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Councilman seeks to impound city effort

MacPherson wants Warren voters to stop lot legislation through ballot box

WARREN — A narrow council vote authorizing the city to seek bids and award a contract to build a city-owned impound lot may not have ended debate on the controversial project.

Councilman Ken MacPherson, D-5th Ward, one of four council members who voted against the legislation, immediately after the vote said he would seek to reverse the legislation by going directly to voters in an effort to block its implementation.

“This is not the time — during an unprecedented economic pandemic — for the city to be spending money on this type of project,” MacPherson said. “It is being tone deaf to what is happening in the world.”

Council last week in a 6-4 vote approved legislation granting the administration authority to move forward in seeking bids for the project. Because the legislation was not approved as an emergency measure, however, officials will have to wait 30 days before taking action.

MacPherson said he will use the 30 days to obtain slightly more than 1,100 valid signatures of Warren voters to mount a referendum effort. He already has hired an attorney to make sure the petitions are done correctly.

“I believe I will have until June 11 to get the petitions with valid signatures to the city auditor,” MacPherson said.

HOW IT WORKS

The legislation calls for the city to seek bids and build an impound lot on already city-owned property next to the operations department. The project has a projected cost of between $40,000 and $85,000, according to estimates provided by the police department.

City officials estimate that once completed, proceeds from cars being towed and held on the lot will be about $30,000 per month.

A proposal by Warren police Sgt. John Wilson presented last September shows an increasing number of vehicles have been ordered towed in the city over the last several years. There were 1,004 towed in 2016 and 1,234 vehicles towed in 2018, the report states.

Cars towed in Warren for traffic violations are now taken to a lot owned by Mays Towing. Mays receives fees for both towing and storage of the vehicles. If the city opens its own impound lot, it will earn money from the vehicle’s storage and eventual release back to owners.

The police department would operate the lot. Money earned from the lot will go into the city’s general fund, but the expectation is a percentage will be used by the police department to obtain new police vehicles.

Wilson told council members that several of the city’s police vehicles have more than 100,000 miles on them and are used every day for police patrols. It is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the most heavily used vehicles.

Construction of the proposed city-owned lot involves paving of the area, fencing, providing lighting and providing security features, according to the city officials.

SUPPORTERS

Supporters of the legislation said this is one of the few times that a non-enterprise department has brought forth a program that will earn the city additional money, and, if successful, will address the city’s concerns about maintaining and replacing police vehicles on a regular basis.

“We are not the only community in the area that’s doing this,” Safety Service Director Eddie Colbert said. “There are five other communities in this area that have community-owned impound lots that help their budgets.”

Councilman John Brown, D-at Large, believes having police officers operate the impound lot will lead to better treatment and service to residents whose vehicles are towed.

THE PROCESS

“He (MacPherson) will need at least 10 percent of the number of Warren voters who participated in the last gubernatorial election to sign a petition to reverse the legislation,” explained Stephanie Penrose, executive director of the Trumbull County Board of Elections.

On the petition, MacPherson will have to provide a copy of the legislation, so voters will know what they are seeking to reverse.

During extensive debates about the issue, council members Cheryl Saffold, D-6th Ward, Ronald White, D-7th Ward, Helen Rucker, D-at Large, and MacPherson argued this is not the time to spend money on an impound lot that may not bring the financial returns being projected by the police.

THE ARGUMENT

The opposing council members argued the city should not make any major investments during an ongoing, worldwide pandemic and at a time when the city is looking to potentially lay off employees to help balance its budget.

Saffold asked city residents a question on social media to gauge their support for building a city-owned lot. She received about 125 replies during the five-hour period before council’s vote onTuesday, and residents continued to respond after the vote took place.

“If my constituents ask me to (support the referendum effort), yes I would,” Saffold said. “My legislative decisions are based on the wishes and desires of those who elected me and not based on my personal decisions.”

Saffold said she got more than 200 responses on Facebook, as well as telephone calls made specifically to 6th Ward residents. Most, according to Saffold, believed the vote was rushed, with some stating they do not want the lot in the downtown area.

Saffold said she was impressed by the level of public interest in this topic via social media. “I will continue using it in the future,” she said.

White said he “absolutely” can support MacPherson’s referendum effort to block the implementation of the ordinance.

White is critical of the way the last council meeting was conducted, saying there was too much yelling back and forth among members. He said he felt there was disrepect shown to some council members during the virtual meeting’s phone calls.

“It was lunacy,” he said. “We need to focus on the way we are doing this.”

OPEN MEETINGS

Now that Ohio is becoming increasingly open, White hopes council meetings will return to normal schedules with in-person sessions held in council chambers.

Although a vocal critic of the impound lot legislation, Rucker will not support MacPherson’s effort to block its implementation.

“It is silly,” she said. “There was nothing unlawful done in the way council did the vote. I am abiding to its results.”

Rucker said by the time people get to vote during November’s elections, the lot likely will be built or will be nearly completed.

“I was disappointed we could not sway other council members that this is not the time for third reading,” she said. “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Unless something was done that was unlawful, there is no reason to reverse it.”

Rucker said council still will have some say in making rules about the level of fees that will be issued in connection with the tows and other operational decisions at a later time. In addition, Rucker said the mayor promised to bring the bids back to council to review, before the administration awards the contract for construction.

“Any time he has said he would do this in the past, he has done so,” Rucker said. “I believe he will do it this time.”

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