Akron Council's Weekly Legislative Spotlight! 2023 Issue #39

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Akron City Council

Weekly Legislative Spotlight

From the Desk of the Council President

Hello Joan,

Welcome our new subscribers. We are so excited that you have decided to join us! To our regular subscribers, thank you for your commitment to staying informed and engaged through your continued subscribership to Akron City Council's Legislative Spotlight.

We hope that you are enjoying the wealth of information being shared with you each week.

We share highlights from the Council's legislative agenda from the previous Monday's Committee and Council meetings. Definitions and information about commonly used terms and council-related facts are also featured.

We encourage you to stay connected and abreast of the issue before Akron City Council.

The information shared in each week's Legislative Spotlight will continue to educate, empower, and liberate you to become increasingly engaged with your City Council in making Akron a better place for all its residents.

Sincerely,

Margo Sommerville

Council President

Ward 3 Council Member

Legislative Highlights From Monday, December 11, 2023

(final Regular Meeting of the year)

ORD. 380-2023 repealing and replacing Ordinance No. 291-2021, creating, establishing, and recognizing departments, offices, bureaus, divisions and positions in the classified service of the City of Akron; requiring that only budgeted funded positions be filled; and declaring an emergency. Vote: Ayes: 10, Nays: 0 (Holland abstained; Freeman & Kammer absent)

ORD. 397-2023 amending Ordinance No. 75-2023, passed March 27, 2023, which established the annual appropriation for the current expenses, other expenditures and the capital outlays of the City of Akron for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023; and declaring an emergency. (Substitute Offered as an Amendment.) Vote: 11-0 (Freeman & Kammer absent)

Council also passed Resolutions expressing appreciation to Councilman Russel Neal, Councilwoman Tara Mosley, Councilman Shammas Malik, Councilman Mike Freeman, Councilwoman Ginger Baylor, and Mayor Daniel Horrigan.

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The 2024 Council was sworn in per Charter Section 29. All current members are still in office until December 31, 2023. New members will take office January 1, 2024.

The organizational meeting will be held on Monday, January 8th, 2024. (per Council Rule 2.9)

As we look forward to 2024, please note that Council passed Resolution No. 373-2023 amending Resolution No. 2-2021, to amend and/or supplement the "Rules of Procedure for the Akron City Council." These Rules updated the meeting time to 6:30 p.m. for regular meetings and made updates to the public comment period. Information on our website will be updated to reflect these changes as well as the new Council member information.

Remember...

You can see all the legislation discussed during the meeting at: https://onlinedocs.akronohio.gov/OnBaseAgendaOnline/

Akron City Council: 2023 Year in Review

In 2023, Akron City Council held:

39 Regular Meetings
2 Special Meetings
3 Operating Budget Review Sessions
165 Committee Meetings
49 Public Hearings

405 Pieces of legislation were passed.

448 Public Comments were received during the public comment period.

Check out the calendar on

Council's website for

upcoming Ward Meetings!

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Thank You

Summit County Domestic Relations Court

Judge Kani Harvey Hightower

for Swearing in the

New Council!

If you have a specific city issue that you'd like to see resolved (a pothole, water leak, tree down, missed trash collection, etc.), you can enter it in the online system or call 311.

Upcoming Open Comment Public Hearings

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Notices are posted on our website at least 15 days before the meeting.

Suppose the Ordinance is a Conditional Use (Zoning measure). In that case, a notice is also mailed to the owners and residents of property within, contiguous to, and directly across the street from the property involved in the Ordinance (per Charter Section 34). Notices are also published in the Akron Beacon Journal.

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