City Council OK’s police contract

BUCYRUS – The Bucyrus City Council voted Tuesday to enter into a new contract with the police department’s union, retroactive to the beginning of the year.

The new contract, which has already been approved by the Fraternal Order of Police, includes pay raises of 3 percent for this year, 2 percent for 2016 and 3 percent for 2017. It also increases the base pay rate by $1 an hour but eliminates the certification bonus.

Also Tuesday, the council passed a resolution to put 11 city-owned properties up for sale; the proceeds would be used to lessen the financial burden of demolishing condemned buildings in the city.

Nine of the properties have no structures on them: 617 E. Warren St., 547 Park Ave., 905 Woodlawn Ave., 228 W. Galen St., 302 Jump St., 423 E. Warren St., 812 E. Mansfield St., 431 W. Mansfield St., and the corner of East Lucas and South Walnut streets. Two more properties — at 133 Franklin St. and 115 Fisher St. — are being offered for sale with the contingency that the buyers demolish structures on the properties within 90 days of closing.

In other action Tuesday, the council authorized the payment of $6,936 to replace the base radio, which was destroyed by a leak in the basement of the city building. The base radio controls all the hand-held radios used by the city’s various departments.

Council members also voted to amend the city’s traffic control map to have “no parking” signs placed on the south side of Cullen Court from Robinhood Drive to Cullen Avenue. Fire department trucks are unable to negotiate the court with cars parked there.

Councilman William O’Rourke asked city law director Rob Ratliff for an update on the status of several proposed city annexations, many of them properties along County Road 330, the old Lincoln Highway. Some of the properties use city water and sewer without being within city limits because they weren’t ordered to have restrictions put on their deeds when they accepted services.

Ratliff said the annexations have been put on the back burner, but O’Rourke and council members John Walker and Bruce Truka suggested making the issue a priority.

“They’re not paying city income tax, but they’re receiving city water and sewer,” Truka said.

Ratliff, who noted the city can always force the issue by shutting off services to those properties, said annexation discussions with some of the property owners could be adversarial in nature.

Walker observed that on Tuesday afternoon, after the issuance of a tornado warning by the National Weather Service for the county, the warning siren on the south side of town didn’t go off. All of the city’s sirens are tested every Friday at noon.

City service-safety director Jeff Wagner said he would consult with the county’s emergency management agency on the matter. Although weather radar indicated rotation, no tornado was sighted in the county.

thill3@nncogannett.com

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Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ