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Marine City Commission takes care of business 9-13-2023

Photo by Barb Pert Templeton for Blue Water Healthy Living The Marine City Commission meets on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 7 p.m.

By Barb Pert Templeton

Members of the Marine City Commission tackled a number of items on their agenda at a Sept. 7, 2023 meeting. Commissioner Brian Ross was absent from the meeting due to illness.

An $800 signing bonus given

Member of the Marine City Commission approved a $800 signing bonus for members of the Teamsters Local 214 art a recent meeting. The one-time contract signing bonus does not carryover into any future Collective Bargaining Agreements with the city. In a memo to officials from City Manager Scott Adkins he stated that a signing bonus has traditionally been included in previous agreements and that he proposed a $500 bonus. The Union requested they be given the same amount given in the police officers in a recent agreement. Impact to the city budget for the bonuses was not to exceed $3,200. All full-time city employees under the agreement were to receive the bonus payable by Oct. 31, 2023. 

Adoption of amended Open Intoxicants Ordinance

A revised alcoholic beverages ordinance, specifically Ordinance #23-003, was formerly adopted by a majority of the members of the Marine City Commission on Sept. 7, 2023. The ordinance, 

Title XI, Chapter 114, Section 114.01, Entitled “Consumption in Public Prohibited; Exemptions for Organizations with Permits,” met a 3-2 vote of approval with Commissioner Rita Roehrig and William Klaassen casting nays and Commissioners Brian Ross and Michael Hilferink absent. The ordinance now reads that it shall be unlawful for any person to possess any open containers or any alcoholic beverage in any public park, playground, parking area or public facility unless they are acing in compliance with a Social District common area. Groups or organizations can obtain a permit for the consumption of alcoholic beverages in a park or facility by applying for a special permit from the city manager with the approval of the chief of police.

New agenda and meeting software approved 

Photo courtesy of CTV Community Television
Members of the Marine City Commission pictured at a recent meeting on Sept. 7, 2023.

The Marine City Commission approved the purchase of some new software for the city’s clerk’s office at a recent meeting. In a letter to the commission Marine City Clerk Jason Bell outlined research he conducted regarding getting more efficient software for use with meeting agendas and minutes. Bell said the new equipment will make things more efficient in the clerk’s office while streamlining things for the commission and other boards in the city. In addition, the software will also make meeting agendas more accessible to the public, whereby they can sign up for email notifications when a new meeting agenda is posted on the city website. “There are a lot of municipalities that are going to this software Port Huron uses it,” Bell said. He said the new system will take everything the city currently has and place it into the revamped system. Bell got three bids for the software and recommended that the city go with Granicus as they were the only company offering software for all city boards in their package. The bid was for $3,954 for the first year of service and $4,231 the second year. City Manager Scott Adkins added that Granicus is a very stable and long-term business. 

City Manager explains large expenditures

Marine City Manager Scott Adkins took a moment at a recent meeting to explain a particularly large line in the budget noting over a million dollars in expenditures. “It is very rare that we reach $1 million dollars or go over $1 million dollars for expenditures, however this is the time of year that we are doing a routine tax settlement so we have to pay other taxing agencies,” Adkins said. “So, of this $1.2 million approximately $900,000 was tax settlement related so I think that’s important to point out because that number was very large and jumps right out at you,”

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