Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

To hear a recording of the meeting, go to WESB.com/listen , click on the "local programs tab, and scroll to "Bradford City Council 4-14-15. A group of rude and unruly people – some from the townships – disrupted Tuesday’s Bradford City Council meeting to the point where Mayor Tom Riel threatened to adjourn the meeting early. While the eight or so were loud enough that council and the media had to ask them to quiet down, the rest of the standing-room-only crowd was polite and respectful. The antics came about when council was asked about several issues including business privilege tax, a proposed storm water fee and the crime rate. Mayoral candidate Paul Berg, who seemed to be making statement rather than asking a question, wanted to know why General Electric (parent company of Dresser’s) does not pay a business privilege tax. Riel and City Solicitor Mark Hollenbeck tried to explain that the Interstate Commerce Clause precludes them from paying it. Riel also added that t...

Property taxes in the City of Bradford won’t be going up nearly as much as anticipated. The average property owner will see an increase of about $4.50 a month. They had been looking at an increase of around $10. Mayor Tom Riel says they were able to knock the millage down from 4.9 to 1.5 in the past month. “It was kind of scary when we did the first reading (of the millage ordinance),” Riel said. “I want to commend council for their efforts working with everybody to lower that down to 1.5 mils.” “I wish it was nothing,” he said, “but we can’t go without a tax increase every year.” He added that there has not been a tax increase for the past three years. Eliminating the purchase of new vehicles for the police, fire and property maintenance departments is one way they trimmed the budget. Health insurance, pension costs and contract obligations were among the increases expenses they had no control over. Councilman Fred Proper, who oversees accounts and finances, said although the for...

You can take the "acting" off Teri Cannon's title as Bradford City Council voted to make her city administrator during a special meeting late this afternoon. Cannon was named acting city administrator earlier this month. After council voted Cannon into the position Mayor Tom Riel noted that she is a fourth generation city employee, with her family having served Bradford for more than 80 years. She has been employed by the city for 23 years. Her father, Ed Sutherland, worked for the city for 31 years, most recently as director of the public works department until his retirement. Riel also read a letter from John Peterson, who retired as city clerk after 14 years in that position, and 28 with the city fire department. (The city no longer has a clerk position, as it has been replaced with the administrator.) Peterson wished the city’s first administrator the best and says he’s confident she will be able to lead the city for many years to come. Peterson also took the opp...

Dave and Sam from Madison Rising joined Scott Douglas on The Morning Buzz today. Bradford Mayor Tom Riel proclaimed today "Madison Rising Day" in the city. Pictured with Dave, Sam, Tom Riel and Scott Douglas is TC Clark who organized tonight's concert at the VFW Event Center. About 20 tickets are left and will be on sale at the VFW at at 11 a.m. First come, first served. The band is dedicating tonight's show to US Army SFC Andrew R. Taylor and his family. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Bradford City Council last night approved on first reading the millage ordinance, which keeps the millage rate at 16 and means no tax increase. Mayor Tom Riel says although he had hoped to be able to lower taxes, keeping the rate steady is quite an accomplishment. City Clerk John Peterson gives much of the credit for the no-tax-increase budget to the department heads being realistic in their requests and keeping a close watch on their budgets during the year. You can listen to the entire meeting here . Among the other topics covered are the demolition of more plighted properties, bid openings for fire station renovations and the 2014 wage ordinance. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

City taxpayers will not see a tax increase, according to the 2014 budget unveiled by Bradford City Council Tuesday night. Councilman Jim Evans, who oversees accounts and finances, thanked all city employees, especially City Clerk John Peterson, Deputy City Clerk Teri Cannon, Chief Financial Officer Mike Shanks and all the department heads for their work on this budget, and for keeping costs in line for 2013. Specifically, he thanked them for “continuing to live within our budget, looking for new sources of revenue, making sure we leave no stone unturned” in terms of spending and looking for new revenue sources, and watching spending. Evans said the city is “in a very enviable position,” noting that while the city is not “flush with money” it is “running in a very sound manner financially.” After Evans read his letter to the city that declared no property tax increase, Mayor Tom Riel said, “... in the next couple of weeks, as numbers continue to come in, maybe we can lower them a li...

In an effort to make it easier for the city’s new financial officer to do his job properly, Bradford City Council has approved on first reading changes to several tax ordinances. During its meeting Tuesday night council OK’d changes to the Local Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Mercantile License Tax, Business Privilege Tax, Local Services Tax and Public Utility Tax Ordinance. City Solicitor Mark Hollenbeck explained the changes give Michael Shanks “the ability to monitor the ordinances, enforce them as part of his duties with the city.” Mayor Tom Riel stressed that council is not raising taxes or creating new taxes. In other matters, council authorized the filing of a Keystone Communities Façade and Public Improvement Grant for the Second Ward Neighborhood Partnership Program. The $400,000 grant would go toward the NPP façade program, streetscape improvements and new construction. The city is also seeking a Home Program grant from the state’s Department of Community and Economic Develo...

In case you missed today's "LiveLine" with Bradford Mayor Tom Riel, you can listen to it by going to http://www.wesb.com/listen/ , clicking on the "Local Programs" tab and scrolling down to #60. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947