By: 1808Delaware Staff
During its virtual meeting held on Monday evening, members of Delaware City Council heard a series of updates from City officials related to financial, law enforcement, COVID, and other matters.
Leading the updates was City FInance Director Justin Nahvi, who discussed the current status of tax revenue collection.
Collections year-to-date for the income tax going into the City’s general fund stood at $6.22 million at the end of May, down 15.4 percent from that received during the same period in 2019. There was some good news, Nahvi added, saying that month to date collections for May was up 2.7 percent, suggesting that taxpayers are using the extension to do tax planning.
The figure for individual withholding is actually up 17.1 percent, he added.
Together, this has resulted in revenues making up approximately 3 percent of that 15.4 percent deficiency during May.
During his update, City Manager Tom Homan discussed the continuing re-opening of the State of Ohio and the City of Delaware pursuant to state-issued guidelines. One recent announcement, Homan shared, involved playgrounds, which are allowed to open as of this Wednesday. A plan is being developed locally so that Delaware’s playgrounds can meet that target. The splash pad will be “trickier” to reopen, he said, and options are still being developed.
While the State’s prohibition against meetings with more than ten people is still in place, the City Manager told Council, exceptions do exist, and the thought is that Council may be able to meet in person again as of the first meeting in July.
Lastly, Homan told members that the DORA has gone so well that they are proposing to increase its use to two additional days per week. No Council member expressed opposition to this idea.
US 42 was on Fire Chief John Donahue’s mind. Donahue told Council that a small leak had caused extensive undermining of the roadway, resulting in a section being washed away that was 10 feet wide, 30 feet long, and 30 feet deep (see below). Attempts to drain the area to accommodate repair of the culvert have so far been unsuccessful, those efforts continue.
The estimated competition date for the reopening of US 42 is mid to late August.
Lastly, Police Chief Bruce Pijanowski referenced the national events of the last two weeks that have had a local impact as well. Three protests have been held, and the Police have worked with organizers of each. Each turned out to be “good organized events.” Pijanowski expressed strong feelings of support for those advocating against racism and intolerance.
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