City Council Notes: New Fire Department Officers, Poverty Level Policy Discussion

Here is a recap of the City Council meeting Tuesday evening:

Fire Department has new 2011 leadership

The Clawson City Council announced the Fire Department officers for 2011. The officers represent the leadership of the fire department and are elected each year among the 28 volunteer firefighters.

Elected Officers: Richard Dylewski, chief; Ed Boyd, assistant chief; Troy Engel, training officer; Andrew Baker, secretary/treasurer

Appointed Captains: Mark Clark, Jeff Ingebretson, Troy Engel, Jim Hunter

Mayor Penny Luebs congratulated the officers on their appointments and thanked Doug Ballard, who served as chief last year.

The council also approved a second reading and change to the city’s ordinances governing the department’s pension boards, commissions and authorities.

Animal control vote

City Council took steps to amend its animal control agreement with the City of Troy and to change the city’s ordinances to transfer animal control services to Oakland County Animal Shelter beginning March 15.

The council voted at a Feb. 15 meeting to hand over its animal control services to Oakland County. The county now has legal jurisdiction over animal ordinances, pet licensing and picking up and housing stray animals. The city will continue to issue animal licenses at city hall.

Tuesday’s vote was a first reading of the ordinance changes, which was adopted unanimously. The city also voted unanimously to amend its agreement with Troy to end their contract for lockup, dispatch and animal control services. The changes are expected to save the city around $13,000 per year.

DDA Board appointment delayed

City Council decided to postpone the appointment of Rachel Lazo to the

Councilwoman Kathy Phillips questioned Mayor Luebs’ selection of Lazo to the board and asked to have the matter removed from the council’s consent agenda.

“I would like to see it brought up for discussion,” Phillips said, and asked for Mayor Luebs' rationale for supporting Lazo.

“We had two applicants and both are great candidates, but I based my decision on who I feel would be most able to attend meetings,” Luebs said.

Christine Ryan was also among the candidates considered for the board.

Poverty level changes

The council unanimously agreed to revise the city’s guidelines for determining the poverty level for residents seeking exemptions from the City of Clawson Board of Review.

The changes in the rules are meant to further clarify the city’s guidelines for determining household poverty levels when residents petition the board for a reduction of their property tax assessments. The changes are more in line with federal guidelines, according to Mayor Luebs.

Due to the economic recession, many homeowners have petitioned their local governments for a reduction in their taxes on the basis of low income. However, the city did not have a benchmark for what constituted household poverty in terms of personal assets.

The new guidelines set a limit of $50,000 in personal, non-retirement funds, as a threshold. The new policy still reviews petitions primarily on the basis of income and the new asset guidelines does not include primary residential real estate.

“This is something that all of our neighboring cities have done,” Mayor Luebs said, noting that other cities have set the personal asset levels between $1,000 and $100,000, placing Clawson in the middle.

Assistant City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht suggested the city add language to require homeowners who appeal their assessments on the basis of poverty provide documentation to validate their financial situation.

“That would be things like federal income tax forms, bank statements, driver’s licenses, and other documentation like stocks or bond statements,” she said.

The council voted to revise the policy and look into further tax appeal verification to include additional documentation.