Cuyahoga Falls City Council holds regular meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Council committee meetings are held on the first and third Mondays in order to allow councilmembers to publicly discuss pending legislation that will be voted on at regular meetings. The public is free to comment on pending legislation during the allowed time set aside as part of committee meetings.
Planning & Zoning:
A public hearing on A-74 and A-75 was held tonight.
*A-74: An ordinance approving a zoning map amendment for parcels located on State Road south of Boulder Boulevard from MU-1 Rural Neighborhood Center to R-3 Suburban Density Residential. Presented by Planning Director Rob Kurtz this legislation will downgrade the zoning from MU to R-3 that better reflects the rest of the allotment. This measure passed the planning commission September 4. There were no negative comments over the rezoning in the public hearing held prior to the planning and zoning committee Monday night. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
*A-75: An ordinance approving a zoning map amendment for multiple parcels located on Boulder Boulevard and Quartz Avenue in the Boulder Estates subdivision from MU-1 Rural Neighborhood Center to RM Mixed Density Residential Overlay (R-3), as more fully described and depicted herein. Presented by Planning Director Rob Kurtz, this legislation is similar to that presented in A-74 but this area already has homes constructed and were considered legal nonconforming uses. According to Kurtz changing the zoning to reflect the current use of the property can help the property owners should a lender request a zoning letter. This also passed the planning commission on September 4 and there were no negative responses during the public hearing. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
Finance & Appropriations:
A-88: An ordinance authorizing the Parks and Recreation Board to enter into a contract or contracts for the purchase of a Reelmaster 5010-H Hybrid Fairway Mower for use at Brookledge Golf Club. Parks Director Sara Kline stated that supply chain issues have made this an interesting process that began in 2020. Even though it will be arriving at the end of the season, the department is looking forward to finally receiving this new piece of equipment, and being hybrid the city will also see some fuel savings. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
A-90: An ordinance setting the compensation of the mayor, members of council, council president, and clerk of council commencing January 1, 2026, and January 1, 2028. Presented by Finance Director Bryan Hoffman, in 1986 city council passed ordinance 109 that established pay rates for our elected officials. In this legislation it stated that the mayor’s cabinet salary increase could be no more than the average of the increase received by the bargaining units in their labor contracts. Those wages were established by a schedule in 1986 (in Mayor Robart’s first year as mayor) and updated to take effect in the January immediately after contracts are settled. The pay for city council was also connected to this schedule to state regular ward councilpersons pay was to be 15% of the mayor’s pay council president to earn 16%, and the clerk to earn 80% of a city councilpersons’ salary. This legislation adds something new in that the increases will not apply until the mayoral/council term commencing 2026. In essence they are not voting on their own pay but the pay of the winning elected officials in the 2025 races (and the winning at-large representee in the 2027 race). The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
#The following five pieces of legislation were discussed in executive session October 14. Council rule 111.03 states that the council may hold an executive session, from which the public is excluded, for any of the following purposes:
In this case it is paragraph 4:
Preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of their employment.
The committee had no other comment coming out of executive session and voted for all 5 ordinances to be brought before a full vote of council next Monday.
#A-91: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Patrol and Community Service Officers bargaining unit, effective July 1, 2024.
#A-92: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Sergeants and Lieutenants bargaining unit, effective July 1, 2024.
#A-93: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the Utility Workers Union of America, Local 399, effective July 1, 2024.
#A-94: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the International Association of Firefighters, Local 494, effective July 1, 2024.
#A-95: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 2662, effective July 1, 2024.
A-96: An ordinance creating the positions of Specialist, Digital Media Geographic Information System Technician and Safety and Training Compliance Manager; amending Exhibit “A” of Ordinance 41-2024; and establishing compensation levels for employees of non-bargaining of the City Cuyahoga Falls effective July 1. Presented by Finance Director Bryan Hoffman, he started with the Digital media GIS position by stating that GIS has come a long way into many departments from Engineering to our safety forces and it is to the point that the city needs to maintain the current system and expand capabilities to other areas of the city. The Safety and Training Compliance manager will be responsible for recording completed training and scheduling legally required training for different departments within the city such as electric services and water department employees. The individual will also be responsible for providing CDL training to those employees where the license is required and maintaining those training records. Currently this is being done outside of the city at a considerable cost; this new position will save the city money and be more efficient. The third part of the legislation pertaining to compensation levels changes the amount of time it takes non-bargaining employees to max out in their pay grade. Currently it takes 20 years for a non-bargaining employee to max out in their paygrade. This will change it to match the 12 years required to max out that the bargaining unit employees have been entitled to for several years now. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
A-97: An ordinance amending Ordinance 79-1987 and repealing Ordinance 122-1993 in connection with job classifications, positions, and compensation of various positions within the City of Cuyahoga Falls. Hoffman explained this will add DSG (Director Salary Grade) to the pay schedule and establish the DSG to be 7% over the midpoint of the top non-bargaining rate and the C\ESG (Engineer Salary Grade) rate to be 5% over the midpoint of the top non-bargaining rate. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
A-98: An ordinance establishing policies and procedures within the municipal corporation of the City of Cuyahoga Falls. It allows employees seeking to advance to a higher position to receive the pay rate of the position they are seeking the promotion. Currently they may only receive a 5% increase and no more than a 7% regardless of the pay scale they are seeking promotion. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
Public Affairs:
A-99: An ordinance amending the Traffic Control File. Chief Norfolk said this measure passed the Traffic Committee September 30 and the request to amend the Traffic Control File was brought by the Presbyterian church by requesting no parking on the south side of Ashland Avenue, from Hudson Drive to 644 Ashland Avenue. This will establish a pickup and drop off zone for the church preschool. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
A-100: A resolution supporting Issue 40, the Summit County Children Services Levy at the General Election on November 5, 2024. This resolution was presented by Liz Mangan Director of Human Recourses, and she began by telling the committee that her agency is the first responders for any cases of child abuse or neglect, and that 1 in 12 children in Summit County receive her agency’s services. This levy first passed in 2018 and should it pass again in November there would be no increase in taxes. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
A-101 Temp. Res. A-101: A resolution expressing support for and urging passage of Issue 29, the Cuyahoga Falls City School District Levy, at the general election to be held on November 5, 2024. This resolution also shows the city’s support for the upcoming renewal levy. This levy was first passed in 2005 and again in 2020. If the current levy passes there will not be an increase in taxes. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council next Monday.
