Closing the council meeting on Thursday evening, Mayor Bud Maynard put a request out to all Vinton residents. In this year so far, he said that legal fees racked up by the city have reached around $30,000. Rather than incurring extra expenses for the city, the mayor encourages residents to first contact City Hall with questions or concerns. Making calls to government entities outside the city usually require the involvement of the city attorney, which requires a bill for services.
He expressed concern that if this continues, he's afraid that there will have to be services cut to keep up with the legal fees. So please, call (319) 472-4707 with any questions and concerns rather than burden the city with more legal debt.
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At Thursday night's council meeting, a lengthy agenda met the council. Zipping quickly through all of the agenda topics, the council approved all the topics on the agenda. The property located at 903 B Ave. will be sent back to Planning and Zoning for discussion.
The council also approved the Rental Code Advisory Committee members which will serve at the pleasure of the mayor through the creation of a new ordinance. Those appointed to the committee were landlords John Watson, Chad Christoph and Gary McKenna. The representative for a financial institution will be Matt Johnson. The real estate representative will be Alan Michael, Council members on the committee will be Ron Hessenius and Bethany Gates. Two tenants were also appointed. The council will approve a mission statement as a guide for the committee to refer to.
During citizen's input clarification was requested concerning the Benton County Pride Event. Mike Dominick expressed concerns about what types of events would be presented as well as what vendors will be at the festival where children would be in attendance. His concern was that because the theme of the festival highlights sexuality that it should be clarified what should be expected at the festival. Sam Thompson, a member of the festival board, shared with the council that the purpose of the event was to "make it clear that not everyone in our community has an issue with an identity that makes them uncomfortable." He shared that there would be an artist and a self-defense class as well as music. The council moved to approve the event request.
A date was set for a public hearing for the FY23 budget amendment.
In other updates, the Riverside Park construction is still being scheduled for the weekend of May 6th. Watch the Vinton Parks & Recreation Facebook page for ways that you can help.
A member of the Corbett family send a note to thank the city for their work on the water retention pond built on the former Corbett property. The family is pleased with the project.
Melissa Schwan also thanked the street department for their help to clean the area in front of city hall. She also noted that she received a scholarship to help pay for the clerk institute in July.
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I know that it did not help talking to someone at city hall when we were dealing with them about code enforcement issues, and I have talked to several others that complained about rude or dismissive behavior from city officials. It's hard to stay calm in the face of injustice, but I realize that where we really failed is when we didn't follow through after they refused to work with us.
These concerns that have cost the city so much money in legal fees so far, are happening because the people that we elected are allowing it to happen. We have granted them the authority, and they are able to make changes, but no one is holding them accountable to do so. The only consequences they have felt are showing up in dollar signs, otherwise it would be business as usual. Whether this is inadvertent or intentional, that is the reality of it. If someone needs to point fingers and place blame, it is time to accept the fact that we all are at fault. Nothing changes if nothing changes.
Instead of cutting city services to manage legal fees, maybe we should cut nonessential city services to fund solutions for the issues that are at the heart of all this. Cities all across the US are focusing on code enforcement, and while I question the timing, as we are all struggling to bounce back after a financially draining pandemic, that does not mean that I think the desired outcomes are intentionally malicious or unnecessary. I have read that the most successful and well-received code enforcement efforts also implemented grants, loans, and volunteer programs to help property owners. Often times, the issue with noncompliance is due to lack of resources coupled with unrealistic expectations and a breakdown in communication. I also know that allowing them to get away with threatening to cut city services to force our obedient compliance is a slippery slope that can only lead to more fines and increasingly strict ordinances. All of this will only make our problems worse and create greater animosity between residents and city officials.
I remember reading an article when Blake started as code enforcer, how his position was the first of its kind, and other cities across Iowa are watching us to see how it all unfolds. That means we are in a key position to show others how to do things the right way. Judging from the legal fees that are racking up, it is time to accept that things are not working and make adjustments. These issues have been escalating for some time, and tensions are high, but until we take (peaceful) action to defend our rights, nothing will change. That involves gathering information and input from everyone involved, discussing it OPENLY, keeping emotions in check, and respectfully compromising so that all parties are able to keep working for a better future with minimal losses. Can we do that? Are you all ready to show up when the time comes?