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Akron Council applies for, accepts funding

10/20/2011 - West Side Leader
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By Stephanie Kist

‘Fiscal caution’ status briefly discussed

Akron City Council voted Oct. 17 to authorize the filing of applications for nearly $4.17 million in federal funding to help address homelessness.

The Stewart B. McKinney funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development would go to supportive housing programs for the homeless.

Through the city’s Continuum of Care System, 31 projects, 29 of them renewals, would be funded to provide permanent supportive housing or transitional services. No city funds are involved in the application. Council members Phil Montgomery (D-Ward 8) and Linda Omobien (D-at large) abstained from the vote.

Council also voted to accept a $272,252 grant from Summit County for Housing Advisory Board (HAB) funds to promote affordable housing within the city. The purpose of the HAB is to receive and review plans for the development and maintenance of affordable housing by providing financial assistance to for- and nonprofit developers and nonprofit organizations for housing initiatives. Councilwoman Tina Merlitti (D-Ward 7), an employee of the county, abstained from the vote.

Also at the meeting, Council approved the following:

• a resolution urging support for Issue No. 25, a renewal of a levy supporting operations of the Summit County Board of Developmental Disabilities that will be on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot;

• an ordinance authorizing changes on the city’s Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board that reflect changes in the membership of the board due to the recent merger of the city’s health department with the county’s. Council President Marco Sommerville (D-Ward 3) abstained, as he is a member of the board;

• the construction of an oversized garage at 1208 Greenwood Ave. following a public hearing at which no comments were received; and

• the issuance and sale of notes in a maximum amount of $20.2 million to help pay for various capital improvements in the city.

In other business, during the afternoon Budget and Finance Committee meeting, Councilman Michael Williams (D-at large) raised the question of the state auditor’s recent placing of the city in fiscal caution [for more on that, see the Oct. 13, 2011, West Side Leader, or visit the archives at www.akron .com]. Williams — who unsuccessfully challenged Mayor Don Plusquellic in the Democratic Primary Election last month — requested a status update from Finance Director Diane Miller-Dawson.

The city has 60 days from Sept. 30 to respond to Auditor Dave Yost with a plan, Miller-Dawson said. She added the city already has taken some steps to address Yost’s concerns, including reducing the number of funds from 700 to fewer than 140.

“[Yost] would like to see things different, and it is his choice,” Miller-Dawson said.

Williams suggested Council receive regular updates on the process.

“I will not be satisfied, personally, with a report at the end that has already been sent off to the auditor,” he said. “I want to see it before it’s sent off to the auditor.”

Miller-Dawson said the city’s accounting practices have been in place for more than 30 years.

“The things that [Yost] saw and commented on are not new,” she said. “His opinion is new. … He’s the first auditor to make an issue of it.”

The next Akron City Council meeting will take place Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers on the third floor of the Akron Municipal Building, 166 S. High St. in Downtown Akron. Committee meetings are set to begin at 2 p.m. that afternoon, also in Council Chambers.

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