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BELMONT -- Village Council recently took the first steps to place a police levy before voters during its first meeting of 2024.
The meeting, held Jan. 3, kicked off with returning Mayor Ron Woods and Councilman John Rigoli renewing their oaths of office before the appointment of Ken Davis to continue in his role as president of the Belmont Board of Public Affairs was unanimously approved.
Council President Derek Cain's motion to appoint Jim Saksa as a member of the board of public affairs was also approved, as was a motion to appoint longtime Councilwoman Lorie Grobb to the remaining open council seat, even though she was absent from the meeting.
Woods initiated a discussion about placing an additional police levy on the March 19 primary election ballot, noting that the current police levy only generates $8,600 annually.
Fiscal Officer Ricky Burkhead said it was important that they leave the current levy in place despite its low yield since attempting to "re-up" it would risk losing that revenue entirely should it fail to pass.
Cain and Burkhead both noted that the general fund is frequently tapped to supplement the police department budget. Burkhead said he believed the village needs $20,000-$25,000 a year to have a "viable department" in response to a question from Councilwoman Sarah Scott.
A motion was passed authorizing Burkhead to prepare the resolution required to proceed, while a Finance Committee meeting was scheduled to go over the numbers and figure out what millage would be required to generate the needed funds.
Council briefly discussed eliminating some of the surveillance cameras around the village since the internet connectivity required is costing the village money. It was decided to add the matter to the agenda of the Finance Committee meeting alongside the levy discussion.
Residents Becky Boughner and Vicki Loveday addressed council again about storm water infiltrating the basement of their home on the corner of Main and Market streets. Woods and Scott spoke of a plan to put a lip along the street to keep the water from running onto their property, but Loveday said they also had water coming in through the basement walls.
Boughner said she still believes the water issue stemmed from the installation of the village sewer system in 2007 and the subsequent removal of their septic tank.
Assistant Fire Chief Jake Tacosik said it was possible that the removal of the septic tank had left a void in their yard that could be causing the problem.
Scott said the sisters still need to determine whether the issue is being caused by something that is the town's responsibility. Woods, Davis and Tacosik suggested Boughner and Loveday might need to install French drains to collect and divert groundwater. Woods said he would have Service Director Dave Orr look at what's going on there again.
In response to a resident's concerns, council authorized Village Solicitor T.J. Schultz to contact Kimble Co. to get its drivers to stop taking heavy garbage trucks on village alleys and side streets.
In other business, Davis reported that in December 94% of the water used in the village had been produced by village wells. Council also approved the budget appropriations for 2024.
Belmont Village Council meets at 6 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month in the Stanley Sobel Village Offices on Brown Street.