Marietta City Council met for a special business meeting Monday on several pieces of emergency legislation.

Ordinances 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277 and 278 were all introduced Thursday.

Those ordinances cover the following:

¯ Ordinance 270 increases sewer charges for businesses, both non-industrial and industrial based on suspended solids, debt service and other applicable costs.

¯ Ordinance 271 amends the Salary Step Schedule, to establish increased salaries for all non-union and non-elected positions of employment for calendar year 2020.

¯ Ordinance 272 cancels the regularly scheduled meeting on 7:30 p.m. Jan. 2. The new council for the 2020-21 term intends to hold its first meeting 10:30 a.m. Jan. 1 following the swearing-in of new members and the new mayor.

¯ Ordinance 274 authorizes Change Order 18 with Orders Construction Co. for additional work required to repurpose a structure at the Wastewater Treatment Plant for a total of $39,602.17.

¯ Ordinance 275 authorizes Change Order 19 with Orders Construction for replacement of a water main in the administration building of the Wastewater Treatment Plant for a total of $20,745.89.

¯ Ordinance 276 reauthorizes continued services from the Washington Soil and Water Conservation District for parts of the city’s storm water management program.

¯ Ordinance 277 authorizes Change Order 2 with TEC Engineering Inc. to add signal removal studies at Franklin and Market streets and at Second and Scammel streets to the Marietta Fiber Optics Project for $6,468. This brings the project total to $148,736.

The signal removal study probably will begin in March, City Engineer Joe Tucker said Thursday. The results and recommendations will be brought to council in mid- to late-June, he said.

¯ Ordinance 278 authorizes TRC Companies on behalf of American Electric Power of Ohio to work in the right-of-way to install five new poles, replace 18 existing poles, upgrade equipment on five existing poles and remove one pole on Colegate Drive and Glendale Road.

¯ Ordinance 273 introduces the following transfers and appropriations: $259,375.73 from the Community Development Fund to the Housing Voucher Project line item to cover the federal dollar pass-thru from the city to Washington-Morgan Community Action, the nonprofit agency which administers the program; $4,426.95 from the D.A.R.E. fund from the unappropriated line item to the salaries and wages line item to reimburse the DARE police officer’s salary; $32,000 unappropriated from the Fire Levy fund (not the fire income tax levy) and $35,000 from the fund’s personnel benefits line item to cover salaries for firefighters at the Colegate and Lancaster stations through the end of the year; $130,000 from the city’s general fund, unappropriated line item; $51,000 to the Fire Department to cover salaries through the end of the year; $79,000 to the Fire Department’s to cover personnel benefits through the end of the year; $10,000 from the General Fund, Auditor’s personnel benefits line item to the Police Department to cover salaries through the end of the year following retirement payouts not fully budgeted for in 2019; $6,000 from the General Fund, Safety administration’s salary and wages line item to the Police Department to cover salaries through the end of the year; $2,000 from the General Fund, Equipment Maintenance personnel benefits line item to the Equipment Maintenance Department’s salaries and wages line item; $483.81 from the General Fund unappropriated line item to the civil service personnel benefits line item to cover end of year benefits; $40,000 from the General Fund unappropriated line item to the miscellaneous line item to advance a $40,000 loan on the Armory; $11,655 from the General Fund unappropriated line item to the Planning and Development salaries and wages line item to cover Development Director Mike Gulliver’s salary through the end of the year; $1,837 from the city’s General Fund unappropriated line item to Planning and Development personnel benefits line item to cover Gulliver’s benefits through the end of 2019; $3,300 from the Streets Fund to the streets line item for Follow the River.

Council will meet again today at 6 p.m. for the final readings of all nine ordinances, allowing them to take effect Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Susan Boyer moved to table Ordinance 265, a routine authorization of the city’s contract with the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley until the next regular business meeting, scheduled for Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

“Since this would be its third reading, I’d move to table this legislation until then,” said Boyer, noting legislation with emergency clauses can only be passed with five or more members of council present to vote.

“We need five people tomorrow night,” noted City Law Director Bertram before the meeting closed after 11 minutes.

Janelle Patterson can be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com.