During its regular session, Monday, Chillicothe Council passed eleven ordinances and praised the efforts of the City Auditor's Office.
One of the ordinances allowed the city to allocate $2,650 in funds for a new snow plow to be placed on a Transit Department truck.
"That'll save them from having to call somebody in and/or use the other city services so we'll be able to keep more trucks out on the street if it snows," said Council President Bruce Arnold.
The current snow plow is reportedly 22 years old.
Also at council, members voted to establish pay rates for city employees; authorized a license for the Ohio National Guard to occupy more than 11 acres of city land; allocated $35,582.50 for end-of-year expenses; authorized the safety service director to trade in city vehicles deemed obsolete to help offset costs toward new police and fire safety vehicles; accepted $2,798.94 insurance funds for damages that resulted from a break-in at the Transit Facility; added parking infractions to the codified ordinances for the city; continued an agreement to be eligible to get state reimbursement for appointed counsel for indigent criminal defendants.
Three other ordinances were financial housekeeping items.
Additionally, City Auditor Kristal Spetnagel reported that the State Auditor's Office recently removed Chillicothe from "financial caution." It was a designation the city received in 2012.
“The citizens and leaders of Chillicothe deserve credit for reversing the city’s financial downslide,” Auditor David Yost said in a press release earlier this month. “Their hard work is rewarded with a fresh start.”
Arnold said the financial caution status was due to "bookkeeping."
"For a long time now, we've met all the goals," said Arnold, "but the State Auditor's Office finally announced that we're out, and it's great."