What happened: A request to approve expenditure from the Geist Annexation Improvement Board fund was voted upon outside of the consent agenda
What it means: This was originally an item on the consent agenda, a group of items voted upon by the slate. The Town of Fishers community development department and the board worked together to have a logo for the Geist district to be designed. The bill, $2,500, was approved.
What happened: Federal and state lobbying contracts were approved in the consent agenda
What it means: According to a council action form from Deputy Town Manager Nathan George, contracts for lobbying have been held by Barnes & Thornburg, LLP in the past. This year, “to make administration of the contracts easier” they were lumped into three different contracts for the year – federal lobbying, state legislative lobbying and state executive branch lobbying. The contracts total a budgeted expenditure of $138,000. One contract will be given a run time of Nov. 1 to Oct. 31 to get in line with the Lobbying Registration Commission.
What happened: First reading of a salary ordinance
What it means: The salary ordinance was originally slated to have first, second and third reading at the meeting. Council member Renee Cox voiced concerns about lack of notice on particulars included in the ordinance, which sets minimum and maximum bi-weekly salaries for town employees at different grades. These maximums do not reflect what each individual is actually paid. Cox requested the current pay level of the town manager, clerk-treasurer and director of community development. Human Resources Director Cici Hendrix did not have the actual figures handy, but the maximum biweekly-salary for the town manager and community development director under this ordinance would be $5,384.62. The clerk-treasurer’s maximum bi-weekly salary would be $3,540.79. Also included in the ordinance were grade changes, title changes and deleted titles, according to a memo. Second reading was scheduled as the ordinance had to be approved before 2013.
What happened: An ordinance for Fishers Town Council redistricting was approved
What it means: The districts in Fishers were redistricted for “numerical balance,” according to a council action form from Tom Dickey, director of community development. The redistricting took the 2010 U.S. Census population totals into account. Town legal counsel Jennifer Messer said it was required by state law following the census. The town will have to redistrict again when it comes time to transition from a town to a second-class city.