided to change the position of city treasurer from elected to appointed in order to fill the vacancy when no one, who lives in Alexander, submitted a resume after City Treasurer JoAn Churchill resigned effective December 31, 2023. Also, no one submitted a petition for the upcoming November 5 election, which was to have the position appear on the ballot. Once the ordinance goes into effect anyone, or any accounting firm, can be hired as city treasurer.

The six council members present voted to read the ordinance by title for its second reading. Six out of eight provides the two-thirds vote needed to read the ordinance by title only rather than reading the entire ordinance.

Voting “Yes” were council members Joy Gray, Angela Griffin, Gina R. Thomas-Littlejohn, Joe Pollard, Mitchell W. Smith, and Juanita Wilson. Council Member Tony Staton was absent for the entire meeting and was counted as a “No” vote. Council Member Harold Timmerman was present at the beginning of the October 21 meeting but left shortly after it began, so was also counted as a “No” vote.

Also under Old Business at the October 21 meeting

Ordinance amending Zoning Regulations gets third reading and is adopted

An ordinance, amending the zoning regulations passed in 2019, received its third and final reading by title only. Council members then voted to adopt the ordinance.

The ordinance amends two items. It adds text to the definition of "Recreational Vehicle" which reinforces that its illegal to live permanently in an RV within the city. The ordinance also removes the term "Duplex (site-built)" from Section 9 Mixed-Use Residential District.

Stormwater ordinance returns for third reading

Before moving on to New Business, Mayor Crystal Herrmann asked council members to add a third item to Old Business. Council members approved adding the Stormwater Ordinance to the agenda.

“So there was some confusion during our ordinance reading (last month),” Herrmann began. “It was originally brought to the table along with our Animal Control Ordinance.”

Both ordinances were first brought to the council at the July meeting. While the Animal Control Ordinance received its first reading in July, the Stormwater Ordinance was tabled for further study. Its first reading was at the August meeting.

“So there was some confusion with how many times, once we moved forward with the Stormwater Ordinance, that had been read,” Herrmann said. “Last meeting (September) we stated that had been read three times. In fact and now we've been read twice. So now we need to go back and give it its third reading so we can move forward legitimately with our Stormwater Ordinance.”

City Attorney Chris Madison took the blame for the error. He said while writing the list of ordinances that needed to be renumbered, he lost track of when the Stormwater Ordinance received its first reading.

All council members present voted to have the ordinance read by title only. They then voted to adopt the ordinance. This new ordinance essentially duplicates the existing ordinance but with the addition of a permitting process to control stormwater related construction.

Under New Business

City sells fire truck to Shannon Hills

The Alexander City Council approved a resolution selling the fire department’s 1994 Pierce Arrow Fire Truck to the Shannon Hills Fire Department for $30,000.00. In a letter to Mayor Crystal Herrmann Fire Chief Ryan McCormick said the $30,000.00 offer is a, “[F]air market value for an apparatus of this age and use.”

Council sets minimum price for bulldozer

The Alexander City Council approved an ordinance to establish the minimum price of $25,000.00 for a diesel-powered bulldozer owned by the city. City Attorney Chris Madison explained to council members the bulldozer would first be put up for auction with the $25,000.00 as the minimum acceptable bid. If that fails the bulldozer would be advertised at that price.

Annual property tax approved, again

The Alexander City Council approved the annual ordinance setting the tax rate on all real and personal property for the next property tax collection cycle in the Pulaski County portion of Alexander. The tax rate will remain at 0.0015 mills per dollar valuation. The maximum rate is 0.005 mills. At the September council meeting an ordinance was adopted establishing the same tax rate for the Saline County portion of Alexander.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, November 18. Meetings begin at 6:00 PM and are held in the courtroom at the Alexander Municipal Complex (City Hall). Meetings are open top the public.