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Record of Proceedings

Whitehall City Council Committee Meeting – October 13, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, October 13, 2026
BodyWhitehall, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 50:58

Original source
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Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Yeah,

Speaker 2

0:01

I

Speaker 1

0:01

guess right in the dark for two hours

Speaker 2

0:03

every

Speaker 1

0:04

morning because

Unassigned speaker

0:05

that

Speaker 2

0:05

sounds fun.

0:06

We

Speaker 1

0:06

wear headlamps.

0:07

It's like crazy.

Speaker 3

0:27

Good evening.

0:28

Welcome to White Hall City Council Committee meeting agenda for Tuesday, October 13th, 2026.

0:34

We have administration council of the whole matters.

0:38

There are six pieces of draft draft legislation on the agenda.

0:44

And we will start with committee of the whole legislation, which is a third reading.

0:57

For third reading, adopt 1020 26.

1:00

Introduced by Councillor Brown, seconded by Councillor Harkar.

1:06

And it was postponed until 1020.

1:12

Chapter 195 of the White Hall codified orders requiring financial disclosure and ethics training for office holders.

1:23

That is up for adoption of 1020.

1:27

Next we have standing committees.

Speaker 2

1:32

An update to the legislation has been sent if everybody has that.

Speaker 4

1:39

89.

Speaker 2

1:40

Yeah.

Speaker 3

1:45

Update.

1:46

The

Speaker 2

1:47

amended

Speaker 3

1:47

draft for

Speaker 2

1:49

89.

1:49

Do you have that, Mr.

1:50

Morrison?

1:50

Yes,

Speaker 3

1:51

I

Speaker 2

1:51

do.

1:51

Okay.

Speaker 3

1:51

I'm just kind of looking at

Unassigned speaker

1:52

it.

Speaker 5

1:53

That's the same legislation that we gave you all as a reference.

1:58

Now it's in the proper form.

2:00

So you have recording.

2:02

That's changed.

Speaker 3

2:04

So all the all the changes has just been incorporated to the property marked out and

Speaker 6

2:12

then you title is also there on the uh the amended draft legislation as well as the new body.

Speaker 3

2:33

And do we suspect this might be our final this is

Speaker 5

2:37

on the second version?

Speaker 3

2:39

Okay.

Speaker 5

2:40

It

Speaker 3

2:40

seems like

Speaker 2

2:41

discussion on it,

Speaker 5

2:42

but yeah,

Unassigned speaker

2:44

just

Speaker 5

2:44

to refresh memory.

2:45

There was an initial proposal and there was a lot of debate.

2:50

I was not here during that.

2:52

I came and discussed September sometime in last month.

3:01

And Councillor Brown was kind enough to give me a call and try to work to incorporate some of the recommendations from Alan West, who is the audit partner group that is at audit.

3:13

And I said if that's what you want to do, let's go for it and we can work together on this.

3:17

So that's the draft you have in front of you that he gave his input and not drafted on having the city have a process on that uh ethics requirement disclosure.

3:31

And in summary, it's just formed that is submitted every year where you document any business interest board memberships.

3:40

Uh other employment that may or actually does give right to a conflict of interest.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████████████████████45%
Public Safety████████████12%
Parks and Recreation████████████12%
Procedural██████████10%
Mental Health Awareness██████████10%
Community Engagement███████7%
Water And Wastewater Management██2%
Personnel Matters██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Whitehall City Council Committee Meeting – October 13, 2026

Whitehall City Council met in committee on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. The Administration and Financial Management Committee reviewed draft legislation on debt-service transfers, “then and now” certificates, ethics disclosures, and minority business contracting. Other standing committees reported no pending legislation and gave community updates. No public comments were heard.

Committee of the Whole – Third Reading

  • Ordinance 089-2026, requiring financial disclosure and ethics training for office holders, was postponed to October 20, 2026. City Auditor Shaquille Alexander said the amended draft incorporates recommendations from Alan West of the outside audit firm and would require an annual disclosure of business interests, board memberships, and employment that could create conflicts. He said the filing location can be determined by Council and recommended the ordinance pass.

Administration and Financial Management – Debt Service Transfers and Certificates

  • Ordinance 101-2026: transfer $141,903.75 from the Municipal Public Improvement Tax Increment Equivalent Fund (279) to the Debt Service Fund (401) for Dec. 1, 2026 debt service on the 2014 Streetscape Bonds, 2014 Land Acquisition Bonds, and 2016 Special Obligation Nontax Revenue Bonds.
  • Ordinance 102-2026: supplemental appropriation and transfer of $457,372.37 from the Water Utility Fund (841) for OWDA Loan No. 10603 (2023 Water Main Replacement) debt service due Jan. 1, 2027.
  • Ordinance 103-2026: supplemental appropriation and transfer of $40,715.88 from the Sewer Utility Fund (840) for OWDA Loan No. 11104 (Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation) debt service due Jan. 1, 2027.
  • Ordinance 104-2026: transfer of $765,355.24 from the General Fund (101) to the Debt Service Fund (401), applying an existing $99,109.76 balance toward $864,465.00 of general obligation and special obligation debt service due Dec. 1, 2026.
  • Ordinance 105-2026: transfer of $466,262.50 from the Police Department Tax Levy Fund (280) for capital facilities bond debt service tied to the police division expansion, due Dec. 1, 2026.
  • Resolution 044-2026: approval of “then and now” certificates of $3,000 or more, as required by Ohio Revised Code 5705.41(D)(1).
  • Auditor Alexander explained that debt-service legislation is routinely requested for first reading to allow time for journal entries, purchase orders, Board of Control approval, check runs, and year-end/holiday/vacation scheduling. Council members acknowledged the explanation.

Minority Business Contracting Ordinance

  • Ordinance 092-2026, creating Chapter 170 and establishing minimum city contract awards to minority businesses, was postponed to November 3, 2026. Auditor Alexander expressed support for the legislation’s intent but raised concerns about tax confidentiality, definitions, eligibility periods, deadlines, appropriations, and administrative workload, citing input from the Deputy Tax Commissioner. The city attorney was on vacation and the economic development director was on leave, prompting the postponement.

Additional Auditor Updates

  • The Auditor described a planned change to the general fund’s monthly percentage transfers: IT operations would return to the General Fund, and the fleet reserve maintenance fund rate would move to an average of 1.84% (from 1.5% last year), front-loaded over six months. The related legislation is expected to come for third reading on November 17, with a January 1 effective date.
  • The Auditor requested first reading for a future ordinance ending the 2016-approved practice of transfers under $5,000 between accounts within the same fund, a practice the independent auditor recommended stopping. He clarified it would not change total appropriations, only account-line allocations.
  • He noted the Mayor’s budget will be presented in three to four weeks and that 2027 will contain 27 pay periods. Projected labor-cost growth is 5.5%, with 3.27 percentage points attributable to the extra pay period.

Standing Committee Reports

  • Community and Elder Advocacy: No legislation. Chairperson Harcar recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month, discussed the well-attended 5K, and encouraged Council participation in QPR suicide-prevention training.
  • Community Standards and Enforcement: No legislation. Chairperson McCann reported a weekend vehicle crash into a home on Elburn and Pineview; no fatalities, one person injured and recovering. Council will consult police reports about repeated speed/curve incidents in that area.
  • Economic Development: No legislation; director was out on leave.
  • Infrastructure, Maintenance and Services: No legislation.
  • Public Safety: No legislation; will examine the Elburn/Pineview road issue with the police department.
  • Parks and Recreation: No legislation. Chairperson Adkins highlighted Founders Day, praised the Parks and Recreation team for the 5K, noted the first Meskel celebration held in Whitehall, and promoted upcoming fall events.

Key Outcomes

  • Postponed Ordinance 089-2026 to October 20, 2026.
  • Postponed Ordinance 092-2026 to November 3, 2026.
  • Gave first reading to Ordinances 101-2026, 102-2026, 103-2026, 104-2026, and 105-2026 and Resolution 044-2026, scheduling them for suspension and adoption on October 20, 2026.
  • No other standing committee legislation was pending.

Meeting Transcript

Yeah, I guess right in the dark for two hours every morning because that sounds fun. We wear headlamps. It's like crazy. Good evening. Welcome to White Hall City Council Committee meeting agenda for Tuesday, October 13th, 2026. We have administration council of the whole matters. There are six pieces of draft draft legislation on the agenda. And we will start with committee of the whole legislation, which is a third reading. For third reading, adopt 1020 26. Introduced by Councillor Brown, seconded by Councillor Harkar. And it was postponed until 1020. Chapter 195 of the White Hall codified orders requiring financial disclosure and ethics training for office holders. That is up for adoption of 1020. Next we have standing committees. An update to the legislation has been sent if everybody has that. 89. Yeah. Update. The amended draft for 89. Do you have that, Mr. Morrison? Yes, I do. Okay. I'm just kind of looking at it. That's the same legislation that we gave you all as a reference. Now it's in the proper form. So you have recording. That's changed. So all the all the changes has just been incorporated to the property marked out and then you title is also there on the uh the amended draft legislation as well as the new body. And do we suspect this might be our final this is on the second version? Okay. It seems like discussion on it, but yeah,

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