The Atlantic City Council held its first-ever electronic meeting this (Wednesday) evening, with some members joining the session by the remote video conferencing service, Zoom, and others in the Council’s Chambers.

(Left) Atlantic City Councilman Dick Casady & Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones (Center) are shown in this still frame ZOOM meeting image from 4-1-20. (Ric Hanson photo)

The meeting lasted approximately 15 minutes.

During their brief session, the Council:

• Held Public Hearing on the Adoption of the Final Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Budget for the City of Atlantic. (The Council passed the preliminary FY21 Budget March 4th), and passed a Resolution “Adopting the [FY21] Budget” (which calls for lower property taxes, but increased costs in labor & health insurance) [Total tax levy rate per $1,000 valuation on regular property= $16.56/$1,000; on Agricultural land= $3.00/$1,000]
• They also held a Public Hearing on the Adoption of the 10-year CIP (Capital Improvement Plan), and passed a Resolution “Adopting the Proposed [FY21] CIP.”
• The Atlantic City Council also passed a Resolution “Setting Salaries for Appointed Officers and Employees of the City of Atlantic.” (Basically, wage adjustments for the Police Chief, Library Director, Parks & Rec Director, Street Superintendent and City Administrator, plus a 2.4% increase for all employees, keeping in-line with other cities of similar size, as well as Union agreements)
• And, they passed a Resolution “Setting the Seasonal Wages for Atlantic Parks & Recreation Department for 2020.”

By a vote of 6-to 1, the Council passed a Resolution for the  “Temporary [suspension] of Certain Personnel Policy Requirements in Order to Address the COVID-19 Emergency.” Councilperson Kathy Somers was the lone “No” vote. City Administrator John Lund says “Passage means that elected officials make policies and those policies are not subject to the dismissal by unelected officials or government employees, simply because they are proving an obstacle to the needs and desires of…anyone. If policies are an issue, they should be changed, not ignored.” In short, the City Council has final say over issues such as: Hours of Work; Work Rules; and Foreited vacation paid time-off. It also states the City is willing to sustain paychecks for those employees who are forced to take a reduction in hours because their Supervisor is concerned about the risk of spreading infection from a department. The final say is “At the discretion of the Finance and Administration Department and Department Heads, to identify need, and eliminate opportunities for abuse.”

By a vote of 6-to 1, the Council passed a Resolution for the  “Temporary [suspension] of Certain Personnel Policy Requirements in Order to Address the COVID-19 Emergency.” Councilperson Kathy Somers was the lone “No” vote. In other business, a Resolution passed, “Setting April 15th as the date for a public hearing on designation of the expanded North Urban Renewal Area and on [an] Urban Renewal Plan Amendment,” as it pertains to the City’s 2017 development agreement with the Whitney Group.

And, a public hearing was held on a proposal to enter into a General Obligation Refunding Loan Agreement and to borrow money thereunder, with regard to recent changes in the bond market. No action was taken following the hearing. Mayor Dave Jones then reminded the public to “Wash your hands” as a mean to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.