Monday, May 13, 2013
Council moving to put mistakenly stricken portion of fire code back on the books
It's nothing that hasn't existed for years, but some Stow property owners are still upset about a portion of the city's building code mandating smoke alarms in residential properties. Several residents attended Stow City Council to raise concerns about a portion of the code that the city is looking to re-insert into Stow's codified ordinances after it was mistakenly stricken from the books earlier this year. Stow Fire Chief Bill Kalbaugh said the city administration was asking council to put section 1509.09 governing smoke alarms back in the city's local laws. Kalbaugh said the code section was mistakenly stricken from the books this year while the building department was updating and removing outdated portions of the code. "This has been …
Sunday, May 12, 2013
All seven Stow City Council positions will be on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
All of Stow's City Council seats — four ward and three at-large positions — are up for grabs Nov. 5. The deadline to file to run is June 12 at 4 p.m. The new term begins Jan. 2, 2014. To become a candidate, a resident must pay $45 in fees and have a petition with 50 to 150 valid signatures. Here is a list of Stow's current representatives: (No elected official in Stow can serve more than eight consecutive years in the same office.) There will be a primary in September only if more than six people run for the at-large seats or more than two people are vying for any of the ward seats. For additional information, call the Summit County Board of Elections at 330-643-5200.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Stow council will hold first talks on proposed tax hike for school resource officers
The 0.25 percent income tax increase Mayor Sara Drew proposed in April to put police officers in Stow schools will have its first review by Stow City Council Thursday. Council is scheduled to talk about the issue Thursday and the suggestion, which came from Drew and the Stow Safety Task Force, to put the tax increase on the Nov. 5 ballot. The measure, if placed on the ballot by council and approved by voters, would generate between $1.6 million and $1.7 million annually based on the city's existing collections. That money would be earmarked specifically for law enforcement spending to hire nine school resource officers. The measure likely would include some flexibility so money collected from the increase can be used to pay for personnel, …
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Friday, April 12, 2013
Stow Safety Task Force recommends a 0.25 percent income tax increase for school resource officers
Stow Mayor Sara Drew presented the recommendations of the Stow Safety Task Force Thursday — chief of which was a 0.25 percent income tax hike to hire nine new school resource officers. If Stow City Council agrees with the task force recommendation, the earliest voters could see the issue is during the Nov. 5 election. Click here to see what city officials have to say about the proposed tax increase. If approved by voters, the tax increase would raise Stow's income tax collection rate from 2 percent to 2.25 percent. The increase would not raise taxes on Stow residents who work outside the city in communities with the same 2.25 percent tax rate. Take our poll below and tell us if you would vote for or against the tax increase. And tell us …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Stow council narrows focus of proposed legislation to reduce paper usage
An effort to streamline Stow City Council operations gained a sharper focus Monday as council members considered the proposed 10 percent annual cut in city office supplies. Council members discussed Councilman Mike Rasor's proposed Transparency and Green Savings Act, which proposes to eliminate all paper communication between council and city adminstrators by using electronic devices, such as a tablet or laptop, instead of stapled paper memos. During Monday's talks, John Earle, Stow's director of budget and management, asked about Rasor's proposed five-year, 10 percent yearly cut in the city's general office supply budget that's included in the legislation. Earle said the office supply budget includes a wide range of items from pens and …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Mike Rasor wants to see Stow City Council go paperless to save costs
Stow Councilman Mike Rasor wants to save the city money while improving government transparency via new legislation proposed this week. Rasor introduced his legislation, the Transparency and Green Savings Act, Monday in an effort to streamline city council operations by going completely paperless. "A lot of the information we use comes in paper form in our mailboxes," Rasor said. "And the residents have no way of getting that information to make sure we’re doing our jobs right." Rasor's legislation would do several things, including eliminating all that paper and replacing it with electronic tablet devices that would be stored at city hall and used by council, the planning commission and other boards during meetings to review legislation, …
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3760 Darrow Rd, Stow, OH
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Councilman Mike Rasor seeks to save the city money by reducing the use of paper.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
$28.4 million budget includes $264,000 deficit
Stow City Council voted 4-3 to approve the city's 2013 operating budget of $28.4 million at a special meeting Wednesday. The budget as approved on third reading after two previous reviews by council. Councilman Mike Rasor was one of the three members who voted against the budget. Rasor criticized the city administration's budget for its operating deficit of $264,000 which Rasor argues is actually a $1.414 million effective deficit when factoring in money moved from the city's roads and group health funds into the general fund. "I think it’s irresponsible to keep spending more than we bring in year after year without a plan to close the budget deficit," Rasor said. Rasor suggested the city sell the Fox Den Golf Course as one means of …
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3760 Darrow Rd, Stow, OH
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Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Stow City Council will review the city's $28.4 million budget on third reading
Tonight Stow City Council will hear what is expected to be the final reading of the city's 2013 budget before voting on the $28.4 million in expenses projected for this year. Council called a special meeting tonight to vote on the budget, which originally was set for a final vote on March 28. Stow Mayor Sara Drew said the budget has not changed from what was originally discussed earlier this month at council, and the special meeting was called so that all seven council members could attend. Drew said she anticipates council will approve what she described as a conservative budget as proposed by her administration. "I believe the city administration ... and I have put together a balanced budget that reflects the diverse needs of the city …
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Stow City Hall
3760 Darrow Rd, Stow, OH
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Friday, March 15, 2013
Stow City Council hears second reading of annual budget ordinance
Stow's $28.4 million 2013 operating budget quietly received its second reading at Stow City Council Thursday with no comment from either council or the audience. The budget will again go to the finance committee for discussion on Monday, Marcy 25, and is likely to get its final reading at the March 28 regular council meeting. The budget has "an effective deficit of $1.414 million," Stow Councilman Mike Rasor wrote on his Stow Patch blog. Click here to read Rasor's blog on the budget. Stow will continue vacancies at several city jobs to keep the 2013 budget tight. In 2009, the city employed 276 full-time workers. In 2013 the city is budgeting for 232 full-time employees, a figure that represents a drop of 16 percent or 44 full-time …
J. T. Cornpone
10:20 am on Monday, May 13, 2013
jeans and an untucked tee shirt. more ›