Clarksville, Indiana Town Council Meeting - April 16, 2025

The Clarksville Town Council met on April 16, 2025, for its regular meeting and an immediate work session. After an invocation by Pastor Don Hinton of Walnut Ridge Baptist Church in Jeffersonville, the council approved routine items, four new-business items, heard council member comments, and received the Clerk-Treasurer's financial report on the town's tax increment finance (TIF) districts.

Consent Calendar

• Claims, both current and pre-written, were approved; minutes were accepted and placed on file; and reports from various boards and commissions appointed by the town council were accepted. Motion by Councilman McEwen, second by Councilwoman Henderson; the motion carried unanimously.

Health Insurance Renewal

• The council approved the 2025-26 employee and retiree health insurance renewal recommended by the insurance committee, Assured Partners, and staff. The current policy runs from June 1, 2024, through May 31, 2025.
• The insurance committee met on March 24 to review proposals. The approved plan keeps UMR United Health Care as the medical carrier with a 2% increase in administration fees; keeps Delta Dental, the vision carrier, and One America life, voluntary life, accidental death and dismemberment, and long-term disability coverage at rate holds until the 2026 renewal.
• The plan changes stop-loss coverage from QBE to Gerber Life and changes the pharmacy benefit manager from Optum RX/RX Protect to True RX and Sharks. QBE's proposed renewal included an increase of 8.02%, or $463,373. The approved changes produce a net overall insurance premium decrease of 6%, saving $328,998 in premiums.
• The council reviewed the proposal at its April 1 work session. Motion by Councilman Stotz, second by Councilwoman Henderson; approved 6-0-1, with one abstention.

Ordinance 2025 B01: Tourism Revenue Bonds

• The council approved Ordinance 2025 B01 on first and second reading, authorizing the issuance of capital development fund revenue bonds to assist the Clark and Floyd Counties Convention and Tourism Bureau.
• The tourism bureau selected two Clarksville projects for grant funding: $250,000 for the Central Green Community and Cultural Destination Project and $250,000 for the Falls of the Ohio Education Pavilion Project. Debt service on the bonds will be paid from hotel room tax revenues, and the town is using its bonding authority to assist the issuance. Both readings passed unanimously.

Ordinance 2025 BUD01: Budget Transfers

• The council approved Ordinance 2025 BUD01 on first and second reading, transferring funds between major budget classifications.
• Transfers include $18,000 in local option income tax for the remodel and opening of the police substation and $100,000 for wastewater capital improvement pump station number 10. The ordinance is a net-zero change to the fiscal year 2025 budget and does not require additional appropriations. Motion by Councilwoman Henderson, second by Councilman McEwen; both readings passed unanimously.

Amended Firefighter Labor Contract

• The council approved the amended collective bargaining agreement with the International Association of Firefighters, Local 2594.
• The council originally approved the contract on January 21, but additional language changes were needed to fully cover the previously negotiated terms. The attorneys for both parties made the changes, and the firefighters voted to approve the amended contract. The contract remains effective from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2028. Motion by Councilwoman Henderson, second by Councilman Stotz; the motion carried unanimously.

Council Comments

• Councilwoman Schiller thanked department heads and the fire department, noted her first contract cycle was smooth, and advised flood-affected residents to contact their insurance agents before speaking with door-to-door solicitors. She also noted the meeting was streamed on Facebook Live for the first time.
• Councilwoman Boiner thanked the firefighters for their contract work, thanked Brad Cummins and his crew for fixing a bad bump at the end of Parkwood and Spicewood, and thanked the flood cleanup crew for extending service to southern Clarksville and the flood control authority for its work on flood walls.
• Councilman Stotz thanked HR director Amy and the firefighters, praised Brad Cummins for street and flood work, and wished everyone a happy Easter.
• Councilwoman Henderson thanked the firefighters, praised Brad Cummins and the public works team for pothole work, said the roads currently have "band-aids" that she hopes will be fully repaired, and wished everyone a happy Easter.
• Councilman McEwen shared that a Green Tree Mall employee died unexpectedly of a heart attack. He recounted the family's gratitude toward Chief Walls and another officer who performed CPR and helped calm the family, and he thanked both the police and fire departments.

Work Session: Clerk-Treasurer TIF Financial Report

• After the regular meeting, the council opened a work session at 6:27 p.m. Clerk-Treasurer Stone Cypher delivered his statutory TIF district report, which was due by April 15.
• For calendar year 2024, the report showed total revenues of $11.8 million, total expenses of $12.2 million, and a cash balance reduction of just under $500,000.
• TIF lease payments, representing debt service on bond issuances, were 44% of expenses at $5.4 million. The floodgate replacement project at Main Street and Riverside was 18% of expenses at $2.2 million in 2024 alone; the Clerk-Treasurer noted the floodgate project is now around $6 million in total, though he said the exact figure was not in front of him.
• Concerned about cash flow after the January claims register, the Clerk-Treasurer met in February with Manager Beatty and Director Gibson and recommended cutting about $3.5 million from the certified 2025 redevelopment budget to avoid a cash flow crunch. He explained that such reductions can be made by staff and the Clerk-Treasurer for cash flow reasons without a council vote, according to the Department of Local Government Finance.
• The Clerk-Treasurer also reported outstanding bond debt of about $5.3 million, with debt service payments expected to rise to just over $5.6 or $5.7 million next year.
• The council discussed an arbitrage report from Baker Tilly. About $6,000 in interest earned on construction bond proceeds for the public works facility may need to be repaid to the U.S. Treasury because the funds were not spent quickly enough, plus about $2,700 in Baker Tilly CPA fees, for about $8,700 total. That amount would be offset against the roughly $201,000 in interest earned in the first quarter. Council members briefly discussed the contractor's delay in submitting a final invoice, but noted the payment was not a penalty.
• The work session ended at 6:41 p.m. and was followed by an executive session in the council chambers.

Key Outcomes

• Consent calendar approved unanimously.
• Health insurance renewal approved 6-0-1, with one abstention.
• Ordinance 2025 B01 adopted unanimously on first and second readings.
• Ordinance 2025 BUD01 adopted unanimously on first and second readings.
• Amended International Association of Firefighters, Local 2594 contract approved unanimously.
• Clerk-Treasurer Stone Cypher said he plans to provide a fuller state of the town's finances report in early July. No formal council action was taken during the work session.