Taylor City Council Meeting – January 21, 2025

The Taylor City Council met on January 21, 2025, with all members present and a quorum confirmed. The Council approved the agenda and prior minutes, received the annual financial audit, approved a series of contracts and grants, and considered the vacant council seat. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• The consent agenda was approved as a single item by voice vote without any item being pulled for separate discussion.
• Agenda approval and approval of the January 7, 2025 minutes were also unanimous.

Mayor's Communications

• Mayor Woolley promoted a murder mystery event at the Lakes of Taylor on the upcoming Saturday and referred residents to the city's social media for times.
• The Mayor reviewed the city's warming-center policies, including public buildings during normal hours, the police department for 24-hour situations, and potential overnight accommodations.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Joe Letosis of Design House Architecture, representing owners/developers Paulo and Angelo Petci, asked the Council to reconsider its denial of conditional rezoning for 8715 Telegraph Road to allow self-storage. He said the project would be interior climate-controlled storage only, with no exterior storage or truck rentals, and that the existing building is more than 500 feet from Telegraph Road. He noted prior approvals had expired and the planning commission had recommended approval. No council member moved to reconsider, so no action was taken.

Discussion Items

• 8.1 Financial Audit: Plante Moran presented the June 30, 2024 audit. The city received an unmodified opinion and no internal-control deficiencies were reported. General fund balance increased by about $6.2 million, above the budgeted $3.7 million. Unassigned fund balance was $19.4 million, about 42.5% of current-year expenditures, equivalent to about 155 days of reserves. Property tax was the largest revenue source at approximately $12.5 million. The city invested $18.4 million in infrastructure and equipment, paid down $4.3 million in debt, and issued no new debt. The net OPEB liability was $119.6 million, down from $293 million in 2018. The motion to receive and file the audit passed.
• 8.4 Drone First Responder Program: The Police Chief presented a five-year, not-to-exceed $775,000 program funded from federal forfeiture funds. Two drones would cover about 96% of the city, with estimated 20-40% reductions in calls requiring officer dispatch. The motion passed.
• 8.5 Electric Vehicles: The Council accepted a $121,260 federal energy grant for three electric non-patrol police vehicles. The vehicles would be used administratively/investigatively with no take-home use; a charger could cost about $4,000 unless provided by a manufacturer. The motion passed.
• Other agenda items: The Council also approved purchase of three portable generators for $3,597; PowerReady software for $5,763 and $5,500 in successive years; Wade Trim storm sewer mapping for $120,000; submission of the 2024 Transportation Asset Management Plan; RSM CRM hosting for $120,000; and Onyx Networking GCP cloud overages for $18,000.
• 8.10 Council Vacancy: A motion to appoint a nominee by Councilwoman Witten failed 3-3, with Johnson, Witten, and Geis voting yes and Brandana, Rose, and Daniels voting no. Councilman Johnson then nominated Caroline Patz, a former council member; the corporation counsel said a later nomination of a previously defeated candidate was a new motion rather than a motion for reconsideration. That vote also failed 3-3 by the same tally. No further nominations were made.

Other Council Business

• Councilwoman Brandana reported resident letters about traffic light timing on Ecorse Road and leaf pickup concerns. Administration said it had not received complaints and noted leaf pickup had ended in mid-to-late December; the city publicizes extensions weather permitting.
• Councilwoman Brandana said she would follow up with previous nominees to see if their circumstances had changed, and Councilman Johnson said he nominated Caroline Patz because a seventh member would be helpful during budget season.

Key Outcomes

• Approved: agenda, minutes, consent agenda, tentative agreement with Taylor Public Service Officer Labor Association, recreation department assistant manager personal service contract, financial audit, generator purchase, PowerReady software, drone program, electric vehicle grant, Wade Trim storm sewer mapping, Transportation Asset Management Plan submission, RSM CRM hosting, and Onyx Networking cloud overages.
• Failed 3-3: first council vacancy appointment motion and the subsequent motion to appoint Caroline Patz. The seat remained vacant.
• No motion to reconsider the Telegraph Road self-storage denial was offered.